She'll Have to Go

Last updated

She'll Have to Go
"She'll Have to Go" (1962 film).jpg
Original British 1-sheet poster
Directed by Robert Asher
Screenplay byJohn Waterhouse
Based ona play We Must Kill Toni by Ian Stuart Black
Produced by Jack Asher
Robert Asher
Starring Anna Karina
Bob Monkhouse
Alfred Marks
CinematographyJack Asher
Edited by Gerry Hambling
Music by Philip Green
Production
company
Asher Brothers Productions
Distributed by Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors
Release date
  • April 1962 (1962-04)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

She'll Have to Go (U.S. title Maid for Murder) [1] is a 1962 black and white British comedy film directed by Robert Asher and starring Bob Monkhouse, Alfred Marks, Hattie Jacques and Anna Karina. [2] It was adapted from Ian Stuart Black's 1957 play We Must Kill Toni.

Contents

Plot

When cash-strapped brothers Francis and Douglas discover their wealthy grandmother has bequeathed the family fortune to distant cousin Toni, a French maid, they immediately start plotting. When Toni visits, both men attempt to woo her, but when their efforts fail, they decide on murder as their likeliest option to acquire the money.

Cast

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Rather tepid stage farce with a promising start – a massive, crumbling, cliff-top mansion – and a whacky ending, but a flat and arid stretch in the middle. Bob Monkhouse tends to overdo the antics of one of the self-centred brothers; Hattie Jacques is a splendid vision as a hilariously-hatted gossip columnist, but the role soon peters out; Anna Karina supplies the glamour, and Graham Stark, Clive Dunn and Peter Butterworth contribute built-in cameos of a kind that many will find tiresome. The production generally lacks polish." [3]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Known in the States as Maid for Murder, this mediocre comedy was something of a family affair. The Asher brothers co-produced the picture, with Robert also directing and his younger sibling, Jack, as cinematographer. They might have been better off having a crack at the script, too, as John Waterhouse's adaptation is so slipshod that not even Hattie Jacques can bring it to life. But most sympathy goes to Jean-Luc Godard's then wife Anna Karina, who looks lost fighting off gold-digging brothers Bob Monkhouse and Alfred Marks." [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Sykes</span> English comedian, writer and actor (1923–2012)

Eric Sykes was an English radio, stage, television and film writer, comedian, actor and director whose performing career spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and performed with many other leading comedy performers and writers of the period, including Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Tommy Cooper, Peter Sellers, John Antrobus and Johnny Speight. Sykes first came to prominence through his many radio credits as a writer and actor in the 1950s, most notably through his collaboration on The Goon Show scripts. He became a TV star in his own right in the early 1960s when he appeared with Hattie Jacques in several popular BBC comedy television series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Monkhouse</span> British entertainer (1928–2003)

Robert Alan Monkhouse was an English comedian, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including The Golden Shot, Celebrity Squares, Family Fortunes and Wipeout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hattie Jacques</span> English actress (1922–1980)

Hattie Jacques was an English comedy actress of stage, radio and screen. She is best known as a regular of the Carry On films, where she typically played strict, no-nonsense characters, but was also a prolific television and radio performer.

<i>Carry On Behind</i> 1975 British comedy film by Gerald Thomas

Carry On Behind is a 1975 British comedy film, the 27th release in the series of 31 Carry On films (1958–1992). It was the first entry in the series not to be scripted by Talbot Rothwell since Carry On Cruising 13 years previously. Also missing was series stalwart Sid James. James was busy touring in a play, while Rothwell's health prevented him from writing. The regular actors present are Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor, Jack Douglas, Joan Sims and Peter Butterworth, Bernard Bresslaw and Patsy Rowlands. Carry On Behind was the final picture in the series for Bresslaw, Liz Fraser and Rowlands as well as Carol Hawkins. It saw the only appearances of Elke Sommer, Adrienne Posta, Sherrie Hewson and Ian Lavender in a Carry On film, and was the first of two entries in the series for Windsor Davies. The film was followed by Carry On England 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Butterworth</span> English actor and comedian (1915–1979)

Peter William Shorrocks Butterworth was an English actor and comedian best known for his appearances in the Carry On film series. He was also a regular on children's television and radio. Butterworth was married to actress and impressionist Janet Brown.

<i>Dentist on the Job</i> 1961 British comedy film by C. M. Pennington-Richards

Dentist on the Job is a 1961 British comedy film directed by C. M. Pennington-Richards, and starring Bob Monkhouse, Kenneth Connor, Ronnie Stevens and Eric Barker It is the sequel to Dentist in the Chair (1960), and was co-written by Hugh Woodhouse and Hazel Adair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juanita Moore</span> American film, TV, and stage actress (1914–2014)

Juanita Moore was an American film, television, and stage actress.

