This film seems to spilt opinion. Is this a tedious museum piece or a neglected treasure? The truth is neither, but it is a thoroughly watchable comedy with some amusing moments and is always lively. The premise sees the grown up children of the rakish Sir Roderick Lyall gather at Ballyroden Hall for the reading of his will after his death at the age of 95. However, they are in for a shock as although the old rogue mentions them in his will, it turns out he has spent most of the money on wine and women (so not wasted then), and what little is left will be swallowed up by debts. Even that will not cover the debts, leading to nephew (and seemingly only sane relative) Phillip (Brian Worth) having to give them the horrifying truth - they will have to take in guests to make ends meet! What's worst is they will have to take in American guests, with the first guests due to arrive that week. While some accept this ploy, others within the family do not and decide to sabotage their stay there in order to drive them out - forgetting that doing so will almost certainly see the Lyall family home sold from under them.
That is much the plot, though there is a sub plot involving missing diamonds or jewels that may be hidden about the house, while there are a couple of romantic sidelines, including a love traingle between Brian Worth's Phillip, his sweet Irish cousin Mary O'Leary (Susan Stephen with an Irish accent which is surprisingly not bad) and American guest Yvonne Cleghorn-Thomas, who spots him out the window one night and decides to set her cap at him. The plot is certainly thin on the ground, but it has to be said the cast play it with spirit and there are a few notable performances among them. Not least Jimmy Edwards, playing duel roles as both Sir Roderick and his unlikely named son Hercules, who is full of bombast about the proposed guests, but easily weakens when Phillip decides to ban him from having biscuits for a week. He is certainly memorable, but he is even better as the boozing, womanizing Sir Roderick Lyall, who appears only for the first 5 minutes but it is a rich charismatic character, from riding off on the hunt to returning on a stretcher and expected death, only to revive when he notices the "pert new maid" (Marguerite Brennan). His death decades later is highlighted by his extensive wine cellar, which the butler William Burke (Toke Townley) goes down to after Roderick's death, only to discover one drink left, having drank the cellar dry (he must of had a cast iron stomach!). Another notable mention is Martita Hunt as the eccentric Aunt Anna Rose, who is far removed from Great Expectations but looks to be thoroughly enjoying herself here nevertheless. She is a true eccentric in every sense of the word, often sitting in a old fashioned sedan carriage for her tea or just to go on imagined holidays. She is certain she has mislaid valuable jewels somewhere in the house and eventually becomes key in the plot as the family decide the only way to save themselves from the debtors is to do their very own treasure hunt in the house in a bid to find them.
It's hard really to fault any of the cast for their performances, as they put in the effort to enliven the film. Irene Handl deserves a mention for her all too brief stint as Sir Roderick's maid and children's nanny, sparring well with Jimmy Edwards, but only seen for the first 5 minutes. Naunton Wayne (Charters & Caldicott) has a gentle rapport with both Hunt and Brigid the maid (Maire O'Neill) and is a thoroughly decent chap who just finds himself lumbered with an American woman in Mrs Cleghorn-Thomas (June Clyde) and her sexpot daughter Yvonne (Mara Lane) - the former less than happy to be in what she considers a mad house. She's not entirely wrong there, either, and you can't blame her for wanting to up sticks and leave. Mara Lane does sexiness well enough as she tries to snare Brian Worth's Phillip, but there's little doubt in which way his inclination will go in the love triangle between him, Yvonne and cousin Mary. And considering Mary is played by the sweet Susan Stephen, it's a foregone conclusion for me and both Susan and Worth work well together. She even does a decent Irish accent, and her youth and energy is needed for a film of such a eccentric nature.
It may be flimsy when it comes to plot, but I've seen far worse in my time. It is a film that is always lively and a little eccentric and the cast throw themselves into their roles to keep it that way. It may not be outstanding, but it's heart is in the right place and it is a British film of the old school variety and there's nothing wrong with that. Indeed, there's no real harm in this film full stop. It is what it is: a film to amuse and entertain audiences who needed a bit of escapism from the realities of life. And I'm always willing to give any film with Susan Stephen a go, even if at times she made more duffers than jewels in her career. She has certainly done worse than this. Overall, this film may be silly at times - but it's also fun. And what's the harm in that?
