Will Any Gentleman...? (1953)

Director:

Michael Anderson

Writers:

Vernon Sylvaine (play), Vernon Sylvaine (screenplay)

Stars:

George Cole, Veronica Hurst, Heather Thatcher

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Cole	...	Henry Sterling
Veronica Hurst	...	Florence Sterling
Heather Thatcher	...	Mrs. Whittle
Jon Pertwee	...	Charley Sterling
James Hayter	...	Dr. Smith
William Hartnell	...	Detective Inspector Martin
Sid James	...	Mr. Hobson (as Sidney James)
Diana Decker	...	Angel
Joan Sims	...	Beryl
Brian Oulton	...	Mr. Jackson
Alan Badel	...	The Great Mendoza
Wilfred Boyle	...	Albert Boyle
Alexander Gauge	...	Mr. Billing
Jill Melford	...	Honey
Josephine Douglas	...	Doctor's Receptionist

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

hypnosis

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Taglines:

a bombshell of hilarity introducing London's favorite funny man GEORGE COLE

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 September 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

Erittäin vaarallista

Filming Locations:

Associated British Picture Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First film of 'Lucy Griffths (I)'.

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Soundtracks

"Mona"
(uncredited)
Music by Joyce Cochrane
Lyrics by Sonny Miller

User Reviews

Enjoyable, if a tad stilted.

Will Any Gentlemen...? is adapted from the stage play by Vernon Sylvanie. Where the play was apparently joyous in its farcical ideals, this adaptation struggles to convince as a farcical whole. The plot revolves around George Cole's spineless bank clerk, Henry Sterling, who whilst attending a music hall show, falls under Mendoza the hypnotist's spell (Alan Badel looking like Satan!). This brings about a complete character change in Henry, he is now a womanizer and shifty in the extreme, this of course causes much consternation to Henry's wife, who enlists Mendoza to track down Henry and snap him out of this dubious spell. Some solid laughs come about as the farce rate ups during the final third, but some of the dialogue is terribly twee and the cast in the main struggle to deliver fun lines with any great conviction, Jon Pertwee as Charley Sterling particularly seems out of place. However, the picture is not a total waste of time, it has a certain charming appeal and at the worst it does put a smile on ones face from time to time. Ultimately, though, a better cast and a stronger director could have made this into a British treasure. 5/10