<i>Carry On Abroad</i> 1972 British comedy film by Gerald Thomas

Carry On Abroad is a 1972 British comedy film, the 24th release in the series of 31 Carry On films (1958–1992). The film features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims, Bernard Bresslaw, Barbara Windsor, Kenneth Connor, Peter Butterworth and Hattie Jacques. It was the 23rd and final appearance for Charles Hawtrey. June Whitfield returned after appearing in Carry On Nurse 13 years earlier. Jimmy Logan and Carol Hawkins made their first of two appearances in the series.

<i>Carry On Sergeant</i> 1958 British comedy film by Gerald Thomas

Carry On Sergeant is a 1958 British comedy film about National Service starring William Hartnell, Bob Monkhouse and Eric Barker; it is the first in the series of Carry On films, with 31 entries released from 1958 to 1992. The film was based on a play The Bull Boys by R. F. Delderfield and was adapted into a script by Norman Hudis with John Antrobus contributing additional material and replacing the conscripted ballet dancers of the novel into a married couple. It was directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers, a partnership which would last until 1978. Actors in this film, who went on to be part of the regular team in the series, were Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Hattie Jacques, Kenneth Connor and Terry Scott. The film was followed by Carry On Nurse 1959.

<i>Made in U.S.A</i> (1966 film) 1966 French film

Made in U.S.A is a 1966 French crime comedy film written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard, and starring Anna Karina, László Szabó, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Marianne Faithfull, Yves Afonso, and Jean-Claude Bouillon. It was a loose and unauthorized adaptation of the 1965 novel The Jugger by Richard Stark, and was also inspired by the 1946 Howard Hawks film The Big Sleep.

<i>Anna Christie</i> (1930 German-language film) 1930 film

Anna Christie is a 1930 German-language film adapted from the 1921 Eugene O'Neill play of the same title and filmed following the release of the English-language original version of the same adaptation earlier the same year. Both versions feature leading actress Greta Garbo. In the early years of sound films, Hollywood studios produced foreign-language versions of some of their films using the same sets and sometimes the same costumes, with native speakers of the language usually replacing some or all of the original cast. The German-language version of Anna Christie is one of the few that survives.

The Tony Hancock Show is a black-and-white British sketch show starring Tony Hancock and was broadcast on ITV by the franchise contractor Associated-Rediffusion for two series in 1956 and 1957, either side of the first television series of Hancock's Half Hour. It was written by Eric Sykes, Larry Stephens, John Jose and Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. All the episodes were broadcast live.

Dead Tone is a 2007 American slasher film directed and written by Brian Hooks and Deon Taylor. It stars Hooks, Antwon Tanner, Cherie Johnson, Rutger Hauer, German Legarreta, Gwendoline Yeo and Aimee Garcia.

<i>Follow a Star</i> 1959 British film by Robert Asher

Follow a Star is a 1959 British black and white comedy musical film directed by Robert Asher and starring Norman Wisdom.

The Cowboy and the Lady is a 1938 American Western romantic comedy film directed by H.C. Potter, and starring Gary Cooper and Merle Oberon. Written by S.N. Behrman and Sonya Levien, based on a story by Frank R. Adams and veteran film director Leo McCarey, the film is about a beautiful socialite masquerading as a maid who becomes involved with an unpretentious, plain-spoken cowboy who is unaware of her true identity. The Cowboy and the Lady won an Academy Award for Sound Recording, and was nominated for Original Score and Original Song.

<i>The Lodger</i> (1944 film) 1944 American horror film by John Brahm

The Lodger is a 1944 American horror film about Jack the Ripper, based on the 1913 novel of the same name by Marie Belloc Lowndes. It stars Merle Oberon, George Sanders, and Laird Cregar, features Sir Cedric Hardwicke, and was directed by John Brahm from a screenplay by Barré Lyndon.

<i>A Weekend with Lulu</i> 1961 British film by John Paddy Carstairs

A Weekend with Lulu, also known as A Week-end with Lulu, is a 1961 British comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Bob Monkhouse, Leslie Phillips, Alfred Marks, Shirley Eaton and Irene Handl.

<i>The Navy Lark</i> (film) 1959 British film

The Navy Lark is a 1959 British comedy film based on The Navy Lark radio series broadcast on the BBC Light Programme. It featured Cecil Parker, Ronald Shiner and Leslie Phillips, Gordon Jackson and Hattie Jacques. It was filmed mainly at West Bay, Bridport, Dorset. Only Phillips had appeared on the radio version – all other parts were recast. The film was produced at Walton-on-Thames.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theresa Harris</span> American television and film actress, singer and dancer (1906–1985)

Theresa Harris was an American television and film actress, singer and dancer.

Inside George Webley is a British comedy television series which originally aired on ITV in two series between 1968 and 1970. It starred Roy Kinnear as a bank clerk and a compulsive worrier and Patsy Rowlands as Rosemary his long-suffering wife.

References

  1. Sandra Brennan (2012). "NY Times.com: Maid for Murder". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Baseline & All Movie Guide. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
  2. "She'll Have to Go". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  3. "She'll Have to Go". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 29 (336): 84. 1 January 1962 via ProQuest.
  4. Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 829. ISBN   9780992936440.