The Wrong Box (1966)

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.

Director:

Bryan Forbes

Writers:

Robert Louis Stevenson (suggested by a novel by), Lloyd Osbourne (suggested by a novel by)

Stars:

John Mills, Michael Caine, Ralph Richardson

Won 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Mills	...	Masterman Finsbury
Ralph Richardson	...	Joseph Finsbury
Michael Caine	...	Michael Finsbury
Peter Cook	...	Morris Finsbury
Dudley Moore	...	John Finsbury
Nanette Newman	...	Julia Finsbury
Tony Hancock	...	Detective
Peter Sellers	...	Doctor Pratt
Cicely Courtneidge	...	Major Martha
Wilfrid Lawson	...	Peacock - the Butler
Thorley Walters	...	Lawyer Patience
Gerald Sim	...	1st Undertaker
Peter Graves	...	Military Officer
Irene Handl	...	Mrs. Hackett
Norman Bird	...	Clergyman

Storyline

A tontine is established for twenty boys in 1818 England, a tontine being a kind of insurance wager in which money is invested by each participant, to grow with interest, with the last survivor to get the substantial payout. We watch the group dwindle until only two elderly brothers are left in 1882. One brother is watched by his nephews who will keep him alive at all costs. The other lives in ill health and poverty as the only support of his perpetually confused grandson. Statues and bodies are switched, in the wrong boxes, until everyone is sure that one (or both) of the brothers has died. Now if they can only make it seem as if the other brother died first, over a hundred thousand pounds (in Victorian England, when a pound was a pound) will be theirs.

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Plot Keywords:

tontine | falling into an open grave | wooden crate | wooden barrel | steam locomotive | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Swahili

Release Date:

1 July 1966 (UK)

Also Known As:

13.000.000 dollaria zitoun klironomo

Filming Locations:

Englefield Green, Surrey, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Salamander Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Juliet Mills: Uncredited, as a mannish woman on a train.

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Goofs

Joseph Finsbury's nephews keep taking away his tobacco, presumably to extend his longevity. In the time period of this film, it was not known that smoking is harmful.

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Quotes

Morris Finsbury: Dr. Pratt? Are you Dr. Pratt?
Doctor Pratt: Are you from the police?
Morris Finsbury: No.
Doctor Pratt: Well, I am Dr. Pratt.

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Crazy Credits

"Certain funeral & military airs played by Her Majesty Queen Victoria's Temperance Seven who actually number eight"

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Connections

Referenced in What's My Line?: Michael Caine (1966)

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Soundtracks

Light of Head
Written by Clifford Bevan

User Reviews

A perfect gem of British humor

In my considered opinion, this is one of the best British comedies of all time (and I flatter myself that I am not usually given to hyperbole). To buttress this opinion, I could mention the fact that the movie is based on (and quite faithful to) one of the most hilarious stories ever penned in the English language (by R. L. Stevenson of "Treasure Island" fame); that the story in spite of its endless comical complications never once becomes too confusing (except of course to Tony Hancock's hapless inspector); and that the story is interpreted by some of the most memorable and talented actors of two generations.

The (then) old guard is worthily represented by Ralph Richardson as the deliciously exasperating Joseph Finsbury, John Mills as the cranky and cantankerous Masterman, and especially Wilfrid Lawson's unforgettable doddering yet stalwart butler (his fellow actor Michael Caine has stated that Lawson is his favorite actor--as well as the favorite actor of every other actor who knew him).

The (then) younger generation, however, does not pale by comparison. Peter Cook's Morris Finsbury sets down a delightfully unprincipled cad (one suspects that Masterman may have resembled him in his younger days), yet we can't quite stop rooting for him, because Michael Caine and Nanette Newman strike just the right sweet and innocent tone as Michael and Julia to make us surreptitiously feel that perhaps they deserve to be cheated out of their money. Moreover, the fact that the fate of the more deserving members of the younger generation is not exactly aligned with the more deserving member of the older generation reinforces the ambiguity--so we find ourselves rooting in turn for Joseph, Morris, and John, then again for Michael, Julia, and Masterman. In this respect, the eventual denouement (which I won't give away) is pleasantly and surprisingly satisfying.

Spare some kudos also for the excellent supporting cast, from Peter Sellers' vacuously venal Doctor Pratt and Dame Cicely Courtneidge's imperious Salvation Army major to such brief but perfect walk-ons as the unflappable engine crew ("We haven't heard the last of this") or poor Hackett's lachrymose widow. This is what British acting is all about.

If, in spite of all this circumstantial evidence, however, I still have not fully conveyed the essential laugh-out-loud, tears-in-your-eyes, still-uncontrollably-snickering-in-church-twelve-hours-later (warning: do not watch this movie if you plan to attend a funeral anytime soon), then I can only say one thing:

Go watch this movie. You'll love it.