Second Best Bed

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Second Best Bed
Second Best Bed film Opening titles (1938).jpg
Directed by Tom Walls
Written by Ben Travers
Produced by Max Schach
Starring
CinematographyJack E. Cox
Edited by Lynn Harrison
Music byVan Phillips
Production
company
Distributed by General Film Distributors
Release date
  • January 1938 (1938-01)
Running time
74 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Second Best Bed is a 1938 British comedy film directed by Tom Walls and starring Walls, Jane Baxter and Veronica Rose. [1] [2] The screenplay was by Ben Travers, based on an earlier story of his, and concerns a newly married couple who soon run into domestic difficulties when the wife refuses to obey her husband's every order. [3]

Contents

Cast

Production

It was an independent production made at Shepperton Studios with sets were designed by the art director Walter Murton. Walls and Travers had worked together on the Aldwych farces.

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Written by Ben Travers in characteristic vein the story is developed with daring and risqué dialogue and a full quota of double entendres. 'The situations are equally piquant, and leave little to the imagination. It must be admitted that Tom Walls as director shows skill and agility in skating over the thinnest possible ice, while as star he gets across outrageous remarks with a disarming urbanity and adroitness. He is, undoubtedly, in his element, and gives a finished and effective performance. Both Jane Baxter and Veronica Rose support him ably, and small part players are thoroughly competent." [4]

Kine Weekly wrote: "Breezy up-to-date marital comedy featuring Tom Walls in a made-to-measure role. The humour, which is from the pen of Ben Travers, is not exactly kindergarten, but in spite of occasional ribaldry the fun seldom fails to strike a popular note. The star contributes a characteristic performance in the lead, the feminine co-stars contrast effectively, and the support is well up to standard." [5]

Leslie Halliwell wrote "Cheerful star comedy with a touch of sophistication." [6]

References

  1. ↑ "Second Best Bed". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
  2. ↑ "BFI | Film & TV Database | SECOND BEST BED (1938)". web.archive.org. 13 January 2009. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
  3. ↑ Lanier, Douglas (2006). "Film Spin-offs and Citations: On the Virtues of Illegitimacy". In Burt, Richard (ed.). Shakespeares After Shakespeare: An Encyclopedia of the Bard in Mass Media and Popular Culture. Vol. One. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. p. 307. ISBN   9780313331169.
  4. ↑ "Second Best Bed". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 5 (49): 11. 1 January 1938. ProQuest   1305802243.
  5. ↑ "Second Best Bed". Kine Weekly . 251 (1606): 27. 27 January 1938. ProQuest   2362079983.
  6. ↑ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 892. ISBN   0586088946.
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