Three Men in a Boat (1956 film)

Last updated

Three Men in a Boat
Three Men in a Boat film Theatrical release poster (1956).png
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ken Annakin
Written by Hubert Gregg
Vernon Harris
Jerome K. Jerome (novel)
Produced by John Woolf (uncredited)
Jack Clayton
Starring Laurence Harvey
Jimmy Edwards
David Tomlinson
Shirley Eaton
Cinematography Eric Cross
Edited by Ralph Kemplen
Music by John Addison
Production
company
Distributed byIndependent Film Distributors
Release date
  • 25 December 1956 (1956-12-25)
Running time
84 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£247,137 [1]
Box office£212,723 [2]

Three Men in a Boat is a 1956 British CinemaScope colour comedy film directed by Ken Annakin, starring Laurence Harvey, Jimmy Edwards, David Tomlinson and Shirley Eaton. [3] It was written by Hubert Gregg and Vernon Harris based on the 1889 novel of the same name by Jerome K. Jerome.

Contents

Plot

The film is set in the Edwardian era. Harris, J, and George want to get away from it all. They decide to go on holiday boating up the River Thames to Oxford, taking with them their dog Montmorency. George is happy to get away from his job at the bank. Harris is glad to get away from Mrs. Willis, who is pressing him to marry her daughter Clara. And 'J' is more than anxious to take a holiday from his wife, Ethelbertha.

George meets three girls, Sophie Clutterbuck and sisters Bluebell and Primrose Porterhouse, who are also taking a ride up the river, and he hopes to see them again. The travellers get into various complications with the weather, the river, the boat, food, the Hampton Court Maze, tents, rain and locks. They connect with the girls again, and when things appear to be becoming interesting for the men, Mrs. Willis and her daughter and Ethelbertha show up, and things become even more interesting.

Cast

Reception

Box office

The film was the 12th most popular movie at the British box office in 1957. [4]

According to Kinematograph Weekly the film was "in the money" at the British box office in 1957. [5]

Critical

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Jimmy Edwards and David Tomlinson should have been ideally cast in Jerome's delightful comedy. Unfortunately, the curious adaptation and clumsy handling have effectively destroyed most of the charm and humour of the original book. The slapstick is crude and uninventive." [6]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 4/5 stars, writing: "The ensemble, including David Tomlinson, is amiability itself, while the parasol-toting girls are as radiant as the golden days of yesteryear." [7]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Colourful comedy lacks Jerome's original humour – just isn't funny." [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerome K. Jerome</span> English writer and humorist (1859-1927)

Jerome Klapka Jerome was an English writer and humourist, best known for the comic travelogue Three Men in a Boat (1889). Other works include the essay collections Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow (1886) and Second Thoughts of an Idle Fellow; Three Men on the Bummel, a sequel to Three Men in a Boat; and several other novels. Jerome was born in Walsall, England, and, although he was able to attend grammar school, his family suffered from poverty at times, as did he as a young man trying to earn a living in various occupations. In his twenties, he was able to publish some work, and success followed. He married in 1888, and the honeymoon was spent on a boat on the Thames; he published Three Men in a Boat soon afterwards. He continued to write fiction, non-fiction and plays over the next few decades, though never with the same level of success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Tomlinson</span> English actor (1917–2000)

David Cecil MacAlister Tomlinson was an English stage, film, and television actor, singer and comedian. Having been described as both a leading man and a character actor, he is primarily remembered for his roles as authority figure George Banks in Mary Poppins, fraudulent magician Professor Emelius Browne in Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and as hapless antagonist Peter Thorndyke in The Love Bug. Tomlinson was posthumously inducted as a Disney Legend in 2002.

<i>Three Men in a Boat</i> 1889 novel by Jerome K. Jerome

Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog), published in 1889, is a humorous account by English writer Jerome K. Jerome of a two-week boating holiday on the Thames from Kingston upon Thames to Oxford and back to Kingston. The book was initially intended to be a serious travel guide, with accounts of local history along the route, but the humorous elements took over to the point where the serious and somewhat sentimental passages seem a distraction to the comic novel. One of the most praised things about Three Men in a Boat is how undated it appears to modern readers – the jokes have been praised as fresh and witty.

<i>The Naked Truth</i> (1957 film) 1957 British film by Mario Zampi

The Naked Truth is a 1957 British black comedy film directed and produced by Mario Zampi, starring Terry-Thomas, Peter Sellers and Dennis Price. The screenplay was by Michael Pertwee.

<i>Woman in a Dressing Gown</i> 1957 British film

Woman in a Dressing Gown is a 1957 British drama film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Yvonne Mitchell, Anthony Quayle, Sylvia Syms, and Carole Lesley.

<i>Our Girl Friday</i> 1953 British film

Our Girl Friday is a 1953 British comedy film starring Joan Collins, George Cole, Kenneth More and Robertson Hare. It is about a woman who is shipwrecked with three men on a deserted island.

