The Wrong Box (1966)

Director:

Bryan Forbes

Writers:

Robert Louis Stevenson (suggested by a novel by) and
Lloyd Osbourne (suggested by a novel by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

4 July 1966 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Virtuous maidens...cunning cousins...dastardly deeds...bodies in barrels...and boxes and boxes of boxes!

Plot:

In Victorian England, a fortune now depends on which of two brothers outlives the other... or can be made to have seemed to do so!

Plot Keywords:

Tontine | Queen Of England | Canon | Ornithologist | Wooden Barrel

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Jeremy Lloyd	...	Brian Allen Harvey
James Villiers	...	Sydney Whitcombe Sykes
Graham Stark	...	Ian Scott Fife
Nicholas Parsons	...	Alan Frazer Scrope
Willoughby Goddard	...	James Whyte Wragg
Valentine Dyall	...	Oliver Pike Harmsworth
Leonard Rossiter	...	Vyvyan Alistair Montague
Hamilton Dyce	...	Derek Lloyd Peter Digby
Hilton Edwards	...	Lawyer
Timothy Bateson	...	Clerk
Donald Oliver	...	Gunner Sergeant
Totti Truman Taylor	...	Lady at Launching
Jeremy Roughton	...	Bugler
Frank Singuineau	...	Native Bearer
Michael Lees	...	Young Digby
Avis Bunnage	...	Queen Victoria
John Mills	...	Masterman Finsbury
Michael Caine	...	Michael Finsbury
Wilfrid Lawson	...	Peacock - the Butler
Ralph Richardson	...	Joseph Finsbury
Peter Cook	...	Morris Finsbury
Dudley Moore	...	John Finsbury
Nanette Newman	...	Julia Finsbury
Gwendolyn Watts	...	Maidservant
Vanda Godsell	...	Mrs. Goodge
Peter Graves	...	Military Officer
Tutte Lemkow	...	Strangler
Marianne Stone	...	Spinster
John Junkin	...	First Engine Driver
Roy Murray	...	Fred the Stoker
Donald Tandy	...	Ticket Collector
Lionel Gamlin	...	Second Engine Driver
Martin Terry	...	Stoker
Michael Bird	...	Countryman
George Selway	...	Railway Vanman
Josef Behrmann	...	Railway Vanman
Peter Sellers	...	Doctor Pratt
John Le Mesurier	...	Doctor Slattery
Norman Rossington	...	First Rough
Thomas Gallagher	...	Second Rough
Charlie Bird	...	Benn's Vanman (as Charles Bird)
Thorley Walters	...	Lawyer Patience
Cicely Courtneidge	...	Major Martha
Diane Clare	...	Mercy
Gerald Sim	...	First Undertaker
Tony Hancock	...	Detective
Tony Thawnton	...	Second Undertaker
Temperance Seven	...	Themselves (as The Temperance Seven)
Reg Lye	...	Third Undertaker
George Spence	...	Workman in Road
Irene Handl	...	Mrs. Hackett
Norman Bird	...	Clergyman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Andrea Allan	...	Girl on Train (uncredited)
Penny Brahms	...	Twittering Female on Moors (uncredited)
Fred Clark	...	Constable (uncredited)
Denis Cowles	...	Sotheby's Partner (uncredited)
Dan Cressey	...	Judas (uncredited)
Alistair Dick	...	Undertaker's Assistant (uncredited)
John Fitch	...	Undertaker's Assistant (uncredited)
Sarah Forbes	...	Little Girl Sitting by Bandstand at End of Film (uncredited)
Dorothy Ford	...	Salvation Army Girl (uncredited)
Unity Greenwood	...	Salvation Army Girl (uncredited)
Sarah Harrison	...	Governess (uncredited)
Norman Hibbert	...	Undertaker's Assistant (uncredited)
George Hillsden	...	Constable (uncredited)
Lindsay Hooper	...	Matthew (uncredited)
Maria Kazan	...	Twittering Female on Moors (uncredited)
David Lodge	...	Corpse Remover (uncredited)
Alf Mangan	...	Gravedigger (uncredited)
Juliet Mills	...	Mannish Woman on Train (uncredited)
André Morell	...	Club Butler (uncredited)
John Morris	...	Sotheby's Assistant (uncredited)
Norman David Morris	...	Gravedigger (uncredited)
Louise Nolan	...	Mourner (uncredited)
John Parker	...	Undertaker's Assistant (uncredited)
Peggy Ray	...	Child with Governess (uncredited)
Arthur Sandiford	...	Mourner (uncredited)
Jim Scott	...	Undertaker's Assistant (uncredited)
Nicole Shelby	...	Mrs. Tyler Croft (uncredited)
Patsy Snell	...	Girl on Train (uncredited)
Phillip Stewart	...	Elderly Man on Train (uncredited)
John Tateham	...	Verger (uncredited)
Rita Tobin-Weske	...	Elderly Woman on Train (uncredited)

