Ladies Who Do

Last updated

Ladies Who Do
Ladies Who Do.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by C. M. Pennington-Richards
Written by Michael Pertwee
John Bignall
Produced by George H. Brown
Jan Darnley-Smith
Starring Peggy Mount
Robert Morley
Harry H. Corbett
Dandy Nichols
Cinematography Geoffrey Faithfull
Edited by Oswald Hafenrichter
Music by Ron Goodwin
Production
companies
Bryanston Films
Fanfare Films
Distributed by British Lion Films
Release dates
  • 16 January 1964 (1964-01-16)(London)
  • November 25, 1963 (1963-11-25)(NYC)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£134,666 [1] or £116,997 [2]

Ladies Who Do is a 1963 British comedy film directed by C. M. Pennington-Richards and starring Peggy Mount, Robert Morley and Harry H. Corbett. [3] It was written by Michael Pertwee and John Bignall.

Contents

Plot

Mrs. Cragg works as a charwoman for retired Colonel Whitforth and as a cleaner at an office block in London. It is whilst doing her office cleaning that she retrieves a cigar discarded by financier James Ryder as a gift for the Colonel, wrapping it in a scrap of paper. The Colonel discovers that the scrap of paper is actually a telegram containing details about a City takeover bid that has fallen through. He unscrupulously uses this insider information to make £5,000 on the stock exchange, which he offers to share equally with Mrs. Cragg.

Though she does not understand what has happened, she is convinced that he has done something wrong, so she goes to inform Ryder. However, before she can, she hears him on the telephone talking about his plan to demolish Pitt Street, evicting her and all her friends, so he can erect an office building. She argues with him, to no avail. He tells her, "If you want anything, you've got to go out and get it ... so long as it's legal." She takes his advice to heart.

Determined to foil Ryder's plan, she recruits three of her friends and neighbours in Pitt Street, fellow 'chars' who clean the offices of other noted financiers, to gather information. They form the company "Ladezudu Ltd" ("Ladies Who Do"), a speculation syndicate headed by Whitforth. All goes well until they invest all of their capital, now £60,000, in an Irish pig producer, only to lose everything when an outbreak of swine fever kills the stock.

Meanwhile, Ryder and his partner Sydney Tait offer the residents of Pitt Street £100 each if they agree to move within a month, with very little success. Ryder desperately needs the office building project to succeed, otherwise he will be wiped out. Aware of Ryder's precarious finances, Tait dissolves their partnership. However, having lost everything, the ladies are unable to put up a fight when Ryder brings his demolition crew in. Then the Colonel brings news: when the pigs were buried, valuable "deposits" were discovered, meaning Ladezudu will recoup much more than their investment. Heartened, Mrs. Cragg organises stiff resistance, which convinces Ryder's investor Strang to withdraw from the project. The Colonel invites Ryder to his office to discuss selling out. There he meets the board of directors, the four charwomen, and realises how they obtained their information. The Colonel invites him to lunch to discuss Ryder joining the board. After they all leave, an unknown man enters the room and starts going through their waste paper.

Cast

Production

The film was shot at Twickenham Studios and on location around London.

Critical reception

Kinematograph Weekly called the film a "money maker" at the British box office for 1964. [4]

Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Unusually slow in getting started, this back-street and big-business farce is only intermittently amusing, and then only mildly. A basically promising idea is not exploited to good comedy advantage until the last twenty minutes or so, when the film boils into acceptable farce. The 'ladies' of the title are dominated by Peggy Mount and Miriam Karlin; Avril Elgar and Dandy Nichols are relegated to subsidiary roles in which they can shine only at moments." [5]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "A firm favourite in such TV series as The Larkins and George and the Dragon, Peggy Mount found films harder to come by. In the sixth of her ten pictures, she's joined by those other sitcom stalwarts Miriam Karlin and Dandy Nichols, as a trio of charladies who make a killing on the stock market through the tips they find among the office rubbish. With Harry H Corbett in support, this should have been quite amusing, but the ponderous script and the flat direction make it a one-joke bore. " [6]

Leslie Halliwell said: "Mild farce sustained by familiar actors." [7]

Home media

Ladies Who Do was released on DVD in the UK on 24 March 2008.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dandy Nichols</span> British actress (1907–1986)

Dandy Nichols was an English actress best known for her role as Else Garnett, the long-suffering wife of the character Alf Garnett who was a parody of a working class Tory, in the BBC sitcom Till Death Us Do Part.

<i>Georgy Girl</i> 1966 British film by Silvio Narizzano

Georgy Girl is a 1966 British romantic comedy film directed by Silvio Narizzano and starring Lynn Redgrave, Alan Bates, Charlotte Rampling, James Mason, and Rachel Kempson. It was written by Margaret Forster and Peter Nichols based on the 1965 novel of the same name by Forster. The film tells the story of a virginal young woman in 1960s Swinging London, who is faced with a dilemma when she is pursued by her father's older employer and the young lover of her promiscuous, pregnant flatmate. Grossing $16.8 million, Georgy Girl was a box-office success, and it also spawned a hit theme song.

<i>The Fallen Idol</i> (film) 1948 British film

The Fallen Idol is a 1948 British mystery thriller film directed by Carol Reed, and starring Ralph Richardson, Bobby Henrey, Michèle Morgan, and Denis O'Dea. Its plot follows the young son of a diplomat in London, who comes to suspect that his family's butler, whom he idolises, has committed a murder. It is based on the 1936 short story "The Basement Room", by Graham Greene.

<i>Finders Keepers</i> (1966 film) 1966 British film by Sidney Hayers

Finders Keepers is a 1966 British musical film directed by Sidney Hayers, written by Michael Pertwee and starring Cliff Richard and The Shadows. It was released in the U.S. the following year.

