Charming musical comedy that follows the fortunes of a stockbroker (Jack Buchanan), his wife (a wonderful Brenda De Banzie) and his three daughters. The youngest, Gwen, played by a very young Janette Scott (Thora Hird's daughter!), tricks a rather over-made-up singer called Billy Denver into visiting her home by pretending that she's arranging a meeting between him and J Arthur Rank.
Denver's arrival is just the first of the trials that John Bentley (Buchanan) has to face. His two married daughters descend on the household looking for cash to help their respective husbands - one's an existentialist (played by the great Nigel Green. He wears shorts for most of the running time and shows off a rather nice pair of legs) and the other is a cowboy. Various complications crop up, but of course everything is nicely tied up by the credits. If you're looking for a deeper meaning then you could say that Pat (one of the daughters) and her husband Peter are forced to adopt the social norms of 50s Britain and have their individuality crushed, but I'm not the sort of person who looks that deeply! Pat sports one of the most unrealistic blackeyes ever caught on celluloid. It's powder blue at one point! It handily disappears towards the end of the film. She has a rather MGMish song and dance number in the garden. I wonder if the film's backers were trying to tap into that sort of market? Di Dors only appears in it for about five minutes. However, she looks gorgeous (though some may think her dress is a smidgeon tarty) and sings a mildly saucy song called 'The Hokey Pokey Polka'.
The colour is a bit garish and some of the make-up is appalling. There are two policemen at the beginning of the film who look positively orange.
There are a lot of famous faces in small roles. Joan Hickson, Hattie Jacques, Charles Hawtrey, Dora Bryan...Joan Sims plays the household's maid and steals quite a few scenes. She faints dead away whenever Denver starts to croon. The face she pulls when she first sees him is priceless.
If you're after undemanding fun then you could do worse than buy/rent this film. Be warned - Norman Wisdom has an irritating cameo.
Denver's arrival is just the first of the trials that John Bentley (Buchanan) has to face. His two married daughters descend on the household looking for cash to help their respective husbands - one's an existentialist (played by the great Nigel Green. He wears shorts for most of the running time and shows off a rather nice pair of legs) and the other is a cowboy. Various complications crop up, but of course everything is nicely tied up by the credits. If you're looking for a deeper meaning then you could say that Pat (one of the daughters) and her husband Peter are forced to adopt the social norms of 50s Britain and have their individuality crushed, but I'm not the sort of person who looks that deeply! Pat sports one of the most unrealistic blackeyes ever caught on celluloid. It's powder blue at one point! It handily disappears towards the end of the film. She has a rather MGMish song and dance number in the garden. I wonder if the film's backers were trying to tap into that sort of market? Di Dors only appears in it for about five minutes. However, she looks gorgeous (though some may think her dress is a smidgeon tarty) and sings a mildly saucy song called 'The Hokey Pokey Polka'.
The colour is a bit garish and some of the make-up is appalling. There are two policemen at the beginning of the film who look positively orange.
There are a lot of famous faces in small roles. Joan Hickson, Hattie Jacques, Charles Hawtrey, Dora Bryan...Joan Sims plays the household's maid and steals quite a few scenes. She faints dead away whenever Denver starts to croon. The face she pulls when she first sees him is priceless.
If you're after undemanding fun then you could do worse than buy/rent this film. Be warned - Norman Wisdom has an irritating cameo.