A group of layabouts who refuse to do any work get an opportunity to lord it up when Peter Pyke (Peter Graves), the son of a hotel magnate, joins their group.
This film has a great idea about a group who call themselves "White Elephants" and who refuse to do anything useful for society, especially work. It has the potential to be a commendable blueprint for life, but unfortunately, it is played out by a weak cast who are all ultimately irritating characters. From Margaret Lockwood's "Nina" with her irritating fake Russian accent to Jean Simmons' unconvincing streetwise "Heidi", through to Peter Graves' arrogantly slimy "Peter Pyke", they are all unfunny. The dialogue is delivered at a quick pace as if to impress the viewer with it's cleverness. It is indeed funny in parts but it is not consistent.
A memorably bad part of the film involves a duel sequence which is not at all funny. Why did British films think that audiences wanted to watch this sort of claptrap? However, the film does contain some funny moments, eg, the theory behind going to school to become stupid; and the attempts by a couple of the "Elephants" to serve food at a restaurant. Sadly, the film never quite gets going and just ends up as a boring noise. Shame.
This film has a great idea about a group who call themselves "White Elephants" and who refuse to do anything useful for society, especially work. It has the potential to be a commendable blueprint for life, but unfortunately, it is played out by a weak cast who are all ultimately irritating characters. From Margaret Lockwood's "Nina" with her irritating fake Russian accent to Jean Simmons' unconvincing streetwise "Heidi", through to Peter Graves' arrogantly slimy "Peter Pyke", they are all unfunny. The dialogue is delivered at a quick pace as if to impress the viewer with it's cleverness. It is indeed funny in parts but it is not consistent.
A memorably bad part of the film involves a duel sequence which is not at all funny. Why did British films think that audiences wanted to watch this sort of claptrap? However, the film does contain some funny moments, eg, the theory behind going to school to become stupid; and the attempts by a couple of the "Elephants" to serve food at a restaurant. Sadly, the film never quite gets going and just ends up as a boring noise. Shame.