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Hobson's Choice

  • 19541954
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 48m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
8K
YOUR RATING
Charles Laughton, Brenda de Banzie, and John Mills in Hobson's Choice (1954)
Widower Henry Hobson (Charles Laughton) is a successful bootmaker and a tyrannical father of three daughters who all want to leave him by getting married, but he refuses because marriage traditions require him to pay out settlements.
Play trailer1:56
1 Video
24 Photos
ComedyDramaRomance
Widower Henry Hobson (Charles Laughton) is a successful bootmaker and a tyrannical father of three daughters who all want to leave him by getting married, but he refuses because marriage tra... Read allWidower Henry Hobson (Charles Laughton) is a successful bootmaker and a tyrannical father of three daughters who all want to leave him by getting married, but he refuses because marriage traditions require him to pay out settlements.Widower Henry Hobson (Charles Laughton) is a successful bootmaker and a tyrannical father of three daughters who all want to leave him by getting married, but he refuses because marriage traditions require him to pay out settlements.
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
8K
YOUR RATING
    • David Lean
  • Writers
    • Harold Brighouse(play)
    • David Lean(screenplay)
    • Norman Spencer(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Charles Laughton
    • John Mills
    • Brenda de Banzie
    • David Lean
  • Writers
    • Harold Brighouse(play)
    • David Lean(screenplay)
    • Norman Spencer(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Charles Laughton
    • John Mills
    • Brenda de Banzie
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 101User reviews
    • 45Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 BAFTA Award

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:56
    Watch Trailer

    Photos24

    Charles Laughton in Hobson's Choice (1954)
    Charles Laughton in Hobson's Choice (1954)
    Brenda de Banzie and John Mills in Hobson's Choice (1954)
    John Mills in Hobson's Choice (1954)
    Charles Laughton in Hobson's Choice (1954)
    David Lean, Brenda de Banzie, and John Mills in The Sound Barrier (1952)
    Charles Laughton and Philip Stainton in Hobson's Choice (1954)
    Charles Laughton, Brenda de Banzie, and John Mills in Hobson's Choice (1954)
    Charles Laughton in Hobson's Choice (1954)
    Charles Laughton and Brenda de Banzie in Hobson's Choice (1954)
    Charles Laughton and Brenda de Banzie in Hobson's Choice (1954)
    Charles Laughton, Brenda de Banzie, John Mills, and Richard Wattis in Hobson's Choice (1954)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Charles Laughton
    Charles Laughton
    • Henry Hobson
    John Mills
    John Mills
    • William Mossop
    Brenda de Banzie
    Brenda de Banzie
    • Maggie Hobson
    Daphne Anderson
    Daphne Anderson
    • Alice Hobson
    Prunella Scales
    Prunella Scales
    • Vicky Hobson
    Richard Wattis
    Richard Wattis
    • Albert Prosser
    Derek Blomfield
    Derek Blomfield
    • Freddy Beenstock
    Helen Haye
    Helen Haye
    • Mrs. Hepworth
    Joseph Tomelty
    Joseph Tomelty
    • Jim Heeler
    Julien Mitchell
    • Sam Minns
    Gibb McLaughlin
    Gibb McLaughlin
    • Tudsbury
    Philip Stainton
    • Denton
    Dorothy Gordon
    Dorothy Gordon
    • Ada Figgins
    Madge Brindley
    Madge Brindley
    • Mrs. Figgins
    John Laurie
    John Laurie
    • Dr. McFarlane
    Raymond Huntley
    Raymond Huntley
    • Nathaniel Beenstock
    Jack Howarth
    • Tubby Wadlow
    Herbert C. Walton
    • Printer
      • David Lean
    • Writers
      • Harold Brighouse(play)
      • David Lean(screenplay)
      • Norman Spencer(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Charles Laughton had already played the role of Hobson when he was a teenager on stage in his native town of Scarborough.
    • Goofs
      When Maggie and Will are standing outside the church before their wedding, a cooling tower can be seen to the left of Maggie. It would not have existed in 1800's Salford.
    • Quotes

      Maggie Hobson: I've been watching you for a long time and everything I've seen I've liked. I think you'll do for me.

    • Connections
      Featured in The South Bank Show: David Lean: A Life in Film (1985)

    User reviews101

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    Realizing Your Potential
    Hobson's Choice is a delightful old play that is set in Manchester in the United Kingdom during Edwardian times. Among other things we see during this film adaption of it are temperance marchers and suffragettes, reminders that women were too often looked on as chattel, especially if the man of the house is one Henry H. Hobson.

    Hobson's pretty typical of the male Britisher in Edwardian times. As written by Harold Brighouse and played Charles Laughton, he's a blustering old tyrant who dominates his three daughters in every way possible. His wife is gone and the three daughters as he views it seem to have been put on earth to serve him. He pays none of them wages to live independently, but without realizing it he's grown quite dependent on them. Especially on his eldest played by Brenda DaBanzie.

    She's practically running his custom made boot&shoe establishment so he can spend time lounging at the pub. But DaBanzie has had quite enough of that. If Laughton had his way she'd be living with him permanently. Brenda's got different plans. She's got her idea on a husband, a skilled craftsman who works in Hobson's shop named Willy Mossop. He's a mild mannered fellow who doesn't realize his own worth. But before the film ends, the worm does indeed turn.

    If Hobson's Choice has a fault it's that the whole film centers around the three principals, no other characters are really developed here. But Laughton, DaBanzie and John Mills as Willy Mossop give absolutely perfect characterizations in their respective roles.

    Charles Laughton gives one of his best screen performances for David Lean in Hobson's Choice. Imagine Captain Bligh as a comic character and you've got Hobson. My guess is that Hobson was very typical of his age in his sexist views of life. What his late wife must have put up with. His scenes with Brenda DaBanzie have a lot of the same spark that characterize his work with his wife Elsa Lanchester in other films.

    Brenda DaBanzie was at the height of her career, this and her work in The Man Who Knew Too Much the following year are her best known roles. She matches Laughton every step of the way, they are really a delight to see and listen to, in fact the dialog in their scenes is so good you can enjoy just turning away and listening to the film.

    John Mills also gets one of his best roles. He's a man who grows in confidence in himself through DaBanzie's efforts. In the end watch who is dictating to whom.

    A friend of mine who's from the Manchester area said that the film was shot in the nearby town of Selford because it looked more like Manchester of the Edwardian era than Manchester of 1954 did. He also says that Laughton and the rest of the cast got the dialog and idiom of the Lancashire area down perfectly and were quite believable in their parts for a British audience, let alone an American one.

    Hobson's choice is a great film from David Lean and should be seen again and again whenever it's broadcast.
    helpful•33
    3
    • bkoganbing
    • Oct 2, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 19, 1954 (United Kingdom)
      • United Kingdom
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Salford, Greater Manchester, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • London Film Productions
      • British Lion Film Corporation
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 48 minutes
      • Black and White

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