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The Worst Film Ever

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

The story of daddy's little girl leaving the nest never gets old. If you like that classic theme, go out and rent Hobson's Choice. Charles Laughton plays the overbearing father of three daughters, all of whom are extremely anxious to marry and leave. Daphne Anderson is paired with Richard Wattis, Prunella Scales with Derek Blomfield, and Brenda De Banzie wins the prize with John Mills. But Papa Laughton isn't about to let them go without a fight, and in true British fashion-propriety at all costs and dry humor thrown in for the fun of it-the family battles it out.While it's very obvious the film was based off a play, it isn't overly wordy or boring like some plays are. Parts of it are pretty funny, if you like British humor, and it's always fun to see Charles Laughton transform for a role. Check out this family comedy and see if you like it!

The premise of this intelligent comedy of manners, or in Laughton's case, the lack of them, is the decision of his often sloshed character, to be the one to choose a husband for each of his four daughters. That's if they don't outwit him first. A series of witty vignettes shows how each of them do just that with Laughton getting into trouble along the way.Laughton creates most of the laughs, whether falling drunk into an open storage cellar, seeing the reflection of one of the prospective sons-in- laws in the mirror or discovering his liquor cabinet emptied much to his horror. The sight of the portly Laughton dealing with a chain attached to his crotch then flat on his back with his feet tangled is a sight to behold. An excellent supporting cast surrounds him, including John Mills as a milquetoast assistant and Helen Haye as an imperious customer. Director David Lean, most famous for huge epics, proves that he is just as adept at intimate stories as well.

Let me start right off by saying that this may be the single greatest comedy of all time. Certainly the greatest I have ever seen. It is perfect from the first from to the last. Every scene, every line, is an absolute delight. Every character is appealing and full of great Brit eccentricism.In particular, John Mills as the evolving Willie Mossop, cobbler extraordinaire, may be the most likable character ever created in a movie. What a fine performance from one of England's greats.All right, let's get serious. British comedy has always been, to me, and many others, always funnier than our own here in the states. They are wittier and more playfully written, and the quirkiness of being British cannot be matched here. Let's face it, even the accents are just plain funnier. And this movie has it all in spades.Charles Loughton is perfect as the arrogant and haughty father and patriarch, whose daughters run rings around him.A couple of notes. First, the prolific Prunella Scales, who plays daughter Vicki, went on many years later to achieve immortality as Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers with John Cleese. Second, the Victorian London accents are a little tough to follow at times, and I had to use closed-captioning to go back and read what the actors were saying at some points. Third, I found it amusing how the characters would leave out the definite article "the" in certain situations: "get back into shop!" and "going to dentist", for example. Any linguists have any comments? Finally, a little continuity error: when the wedding feast is done, John Mills removes a couple of items from a nearly empty table; moments later, when Brenda De Banzie comes by a few moments later, the table suddenly fuller, including having on it flowers that were not there before.In sum, this movie should be on every comedy and British movie lover's must-see list.

"Hobson's Choice" has great acting all around, and a singularly outstanding performance by John Mills!Charles Laughton was known for roles in which his characters were bombastic or overly theatrical. And, none could do them better than he. His comedic acting is even better than his dramatic. The role of Brenda De Banzie was so excellent in being the core off which the Laughton and Mills characters could play. And she played her part to perfection. But Mills shows a depth in his role, and a smooth grasp of his part in evolving from a perfectly believable uneducated and uncultured worker – almost a simpleton – to a self-assured, optimistic and assertive man who knows what he wants. In between, and along the way, we see him shy away from the change, then struggle with it, and finally, slowly accept and embrace it. By gum, what great acting in a great comedy! A film to watch again and again with family and friend.