<i>Vote for Huggett</i> 1949 British film

Vote for Huggett is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Susan Shaw and Petula Clark. Warner reprises his role as the head of a London family, in the post-war years.

<i>Carry On Admiral</i> 1957 British comedy film by Val Guest

Carry on Admiral is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Val Guest and featuring David Tomlinson and Ronald Shiner. Joan Hickson also made an appearance in this film and a few films in the Carry On series. It was based on the 1947 stage play Off the Record, written by Ian Hay.

<i>These Dangerous Years</i> 1957 British film

These Dangerous Years is a 1957 British drama musical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring George Baker, Frankie Vaughan, Carole Lesley, Thora Hird, Kenneth Cope, David Lodge and John Le Mesurier.

<i>Doctor at Large</i> (film) 1957 British film by Ralph Thomas

Doctor at Large is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas starring Dirk Bogarde, Muriel Pavlow, Donald Sinden, James Robertson Justice and Shirley Eaton. It is the third of the seven films in the Doctor series, and is based on the 1955 novel of the same title by Richard Gordon.

<i>Three Men in a Boat</i> (1933 film) 1933 British film

Three Men in a Boat is a 1933 British comedy film directed by Graham Cutts and starring William Austin, Edmund Breon, Billy Milton and Davy Burnaby. It is based on the 1889 novel Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome which depicts three men and a dog's adventure during a boat trip along the River Thames.

<i>Treasure Hunt</i> (1952 film) 1952 British film by John Paddy Carstairs

Treasure Hunt is a 1952 British comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Martita Hunt, Jimmy Edwards, Naunton Wayne and Athene Seyler. It is based on the 1949 play Treasure Hunt by Molly Keane and John Perry.

<i>Just My Luck</i> (1957 film) 1957 British film

Just My Luck is a 1957 British sports comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Norman Wisdom, Margaret Rutherford, Jill Dixon and Leslie Phillips.

<i>Tread Softly Stranger</i> 1958 British film

Tread Softly Stranger is a 1958 British crime drama directed by Gordon Parry and starring Diana Dors, George Baker and Terence Morgan. The film was shot in black-and-white in film noir style, and its setting in an industrial town in northern England mirrors the kitchen sink realism movement coming into vogue in English drama and film at the time. The screenplay was adapted from the stage play Blind Alley (1953) by Jack Popplewell.

<i>No Time for Tears</i> (film) 1957 British film by Directed by Cyril Frankel

No Time for Tears is a 1957 British drama film directed by Cyril Frankel in CinemaScope and Eastman Color and starring Anna Neagle, George Baker, Sylvia Syms and Anthony Quayle. The staff at a children's hospital struggle with their workload.

<i>The Love Match</i> 1955 British film

The Love Match is a 1955 British black and white comedy film directed by David Paltenghi and starring Arthur Askey, Glenn Melvyn, Thora Hird and Shirley Eaton. A football-mad railway engine driver and his fireman are desperate to get back in time to see a match. It was based on the 1953 play by Glenn Melvyn, one of the stars of the film. A TV spin-off series Love and Kisses, appeared later in 1955.

<i>Its in the Bag</i> (1944 film) 1944 film by Herbert Mason

It's in the Bag is a 1944 British comedy film directed by Herbert Mason and starring Elsie Waters, Doris Waters and Ernest Butcher. It was produced and distributed by Butcher's Film Service. Gert and Daisy try to recover a valuable lost dress.

<i>Come Back Peter</i> (1952 film) 1952 British film by Charles Saunders

Come Back Peter is a 1952 second feature British comedy film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Patrick Holt, Peter Hammond and Humphrey Lestocq. It was an independent picture by Charles Reynolds Productions.

<i>Three Men in a Boat</i> (1979 film) 1979 film

Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) (Russian: Трое в лодке, не считая собаки, romanized: Troe v lodke, ne schitaya sobaki) is a 1979 Soviet two-part musical-comedy miniseries directed by Naum Birman and based on the eponymous 1889 novel by Jerome K. Jerome.

<i>Girdle of Gold</i> 1952 British film by Montgomery Tully

Girdle of Gold is a 1952 British second feature comedy film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Esmond Knight, Maudie Edwards and Meredith Edwards.

References

  1. Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 359
  2. Vincent Porter, 'The Robert Clark Account', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 20 No 4, 2000 p.509
  3. "Three Men in a Boat". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  4. LINDSAY ANDERSON, and DAVID DENT. "Time For New Ideas." The Times [London, England] 8 Jan. 1958: 9. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 11 July 2012.
  5. Billings, Josh (12 December 1957). "Others in the money". Kinematograph Weekly. p. 7.
  6. "Three Men in a Boat". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 24 (276): 21. 1 January 1957 via ProQuest.
  7. Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 934. ISBN   9780992936440.
  8. Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 387. ISBN   0-7134-1874-5.