planktonrules Review of My Kingdom for a Cook

My Kingdom for a Cook (1943)

Only for lovers of Charles Coburn (and I'm one of them!)

[6/10 · 16 January 2007]

I love films with Charles Coburn and although he was mostly a supporting actor, I try to watch every film I can if he's in it. There was just something about his on-screen persona that I found both charming and sweet--despite the fact that he also often played rather bombastic men! He was wonderful in THE DEVIL AND MISS JONES as well as THE MORE THE MERRIER, so Columbia Pictures decided in this case to give him the lead! And, while the film isn't great and the plot is at times silly, the film is still quite watchable just for Coburn. In essence, the film IS Coburn, as the subplots aren't really that important and, in a way, neither is the main plot!! Instead, just watching sneaky and curmudgeonly Coburn is a treat all in itself. The film may lack depth and staying power, but it IS still a lot of fun and you could certainly do a lot worse than watch this movie!