Value for Money

Last updated

Value for Money
Value for Money.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ken Annakin
Screenplay by R. F. Delderfield
William Fairchild
Based onValue for Money
by Derrick Boothroyd
Produced by Sergei Nolbandov
Starring
Cinematography Geoffrey Unsworth
Edited by Geoffrey Foot
Music by Malcolm Arnold
Release date
  • 9 August 1955 (1955-08-09)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Value for Money is a 1955 British comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring John Gregson, Diana Dors, Susan Stephen and Derek Farr. [1] It is based on the 1953 novel of the same name by Derrick Boothroyd.

Contents

Plot

Chayley Broadbent has had the importance of frugality impressed upon him all his life by his Yorkshire father. On his death, Chayley inherits £62,000, which includes his father's clothing factory in the (fictional) town of Barfield. He asks his girlfriend Ethel to marry him but is extremely unromantic, telling her it is to save money on his housekeeper. She accepts.

Chayley leaves Barfield for the first and visits London to attend the FA Cup Final. Afterwards he goes to a West End show and is pulled on stage by show-girl Ruthine. They go to dinner in a posh restaurant, where his "look after the pennies" attitude leads to him questioning the bill to the embarrassment of Ruthine. Back in Yorkshire, Chayley shows Ethel a photo of Ruthine. She angrily rips it up.

Chayley returns to London and asks her to marry him. She declines, saying she wants to marry someone who has made something of himself.

Back home, he decides to be the kind of man that Ruthine wants, and, taking the mayor's advice on how to do this, gifts the Council land for a children's playground and community centrer. The local newspaper, where Ethel works as a reporter, runs an article on his generosity, but Ethel remains unimpressed, especially when Chayley says he is bringing Ruthine to Barfield.

Ruthine is surprised by how built-up and dirty Barfield is and how small and old-fashioned Chayley's house is. But when she hears stories about Chayley's wealth she begins being affectionate to him. She attempts, unsuccessfully, to seduce him.

Ruthine and Ethel decide to teach him a lesson. Chayley receives two writs for breach of promise: one from each of them. He chooses to marry Ethel.

Cast

Production

Producer Sergei Nolbandov did not want Diana Dors in the movie but Ken Annakin, who had directed the actor in Vote for Huggett (1949), insisted. [2] Dors was paid £5,000; it was her first movie under a three picture contract with Rank. [3]

Filming started 28 December 1954. It was the first film shot under Rank's new program to shoot everything in VistaVision. [4] Filming took place at Pinewood Studios. [5] Much of the Yorkshire location filming was in Batley, West Riding of Yorkshire, historically an area within the Heavy Woollen District.

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "A heavy-handed script and indifferent direction successfully flatten out any comic ideas the story may have originally possessed, and the minimum of laughs are extracted from its morass of stock situations and conventional 'Yorkshire' humour. John Gregson and Diana Dors fight a losing battle with the script, and of the supporting players only Ernest Thesiger, as an ancient and doddering peer, is able to bring a touch of genuinely eccentric humour to the proceedings. The two musical numbers are tamely executed, and the use of VistaVision seems scarcely justified." [6]

Variety said the film will "give considerable amusement to unsophisticated local audiences, but which, may find it tough sledding in the Overseas territory. In the U. S,, particularly, the Yorkshire dialect will not be a selling aid. This is a modestly amusing piece, staged on a bigger scale than the story would seem to warrant, and offering a touch of spectacle in a couple of song and dance numbers." [7]

Filmink argued the movie should have focused on Dors rather than Gregson. [8]

Leslie Halliwell said: "Highly undistinguished north country romantic farce which wastes a good production and cast." [9]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Take one bluff, penny-wise Yorkshireman and a blowsy, blonde showgirl, exaggerate every regional characteristic and then whisk them together into a romantic froth. Season with a couple of quaint cameos and you have this. The on-screen antics of John Gregson and Diana Dors (neither of whom are on form) are mediocre in this featherweight comedy." [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Gregson</span> English actor (1919–1975)

Harold Thomas Gregson, known professionally as John Gregson, was an English actor of stage, television and film, with 40 credited film roles. He was best known for his crime drama and comedy roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Annakin</span> English film director (1914–2009)

Kenneth Cooper Annakin, OBE was an English film director.

Cast a Dark Shadow is a 1955 British suspense film noir directed by Lewis Gilbert and written by John Cresswell, based on the 1952 play Murder Mistaken by Janet Green. It stars Dirk Bogarde, Margaret Lockwood, Kay Walsh, Kathleen Harrison and Robert Flemyng. The film released on 20 September 1955, distributed by Eros Films Ltd. in the United Kingdom and Distributors Corporation of America in the United States. The story concerns a husband who murders his wife.

<i>Quartet</i> (1948 film) 1948 British anthology film

Quartet is a 1948 British anthology film with four segments, each based on a story by W. Somerset Maugham. The author appears at the start and end of the movie to introduce the stories and comment about his writing career. It was successful enough to produce two sequels, Trio (1950) and Encore (1951), and popularised the compendium film format, leading to films such as O. Henry's Full House in 1952.

<i>Passport to Shame</i> 1958 British film by Alvin Rakoff

Passport to Shame, also known as Room 43 and Room Forty Three, is a 1958 British drama film directed by Alvin Rakoff, written by Patrick Alexander and starring Diana Dors and Herbert Lom. A young French woman becomes embroiled in a life of prostitution.

<i>Here Come the Huggetts</i> 1948 British film

Here Come the Huggetts is a 1948 British comedy film, the first of the Huggetts series, about a working class English family. All three films in the series were directed by Ken Annakin and released by Gainsborough Pictures.