<i>Steptoe and Son</i> (film) 1972 British comedy film by Cliff Owen

Steptoe and Son is a 1972 British comedy drama film directed by Cliff Owen and starring Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett. It was written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.

<i>The Deep Blue Sea</i> (1955 film) 1955 British film

The Deep Blue Sea is a 1955 British drama film directed by Anatole Litvak, starring Vivien Leigh and Kenneth More, and produced by London Films and released by Twentieth Century Fox. The picture was based on the 1952 play of the same name by Terence Rattigan.

<i>The Leather Boys</i> 1964 British film by Sidney J. Furie

The Leather Boys is a 1964 British drama film directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Rita Tushingham, Colin Campbell and Dudley Sutton. The story is set in the rocker subculture in London and features a gay motorcyclist.

<i>The Early Bird</i> 1965 British film by UK Quad poster Directed by Robert Asher

The Early Bird is a 1965 British comedy film directed by Robert Asher and starring Norman Wisdom, Edward Chapman, Bryan Pringle, Richard Vernon, John Le Mesurier and Jerry Desmonde. It was the first Norman Wisdom film to be shot in colour. The title is taken from the expression "the early bird catches the worm".

<i>The Gentle Sex</i> 1943 British film by Leslie Howard

The Gentle Sex is a 1943 British black-and-white romantic comedy-drama war film, directed by Leslie Howard and Maurice Elvey and narrated by Howard. It was produced by Concanen Productions, Two Cities Films, and Derrick de Marney. It was Howard's last film before his death.

<i>Dry Rot</i> (film) 1956 British film by Maurice Elvey

Dry Rot is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey, and starring Ronald Shiner, Brian Rix, Peggy Mount, and Sid James. The screenplay is by John Chapman, adapted from his 1954 Whitehall farce of the same name.

<i>On the Fiddle</i> 1961 British film by Cyril Frankel

On the Fiddle is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Cyril Frankel and starring Sean Connery, Alfred Lynch, Cecil Parker, Stanley Holloway, Eric Barker, Mike Sarne, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Kathleen Harrison, Victor Maddern and John Le Mesurier. It was based on the 1961 novel Stop at a Winner by R.F. Delderfield who served in the RAF in World War II.

<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>Sailor Beware!</i> (1956 film) 1956 British film by Gordon Parry

Sailor Beware! is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Gordon Parry and starring Peggy Mount, Shirley Eaton and Ronald Lewis. It was released in the United States by Distributors Corporation of America in 1957 as Panic in the Parlor.

<i>Sally in Our Alley</i> (1931 film) 1931 film

Sally in Our Alley is a 1931 British romantic comedy drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Gracie Fields, Ian Hunter, and Florence Desmond. It is based on the 1923 West End play The Likes of Her by Charles McEvoy.

<i>The Bargee</i> 1964 British comedy film by Duncan Wood

The Bargee is a 1964 British comedy film shot in Techniscope directed by Duncan Wood, and starring Harry H. Corbett, Hugh Griffith, Eric Sykes and Ronnie Barker. The screenplay was written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.

<i>Wells Fargo</i> (film) 1937 film by Frank Lloyd

Wells Fargo is a 1937 American historical western film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Joel McCrea, Bob Burns and Frances Dee. It was produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures.

<i>Dr. ODowd</i> 1940 film

Dr. O'Dowd is a 1940 British drama film directed by Herbert Mason, produced by Sam Sax for Warner Bros and starring Shaun Glenville, Peggy Cummins, Felix Aylmer and Irene Handl. Set in Ireland, it focuses on Marius O'Dowd, an Irish doctor, who works to restore his relationship with his son after his daughter-in-law dies under O'Dowd's care. The film was the onscreen debut for Peggy Cummins, who was only thirteen at the time. It was well received by critics, and Cummins' role was the subject of particular praise. The film is currently missing from the BFI National Archive, and is listed as one of the British Film Institute's "75 Most Wanted" lost films.

<i>The Alf Garnett Saga</i> 1972 British comedy film by Bob Kellett

The Alf Garnett Saga is a 1972 British comedy film directed by Bob Kellett and starring Warren Mitchell, Dandy Nichols, Paul Angelis and Adrienne Posta. The film was the second spin-off from the BBC TV series Till Death Us Do Part (1965–1975). It starts where the first film finished, but with Angelis and Posta now playing Mike and Rita, the roles previously played by Anthony Booth and Una Stubbs.

<i>Rattle of a Simple Man</i> 1964 British film by Muriel Box

Rattle of a Simple Man is a 1964 British comedy-drama film directed by Muriel Box and starring Diane Cilento, Harry H. Corbett and Michael Medwin. It was written by Charles Dyer, based on his 1962 play La Crécelle(Rattle of a Simple Man).

<i>Fun at St. Fannys</i> 1955 British film by Maurice Elvey

Fun at St. Fanny's is a 1955 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Fred Emney, Cardew Robinson and Vera Day. The film revolves around the teachers and students at St Fanny's private school. It was based on Robinson's "Cardew the Cad" character which he created in 1942 and was featured in the BBC's Variety Bandbox programme.

References

  1. Petrie, Duncan James (2017). "Bryanston Films : An Experiment in Cooperative Independent Production and Distribution" (PDF). Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television: 7. ISSN   1465-3451.
  2. Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 219.
  3. "Ladies Who Do". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  4. Altria, Bill (17 December 1964). "British Films Romp Home - Fill First Five Places". Kinematograph Weekly. p. 9.
  5. "Ladies Who Do". Monthly Film Bulletin . 31 (360): 26. 1964 via ProQuest.
  6. Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 518. ISBN   9780992936440.
  7. Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 570. ISBN   0586088946.