ksf-2 Hugh Griffith is rich British guy Henry Russell. He croaks and leaves his fortune to his family, if they can accomplish certain ironic tasks that they find repulsive. (Griffith was HILARIOUS in "Start the Revolution" in 1970!) Fay Compton had started in the silents and had a long career on stage and film... was in The Haunting. One of Audrey H's early films -- she was only about 22. Only has a small role as a cigarette girl in this one. A whole bunch of "siblings", British actors from way back, who are unfamiliar to most of us. A tad dry, but has a good, steady plot. We watch as the various stories unfold, with varying degrees of success. One just can't get arrested, no matter how hard he tries. Some twists at the end... some are successful in their tasks, some are not. It's entertaining at least. Kind of a precursor to "Easy Money", with Rodney Dangerfield, but this one has a different ending. Directed by Mario Zampi, who worked with writer Michael Pertwee on seven films! Pertwee had written the screenplay for the comedies "A Funny Thing Happened..." in 1966 and "Mouse on the Moon" ! On Turner Classics. Pretty Good !

Spondonman I first saw this as a youngster and liked it, but over the years it's really grown on me until now I regard it as a minor classic. The main characters were all played excellently, with many lesser characters also played memorably.Practical joker Hugh Griffiths dies and leaves GBP 50,000 to each of his four living relatives if they complete various silly but onerous tasks within one month of his death. Pulp writer Alistair Sim, snobby Fay Compton, womaniser Guy Middleton and timid George Cole are all faced with problems that are against their natures, and their attempts to succeed ultimately result in a worthy moral and laughter on Earth. Cole's "juvenile" sections used to irritate me when younger but there's plenty else to savour, especially the incomparable Sim as a determined shoplifter, Compton as a harassed skivvy and Middleton as a hornswoggled suitor. As icing on the cake there's also fluffy Joyce Grenfell, scathing John Laurie, suave Anthony Steel, jolly Ernest Thesiger, and many other old friends – even the forever bald Noel Howlett and a young Audrey Hepburn. The direction and production values were top notch too; the sets were so beautifully wooden, the acting certainly was not.It's flimsy yet logical, life-affirming and recommended – stay with it to the end to have the last laugh.

Robert J. Maxwell Hugh Griffith, a terribly rich prankster, dies and splits his fortune up between four of his relatives on the condition that they fulfill certain obligations. In general, they must disclose the elements of the will to no one. And then there are specific requirements for each beneficiary.Fay Compton, Griffith's cousin, is a prune-like, bitter woman who dominates her friends and excoriates her maid for slight infractions. Her job is to find work as a maid for one week without being fired. She winds up in the household of the cantankerous, bossy, hypochondriac John Laurie, who does a fine number on the fast-talking sadist. He was the Scottish farmer in "The 39 Steps" who asked, "Do ye eat the herring?" George Cole is the mousy bank teller who must don a mask and pretend to hold up a bank with a water pistol.Guy Middleton is the picaresque moocher and ladies' man who must marry the first woman he talks to after the reading of the will is complete.Alistair Sim, the survivor-in-chief, is a respectable retired Army captain who writes Mickey Spillane novels under various noms de plume in order to preserve his dignity. His job is to commit a crime that causes him to spend 28 days in prison.All four of the beneficiaries undergo complications of one sort or another. Some are funnier than others. Cole earns respect by accident at his bank. Compton's story is meant to be heartwarming. Middleton ends up the victim of a plot himself. All of them learn something about life and about themselves, and find their situations improved, despite the final prank of the great prankster.Sim's story is the funniest and he handles the comedy flawlessly. Like Charles Laughton in that O. Henry story, he can't seem to get himself into jail. His attempt at shop lifting is foiled when the expensive item he steals is stolen from him by pickpockets. The most amusing scene in the film is Sim's trial for breaking a window and bopping a cop with his umbrella. The magistrate turns out to be a friend of his and is reluctant to prosecute him. But Sim prods him mercilessly and offers no defense. Very well, he gets 14 days in the slams. That's not enough. He needs 28 days. So he calls his friend a pompous ass. The sympathetic magistrate becomes insulted and adds another 7 days. That's still only 21 -- not yet enough. Sim affirms his insult and adds that the judge isn't fit to conduct a bus let alone a courtroom trial. Boiled down like this, it probably sounds less amusing that it appears on screen.It's not hilarious. It's not a masterpiece of the sort that Ealing Studios were turning out in the 1950s. It shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath as a side-splitting comedy like "The L_________s." But you'll find it diverting.

bob the moo When well known practical joker and millionaire Henry Russell dies, his surviving relatives are called together for the will reading. The will leaves them each £50K if they can complete set tasks that go against their nature within a set time period. Simmon Russell must marry the first woman he meets after reading the will, Herbert must rob the bank he works at, Agnes must serve as a maid and Deniston must commit a crime and go to jail. As each goes off to try and complete their task they find that money is not all that is to be had in the course of time.I taped this film on the strength of George Cole and Alastair Sim starring in it. The plot is quite clever –like a twist on the old Brewser's Millions tale. In fact it clearly had potential but, after the initial set up the film has little to do. Most of the characters seem to be hanging around waiting for the final third of the film to happen to them and it is a little dry at times. The comedy is OK but rarely hilarious or really clever.The delivery of laughs really comes down to the cast and not so much the material. Cole is quite good and is pitching well with good timing. Sim is the best one of the lot and his scenes tend to be some of the best. Middleton only served to make me think that Terry-Thomas would have been better in the caddish role, while Compton is really used as the moral `life lesson' part of the film.Overall this is an enjoyable film – one that I'm surprised hasn't been remade in some form yet by Hollywood. It could easily be a silly comedy with a B-grade ensemble cast and work well. However this flags at times and isn't as funny as I'd hoped it would be.