<i>The Planters Wife</i> (1952 film) 1952 British film

The Planter's Wife is a 1952 British war drama film directed by Ken Annakin, and starring Claudette Colbert, Jack Hawkins and Anthony Steel. It is set against the backdrop of the Malayan Emergency and focuses on a rubber planter and his neighbours who are fending off a campaign of sustained attacks by Communist insurgents while also struggling to save their marriage.

<i>The Last Page</i> 1952 British film by Terence Fisher

The Last Page, released in the United States as Man Bait, is a 1952 British film noir directed by Terence Fisher, starring George Brent, Marguerite Chapman and Diana Dors. The film was also known as Murder in Safety and Blonde Blackmail.

<i>The Informers</i> (1963 film) 1963 British film by Ken Annakin

The Informers is a 1963 British crime film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Nigel Patrick, Margaret Whiting, Harry Andrews, Derren Nesbitt and Colin Blakely. It was produced by William MacQuitty, with screenplay by Paul Durst and Alun Falconer from the novel Death of a Snout by Douglas Warner. Cinematography was by Reginald H. Wyer. It was distributed in the UK by The Rank Organisation and the U.S. by Continental Film Distributors.

<i>The Seekers</i> (1954 film) 1954 film

The Seekers is a 1954 British-New Zealand adventure film directed by Ken Annakin. It starred Jack Hawkins, Glynis Johns, Noel Purcell, and Kenneth Williams. The film was produced by the Rank Organisation and was shot at Pinewood Studios with location shooting around Whakatāne. The film's sets were designed by the art director Maurice Carter with costumes by Julie Harris. It was the first major international studio film shot in New Zealand. The film was adapted from the novel The Seekers by New Zealander John Guthrie. It was released in the United States by Universal Pictures as Land of Fury.

<i>Holiday Camp</i> (film) 1947 British film

Holiday Camp is a 1947 British comedy drama film directed by Ken Annakin, starring Flora Robson, Jack Warner, Dennis Price, and Hazel Court, and also features Kathleen Harrison and Jimmy Hanley. It is set at one of the then-popular holiday camps. It resonated with post-war audiences and was very successful. It was the first film to feature the Huggett family, who went on to star in "The Huggetts" film series.

<i>Broken Journey</i> 1948 British film

Broken Journey is a 1948 British drama film directed by Ken Annakin and featuring Phyllis Calvert, James Donald, Margot Grahame, Raymond Huntley and Guy Rolfe. Passengers and crew strugge to survive after their airliner crashes on top of a mountain; based on a true-life accident in the Swiss Alps.

<i>Double Confession</i> 1950 British film by Ken Annakin

Double Confession is a 1950 British crime film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Derek Farr, Joan Hopkins, William Hartnell and Peter Lorre. The screenplay by William Templeton is based on the novel All On A Summer's Day by H.L.V. Fletcher, written under the pen name John Garden.

Earl St. John was an American film producer in overall charge of production for The Rank Organisation at Pinewood Studios from 1950 to 1964, and was credited as executive producer on 131 films. He was known as the "Earl of Pinewood". John Davis of Rank called him "the greatest showman that The Rank Organisation has ever had, and probably the greatest showman to have lived in this country. "

<i>Portrait of Alison</i> 1956 British film by Guy Green

Portrait of Alison is a 1956 British atmospheric crime film directed by Guy Green. It was based on a BBC television series of the same name, which aired the same year.

<i>An Alligator Named Daisy</i> 1955 British film by J. Lee Thompson

An Alligator Named Daisy is a 1955 British comedy film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Donald Sinden, Jeannie Carson, James Robertson Justice, Diana Dors, Roland Culver and Stanley Holloway. It was based on the 1954 novel of the same name by Charles Terrot.

<i>Across the Bridge</i> (film) 1957 British film by Ken Annakin

Across the Bridge is a 1957 British thriller film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Rod Steiger, David Knight and Bernard Lee. It is based on the 1938 short story "Across the Bridge" by Graham Greene. According to his obituary, it was director Annakin's favourite film.

<i>As Long as Theyre Happy</i> 1955 film by J. Lee Thompson

As Long as They're Happy is a 1955 British musical comedy film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Jack Buchanan, Susan Stephen and Diana Dors. It is based on the 1953 play of the same name by Vernon Sylvaine. It was shot in Eastmancolor at Pinewood Studios near London with sets designed by the art director Michael Stringer.

<i>The Feminine Touch</i> (1956 film) 1956 British film

The Feminine Touch is a 1956 colour British drama film directed by Pat Jackson and starring George Baker, Belinda Lee and Delphi Lawrence. In 1957 it was released as A Lamp Is Heavy in Canada, and The Gentle Touch in the United States.

<i>The Big Money</i> (film) 1958 film

The Big Money is a 1958 British comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Ian Carmichael, Belinda Lee and Kathleen Harrison.

References

  1. ↑ "Value for Money". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  2. ↑ Bret, Dvaid (2014). Diana Dors: Hurricane in Mink. Aurum Press. ISBN   9781781313411.
  3. ↑ Dors, Diana (1960). Swingin' Dors. World Distributors. p. 111.
  4. ↑ "Pinewood Rank Prod Goes 100% V Vision". Variety. 5 January 1955. p. 51.
  5. ↑ "GLAMOR MUSICAL AT PINEWOOD". The Australian Women's Weekly . Vol. 22, no. 39. 23 February 1955. p. 42. Retrieved 10 July 2020– via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ "Value for Money". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 22 (252): 156. 1 January 1955 – via ProQuest.
  7. ↑ Review of film at Variety
  8. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (7 September 2020). "A Tale of Two Blondes: Diana Dors and Belinda Lee". Filmink.
  9. ↑ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 1075. ISBN   0586088946.
  10. ↑ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 895. ISBN   9780992936440.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.