Folly to Be Wise

This black and white cinema adaption of a successful play is probably a bit better than I expected, though either side of the core "Brains Trust" component in the middle is pretty flat and run of the mill.

The Q & A is quite funny with a Labour politician and a drunken Tory artist soon at each other's throats, while the feisty Private Jessie Killegrew keeps on insisting, with the support of the growing audience, that the panel answer her question on marriage. It is literally Alistair Sim's show though and he dominates proceedings and is amusing to watch, just about turning himself inside out, trying to control his rag-tag panel, 2 members of whom are having an affair. The highlight though is the hearing-impaired MD, who suddenly does decide to overrule his earlier claim that he didn't have a sense of humour because it wasn't important. He suddenly decides to tell the audience doctor jokes, not realising quizmaster Sim has moved everyone on to other questions. I found myself really laughing along with the film audience.

The movie's stage origins are pretty obvious, though I am curious how they featured the ever increasing army base audience in the play. This is worth a look if you have the opportunity arises and you don't mind a bit of a laugh.