Time, Gentlemen, Please! (1952)

Because of its high productivity and "almost" 100 per cent employment, the village of Little Heyhoe, England is expecting a visit from the Prime Minister. The "almost" is because of Dan ... See full summary »

Director:

Lewis Gilbert

Writers:

R.J. Minney (novel), Val Valentine (adaptation)

Stars:

Eddie Byrne, Jane Barrett, Robert Brown

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eddie Byrne	...	Dan Dance
Jane Barrett	...	Sally
Robert Brown	...	Bill Jordan
Raymond Lovell	...	Sir Digby Montague
Marjorie Rhodes	...	Miss Mouncey
Hermione Baddeley	...	Emma Stebbins
Dora Bryan	...	Peggy Stebbins
Thora Hird	...	Alice Crouch
Ivor Barnard	...	Timothy Crouch
Sidney James	...	Eric Hace
Edie Martin	...	Mary Wade
Sydney Tafler	...	Joseph Spink
Joan Young	...	Mrs. Round
Marianne Stone	...	Mrs. Pincer
Patrick McAlinney	...	Rev. Soater

Storyline

Because of its high productivity and "almost" 100 per cent employment, the village of Little Heyhoe, England is expecting a visit from the Prime Minister. The "almost" is because of Dan Dance (Eddie Byrne), an old rogue who would rather drink and philosophize than work. The Village Council are determined to have a perfect record so they connive to have the old man put into the alms-house which has been unoccupied for many years, where he must abide by rules laid down 400 years ago. A new Vicar arrives and discovers that, because of the circumstances created by the Council, Dan Dance is entitled to 6,000 pounds a year at the expense of the village.

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Plot Keywords:

vicar | prime minister | england | employment | group 3 | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 September 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nothing to Lose

Filming Locations:

Thaxted Station, Thaxted, Essex, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Group 3

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Pub landlord Sid James breaks the fourth wall when he sees the row of tramps boots outside their rooms and looks at the camera in exasperation.

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Quotes

[Emma Stebbins walks towards the almshouses, wearing a long hooded cloak and carrying a wicker basket]
Mary Wade: Mind you don't meet a big bad wolf!

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Soundtracks

Colonel Bogey
(uncredited)
Music by Kenneth Alford
Heard when Prime Minister's car arrrives

User Reviews

up there with the best comedies of the 1950s

The local layabout looks as if he will let the village down when the prime minister visits, until he unexpectedly comes into money.

This is a rather nicely crafted comedy that pokes fun at many things including village life and the way local council administration was (and often still is) carried out; pompousness, hypocrisy and short-sightedness commonly abound in those that 'run the village'.

The village itself has high employment because of the local weaving industry. However it is so sleepy that the local bobby has time to stop the traffic in order to let passing dogs cross the road, and a visit to the cinema requires a trip by motorcycle to the nearby town.

The fictional village of Little Hayhoe is represented by the actual village of Thaxted, in North Essex, which is seen in nearly all the exterior scenes (and some of the interior ones) in this film. Thaxted has many medieval buildings including the guildhall and one of the most magnificent churches in Eastern England, often dubbed 'the Cathedral of Essex'. In a strange parallel with the film, the wealth that originally paid for this fine church was also from cloth manufacture; Thaxted was a centre of the wool trade in times past.

Amazingly Thaxted (as seen in the film), 65 years on, remains almost completely unchanged to this day; even 'The Swan Hotel' is still there, and is still a focus of village life.

This is a cracking film in its own right, but of course has a special interest for anyone who lives in the Thaxted area.