Fools Rush In

Sally Ann Howes is to be wed to Nigel Buchanan today. She's just read the marriage vows and finds them overwhelming. So when her father, Guy Rolfe, walks in for the first time in her memory, and he's polite and not at all the monster she's been led to believe, she calls off the wedding. She's still in love with the heartily confused Buchanan; she feels feels a need to study him, to figure out if she can live with him, or anyone. This upsets her mother, Nora Swinburne, who is planning to marry Raymond Lovell and move to Peru.

Eighteen-year-old Sally is a charming flibbertigibbet under the direction of the reliable John Paddy Carstairs. It's quite obviously been expanded from a play, but everyone is so charming that's it's impossible to find fault. Geoffrey Unsworth's camerawork can't be faulted either.

A young bride-to-be changes her mind on her wedding day and causes mayhem and confusion…

The story centers around young bride-to-be Pamela Dickson (Sally Ann Howes) who is getting married to Joe Trent (Nigel Buchanan) with whom she is very much in love, but as time draws near for the ceremony to take place, Pamela is starting to get second thoughts and questions whether she is doing the right thing as her convictions dictate that marriage should be a lasting, 'till death do us Part' union. When her mother, Angela Dickson (Nora Swinburne) who has divorced her father and is now engaged to the pompous Sir Charles Leigh (Raymond Lovell) tells her that the reason for her divorce was because of her father's unfaithfulness, she gets even more confused and it convinces her all the more that she should not be getting married until she has all the right answers.

Further complications arise when her long-lost estranged father Paul Dickson (Guy Rolfe) whom she has not seen again since she was a small child comes knocking at their door to attend her wedding. Sir Charles is not at all amused by his presence and resents him being there, however Pamela is delighted; she discovers that he is opposite to the rogue that her mother made him out to be and putting her own marriage on hold, she decides to try and reconcile her father and mother.

This light-hearted romantic comedy film is a forgotten treasure; anyone who has experienced the excitement of a wedding in their family will be able to relate to some of the realistic incidents taking place. The very cleverly written storyline by screenwriter Geoffrey Kerr, who adapted the script from a play by Kenneth Horne, has so many lines of witty dialog that it begs for repeated viewing to be fully appreciated. A solid performance is given by all the cast with excellent direction and photography. The numerous comical situations and chaotic moments give this film a pleasurable viewing experience and will keep you amused from beginning to end.

This film betrays it's stage origins. It could easily have been done on radio without detriment to the screenplay. The play is by Kenneth Horne sadly not the star of Round The Horne. I am sure that if it had been him we would have some laughs. So as a result the lines fall like leaden weights. Though nice to see Esme Cannon and Thora Hird,who are entertaining to watch despite this dross.