Directed by
Bryan Forbes

Writing credits
Robert Louis Stevenson		(suggested by a novel by) and
Lloyd Osbourne		(suggested by a novel by)
Larry Gelbart		(written for the screen by) and
Burt Shevelove		(written for the screen by)

Produced by
Bryan Forbes	....	producer
Larry Gelbart	....	co-producer
Jack Rix	....	associate producer
Burt Shevelove	....	co-producer

Original Music by
John Barry

Cinematography by
Gerry Turpin		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Alan Osbiston

Casting by
Weston Drury Jr.		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Julie Harris		(costumes)

Makeup Department
Basil Newall	....	makeup artist
Maude Onslow	....	hairdresser (as Maud Onslow)
Paul Rabiger	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Donald Toms	....	production manager (as Don Toms)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Christopher Dryhurst	....	assistant director
Michael Guest	....	third assistant director (uncredited)
Hugh Harlow	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
George Ball	....	props
George Hill	....	construction manager
Peter James	....	sets dressing
Ray Simm	....	set designer (as Ray Sim)
Alfred Waye	....	props
Jim Barnes	....	scenic artist (uncredited)
Bill Dennison	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
Alan Roderick-Jones	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
Roy Forge Smith	....	assistant art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Ken Barker	....	sound recordist
Bill Daniels	....	sound recordist
Gus Lloyd	....	sound assistant
Teddy Mason	....	dubbing editor (as Ted Mason)
Charles Arnold	....	sound assistant (uncredited)
John Crowhurst	....	sound assistant (uncredited)
Jack Rossiter	....	sound assistant (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Michael Sarafian	....	camera assistant
Ronnie Taylor	....	camera operator (as Ronald Taylor)
George Courtney Ward	....	stills
Gordon Hayman	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Ted Lockhart	....	camera grip (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Roy Ponting	....	wardrobe master
Laurel Staffell	....	wardrobe mistress

Editorial Department
Willy Kemplen	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
Raymond Thorne	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
John Barry	....	music arranger
John Barry	....	music conductor
Sidney Margo	....	music contractor (uncredited)

Other crew
Penny Daniels	....	continuity
Robert Ellis	....	titles designer
John L. Hargreaves	....	assistant to producers
Lana Stephens	....	production secretary (uncredited)
Edna Tromans	....	publicist (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Salamander Film Productions

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (1966) (UK) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures (1966) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia-Bavaria Filmgesellschaft m.b.H. (1967) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Swahili

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:G | UK:U | USA:Approved | West Germany:12 (nf) | Finland:K-8

Filming Locations:

Englefield Green, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Salamander Film Productions

Trivia:

Patrick Cargill was cut out of this film

Goofs:

Continuity: Opening the door to leave his brother's house after nearly being hit with a thrown vase, the Ralph Richardson character has two flowers in his left hand; there's then a cut to an exterior shot showing him emerging from the house flowerless.

Quotes:

Queen Victoria:In recognition of your many and varied services to the crown, I dub thee...
[the sword descends too fast]
Queen Victoria:Oh. We are frightfully sorry, Sir Robert.

Movie Connections:

References Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)

Soundtrack:

A Bird in a Gilded Cage

Timeless English comedy, superbly done.

Little known in the United States, THE WRONG BOX is an absolute must-see for serious students of comedy. The plot revolves around a tontine, a lottery established by the well-heeled fathers of a class of English schoolboys, the proceeds to be awarded after many years to the last surviving member of the class. The story picks up at the point where only two of the classmates are still alive: the brothers Masterman and Joseph Finsbury, who rather detest one another. The plot is full of Finsburys, all of whom want one or the other to die first so they can get a piece of the loot.

Bryan Forbes's direction is first rate, visually exquisite, and even though the convoluted plot is a bit slow to get started, nicely paced. Forbes has a notable cast of experienced actors, and he gives them free reign to perform comedy as only the British can do. The climax chase comes to a head at exactly the right time and is hilarious, the more so because it is marvelously unforced. The actors involved give the impression they're delighted to be in the film, as they should be.

THE WRONG BOX is one of Michael Caine's earlier films and he performs creditably, and Peter Sellers shines in an excellent bit part. Nevertheless, my hat goes off to three other actors who give the performance of their careers: Ralph Richardson, as the quintessential pedant Joseph Finsbury, the world's most boring narcissist; Peter Cook, as Joseph's incessantly scheming nephew who wants to see his uncle die a few seconds after Masterman croaks; and most especially, Wilfrid Lawson as the wondrously torpid Peacock, Masterman's dignified but disheveled butler whose peculiar grunts and malapropisms remain fresh with every viewing of the film. I would put Lawson's performance on a par with Humphrey Bogart's in THE CAINE MUTINY or Fred MacMurray's in DOUBLE INDEMNITY -- it is truly that good.

THE WRONG BOX ranks on a par with THE LIFE OF BRIAN as one of the finest British comedies ever. Enjoy it!