Laburnum Grove (1936) User Reviews

The gentle art of crime

[rhoda-9 · 7/10 · 1 June 2020]

Though he has strong competition for the title from Harry Davenport, Edmund Gwenn is probably the most angelic old man in the movies. He is so sweet, so appreciative, so benign (without being at all sentimental or smug) that no one could believe he was the kingpin of a criminal gang. Or could they? Because he certainly has aroused the suspicions of Cedric Hardwicke, practically a template for the useless, sponging brother-in-law. He and his sour-faced wife have descended on Gwenn and his equally adorable wife, Katie Johnson (who went on to play the putative victim in The Ladykillers) as non-paying guests and show no sign of leaving. But if this couple are immune to shame or gratitude, they start to think seriously about leaving when they believe that Gwenn might end up in prison and take them with him. Is he crooked or isn't he is the conundrum played outso well in this droll little very English comedy.

Masterly performances from gwenn and hardwicke

[malcolmgsw · 7/10 · 3 August 2006]

I saw this film at the NFT last night.It was shown as part of the tribute to Carol Reed.A director who now largely seems to be forgotten.This film is based on a play by J.B.Prisetley.Given that there is not a lot in the way of opening out it is fairly easy to see where the three acts begin and end.The two lead performances by Gwenn and Harwicke are ones to cherish.I have seen Gwenn in a number of his British films and i have to say that i have not seen him put a foot wrong.He has a cherubic smile which normally hides some mischievous thought.This film thrives on incongruity.There are some exterior shots of suburban London in the 1930s including the exterior,and possibly the interior of Stolls Picture Theatre,which i believe was in Kingsway.

Crime DOES Pay?

[writers_reign · 7/10 · 6 February 2010]

At last an early Carol Reed movie that's neither risible nor cringe-making. Ironically it was mostly his later films - Climbing High etc - that fell into that category. On the other hand in this case he is working from a rock-solid base, a 'well-made' play by Jack Priestley rather than an 'original' screenplay. In fact Reed was working for an outfit that had been formed to bring West End successes to the screen so it may well be that he was, to a certain extent, restricted creatively. Certainly there is no discernible 'signature' in evidence in what amounts to a (presumbably) faithful rendering of a West End success. Edmund Gwenn is his usual lovable rogue as the head of a household with a secret life as a master forger. Cedric Hardwicke is unconvincingly cast against type as his seriously sponger brother-in-law whilst Katie Johnson lends solid support - and looks exactly the same as she did in The Ladykillers almost 20 years later - as Gwenn's wife. Gwenn's would-be son-in-law behaves exactly as his counterpart in The Winslow Boy, i.e. running a mile at the first whiff of scandal and somewhat bizarrely for a climate in which film producers were under orders to make Crime Does Not Pay fodder for the masses, Gwenn walks into the sunset happier and wiser. Worth a look.

Tomatoes anyone...?

[AAdaSC · 6/10 · 2 May 2022]

Edmond Gwenn (Mr Radfern) lives an unassuming life in a quiet part of London - Laburnum Grove - with his wife Katie Johnson (Mrs Radfern) and his daughter Victoria Hopper ((Elsie) who longs to get away from the monotony of her surroundings. Also resident with them is Gwenn's cunning sister Ethel Coleridge (Mrs Baxley) and her no-good husband Cedric Hardwicke (Mr Baxley) who are both after Gwenn's money at every opportune moment. Daughter Victoria has a boyfriend in Francis James (Harold) who wants to propose and ask for a loan at the same time. Gwenn has a plan to rid him and his family of these scrounging hanger-ons - he tells them he is a criminal dealing in forged currency. But is he really...?

Gwenn is good and carries the film. After a slow and irritating start as we follow Hardwicke's bumbling cartoon-like oafish character - nobody in life is like that - with his comedy mannerisms that aren't funny, the film takes a turn when everyone sits down to dinner and Gwenn announces he is a criminal. Ha ha. Nobody can believe it but he doesn't let go. We get a story of intrigue from then on as a detective turns up on the scene to ask some questions about a 'commercial' crime. Could it be innocent?

Gwenn has that harmless old man disposition that works well in this film and Katie Johnson has that thing about her where you are not quite sure whether she is unaware of everything or a master criminal herself. The film loses points for the twee wallflower that is Victoria Hopper and the incredibly annoying buffoonery of Cedric Hardwicke.

At one point in the film, Ethel Coleridge tells Hardwicke to "go and wash your face" before mealtime and I heard my wife laughing at this. I just know that this line will be repeated at me at some point soon. Not because I have a dirty face but because I heard her laugh and that means something is being retained in the memory bank. Ha ha.

Still Waters.....

[kidboots · 9/10 · 23 October 2018]

By the late 1930s Carol Reed was a young director who was being talked about as being able to take a pretty ordinary script and turn it into something special. Have loved Edmund Gwen ever since "The Good Companions" and together with Cedric Hardwicke as the two brothers-in-law who can barely tolerate each other they don't disappoint. Tremendous movie - starts off a bit "what's going on then" but soon gets started. On the surface George (Gwen) is a happy, contented man whose biggest thrill is his tomato patch but he also has to put up with supporting his sister and her layabout husband who is always cornering George, begging for loans for sure fire business deals (and it's always huge amounts, hundreds of pounds). When George's daughter (a beautiful Victoria Hopper) brings home her new man, George sizes him up as a rotter instantly, cut from the same cloth as Baxley. He, too, is after a loan to buy a used car yard and George sees red!! He spins a story over dinner about how he is the head of a big forgery syndicate - the Mr. Big!!, now he can sit back and watch the fun!! Is it true or is it a tall tale, only time will tell!!

The movie belongs to Cedric Hardwicke as the bone idle Baxley, forever eating George's bananas, always swiping handfuls of cigarettes to keep his own battered Carven A box replenished. Now he is running scared, seeing spies and criminals lurking in every shadow!! A hilarious scene involves the three of them - Baxley, his wife and George's daughter going for a day on the town, too scared to use the money George gave them but as usual having nothing of their own!! The scene finishes in the restaurant and is a riot!!

All the cast shine with Katie Johnson as George's wife, looking very much the pixilated lady she would appear in "The Lady Killers" of almost 20 years in the future!!

So is he or isn't he?

[mark.waltz · 8/10 · 16 December 2023]

Fans of the British comedy classic "The Ladykillers" (1955) will be thrilled to see the sweet old lady from that Ealing film, Lucy Johnson, playing the sweet naive wife of Edmund Gwenn, a rather passive middle class man. He's secretly sick of hanger on in-laws, Ethel Coleridge and Cedric Hardwicke (completely unrecognizable outside of elements of his voice), and tells them that he's mixed up in a forgery racket in an effort to get them to run away, but unfortunately his newly engaged daughter Victoria Hopper overhears, causing more confusion in the lie. The presence of inspector David Hawthorne adds to their fears, but that makes the audience wonder just what is true, and what is false.

Good performances all around (directed by the legendary Carol Reed), with Gwenn quite a rascal and Coleridge the epitome of a stone faced harridan. Cleverly adapted by a famous 30's British play, this is very sophisticated and subtly witty, a fast talking and unique comedy. Little details of Gwenn's performance are so clever to pick out, like he added amusing little aspects of his personality to make the audience unsure of his guilt or innocence. His conversation with Hawthorne over a real crime of forgery is genuine cat and mouse. Definitely one of the top notch British comedies of the 30's, filled with lots of genuinely brilliant details that are mesmerizing to explore.