- On Approval (1944 film)
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For the 1930 British comedy, see On Approval (1930 film).
On Approval is a 1944 British comedy film directed by Clive Brook and starring Beatrice Lillie, Clive Brook and Googie Withers.[1] It is based on the play On Approval by Frederick Lonsdale.
Contents
Cast
- Beatrice Lillie - Maria Wislack
- Clive Brook - George
- Googie Withers - Helen Hale
- Roland Culver - Richard Halton
- O. B. Clarence - Doctor Graham
- Laurence Hanray - Parkes
- Elliott Mason - Mrs McCosh
- Mollie Munks - Jeanne
- Hay Petrie - Landlord
- Marjorie Rhodes - Cook
Plot and background
Clive Brook took this popular play (originally set in the early 1920s) and placed in the late Victorian era, where the concept would've been much more shocking. Brook wrote the screenplay (keeping very close to the original play), produced and directed the film. It's one of the very few films featuring Beatrice Lillie, often referred to as "The funniest women in the world" for her eccentric personalty and portrayal of so many amusing stage plays and revues.
The film begins with an amusing documentary-style prologue about contemporary life in 1942 England, which serves as introduce Brook's character, George in the late Victorian era.
George is the 10th Duke of Bristol. He is haughty, irascible and with a very dry sense of humor. He is also nearly broke. His friend, Richard, is in love with widowed Maria, but since he too is poor, he hasn't the nerve to propose to Maria. Helen is a wealthy American, due to her father's successful business and is in love with George. What follows is a witty and very funny series of events which cause all four to be stuck together at Maria's Scottish island home. How can two nice and two difficult personalities survive together in an isolated island estate?
Filmmaker Lindsay Anderson called the film "the funniest British light comedy ever made" (according to the DVD box).
References
External links
Categories:- 1944 films
- British films
- 1940s comedy films
- English-language films
- Films directed by Clive Brook
- 1940s British film stubs
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