Vote for Huggett

In this last of the Huggett Family series, Jack Warner and Kathleen Harrison have returned to the United Kingdom after their African sojourn in their previous film where oldest daughter Dinah Sheridan and her husband Jimmy Hanley went to South Africa for his new job. The Huggetts now with only two daughters at home Susan Shaw and Petula Clark are facing new challenges as Jack Warner decides to go into politics.

It all starts quite innocently enough when Warner writes a letter to the editor proposing that a bit of land be used to provide some kind of recreation park for use of people at all stages of life. Unbeknownst to him the missus owns a section of that land with her cousin Diana Dors and her husband and they see a chance for a quick killing.

If you think this sounds a bit familiar I think that someone saw Mr. Smith Goes To Washington and rewrote it a bit for the Huggett family. So when Huggett stands for the local community council against David Tomlinson it all blows up into a scandal. Like Jimmy Stewart who is being used by some unscrupulous men, Warner gets out of it with the help of friends and family.

Things wouldn't be complete without a song from Petula Clark who in those years was the UK's answer to Deanna Durbin.

The Huggetts ended their saga on a good note.

Joe Huggett (Jack Warner) writes to the local paper with a proposal for a new lido in a public space. Leisure facilities are much needed in post war London.

Only shady councillor Mr Hall is not keen on the idea. He has alternative plans for that area.

Some locals urge Joe to run for the council himself. Then he will be in the best position to push the plans through.

Councillor Hall is aghast at this. Even sending his wife to Mrs Huggett that she will be expected to do public speaking as a councillor's spouse. Thus persuade her husband not to stand for elections.

Then there is the matter of a piece of land that Mrs Huggett owns with another relative who wants to sell the land. Mrs Hubbard is against it and it plays straight into the plans for the leisure facilities.

As a gentle satire this does not hold up to close scrutiny. It is meant to be mocking post war social and class distinctions. Councillor Hall thinks he is born to rule. Being a politician is not for the little people.

Joe's daughter Susan works for a snobbish and unscrupulous boss who has designs on her. Even though he is married and she has a boyfriend.

What really lets the film down are the stereotypes of the women. Seen to be rather dim or greedy. It ends with Joe telling his wife. 'There are two things that I cannot bear in this world: beautiful women and intelligent women. You are neither beautiful nor intelligent.'

It was said without irony or any other kind of humour.

Fortunately, the producers realised that the whole "Huggett" concept had run it's course, and so before they got just a bit too silly, retired the family with this rather fun poke at the British local government system. This time, it's "Ma" (Kathleen Harrison) who finds that a plot of land she, and cousin "Diana" (Diana Dors) inherited by the riverside is required by the council to build a leisure centre. Reluctant to sell, she soon discovers that the proponent of this plan is none-other than her husband (Jack Warner) who made the proposal blissfully unaware that his own family owned the land... When he decides to stand for office to facilitate the development, there are allegations of profiteering being bandied about and he has to think on his feet. It's light-hearted fun, this film - it swipes at the inefficiencies and red tape that always seems to manage to thwart even the most consensually popular of projects, and with a fittingly concluding number from daughter "Pet" (Petula Clark) the series signs off as it ran - amusingly, amiably and with most of it's self respect still intact.

This is probably one of the better Huggett films, very fast paced and with an interesting storyline. Mr. Huggett with the help of Pet writes a letter to the paper about turning some spare land into a "lido" and the letter actually gets printed. Well, next thing you know, he's running for council! Turns out the land is government owned apart from one block, right in the middle, which belongs to Mrs. Huggett and cousin Diana, and nothing can be done without that, so all their opposition are trying to buy. Diana is all for selling, but Mrs. Huggett won't hear of it.

The best scene has to be where Susan and Peter figure out what's going on and set about fixing it - AND trapping Susan's womanizing boss at the same time. Hilarious!

Just saw this on the UK's Talking Pictures channel, which has films, TV shows, and a few 'information shorts films' from back in the day.

This was one of 4 Huggetts films, but the family had a long radio run too, amongst national favourites (there was little TV then, and not many folk had a set!) like Life With The Lyons, Goons, Take It From Here, Navy Lark, and possibly the greatest, Wilfred Pickles (+ wife) in Have A Go, which could draw an audience of 20million.

Other reviews have mentioned the plot, in which Huggett (Jack Warner) stands for election to the local council, and the efforts of his children to help him combat local skullduggery, with his wife (the always wonderful Kathleen Harrison) not quite so sure it's a good idea.

Staunch help from a typical British supporting cast, the plot is nicely worked out, and it's a nice nostalgic trip to the late 40s, though I could have done without child star Petula Clark and her obligatory song!

Sure, it was done on the cheap (most films here had to be, back then), but it was done with warmth & skill, and I enjoyed spotting a few of the locations in south-west London (one pub, on the road to the M3, a little way out from Twickenham, had barely a car for miles in the relevant scene!).