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IMDbPro

The Best House in London

  • 19691969
  • XX
  • 1h 37m
IMDb RATING
4.4/10
308
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
35,873
13,635
The Best House in London (1969)
Comedy
In Victorian London, the British Government attempts a solution to the problem of prostitution by establishing the world's most fabulous brothel.In Victorian London, the British Government attempts a solution to the problem of prostitution by establishing the world's most fabulous brothel.In Victorian London, the British Government attempts a solution to the problem of prostitution by establishing the world's most fabulous brothel.
IMDb RATING
4.4/10
308
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
35,873
13,635
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Philip Saville
    • Writer
      • Denis Norden
    • Stars
      • David Hemmings
      • Joanna Pettet
      • George Sanders
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Philip Saville
    • Writer
      • Denis Norden
    • Stars
      • David Hemmings
      • Joanna Pettet
      • George Sanders
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 11User reviews
    • 4Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • Photos13

    The Best House in London (1969)
    David Hemmings and Joanna Pettet in The Best House in London (1969)
    The Best House in London (1969)
    The Best House in London (1969)
    David Hemmings, Joanna Pettet, Dany Robin, and Penny Spencer in The Best House in London (1969)
    George Sanders in The Best House in London (1969)
    David Hemmings and Joanna Pettet in The Best House in London (1969)
    David Hemmings and Joanna Pettet in The Best House in London (1969)
    Veronica Carlson in The Best House in London (1969)
    The Best House in London (1969)
    Veronica Carlson in The Best House in London (1969)
    Joanna Pettet in The Best House in London (1969)

    Top cast

    Edit
    David Hemmings
    David Hemmings
    • Benjamin Oakes…
    Joanna Pettet
    Joanna Pettet
    • Josephine Pacefoot
    George Sanders
    George Sanders
    • Sir Francis Leybourne
    Dany Robin
    Dany Robin
    • Babette
    Warren Mitchell
    Warren Mitchell
    • Count Pandolfo
    John Bird
    John Bird
    • Home Secretary
    William Rushton
    • Sylvester Wall
    Bill Fraser
    • Inspector MacPherson
    Maurice Denham
    Maurice Denham
    • Editor of 'The Times'
    Wolfe Morris
    Wolfe Morris
    • Chinese Trade Attache
    Martita Hunt
    Martita Hunt
    • Headmistress
    Arnold Diamond
    Arnold Diamond
    • Charles Dickens
    Hugh Burden
    Hugh Burden
    • Lord Tennyson
    George Reynolds
    • Lord Alfred Douglas
    Jan Holden
    Jan Holden
    • Lady Dilke
    Mike Lennox
    • Algernon Charles Swinburne
    Arthur Howard
    • Mr. Fortnum
    Clement Freud
    • Mr. Mason
    • Director
      • Philip Saville
    • Writer
      • Denis Norden
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This was the first MGM release to get an X rating from the MPAA.
    • Quotes

      Sir Francis Leybourne: [the Attache is sobbing] I thought you people were supposed to be inscrutable?

      Chinese Trade Attache: Please, Sir Francis, China doesn't want any more opium.

      Sir Francis Leybourne: Oh, do be sensible. You chaps have already lost one war with Great Britain about this.

      Chinese Trade Attache: But to force us to buy it...

      Sir Francis Leybourne: Well, you signed a treaty agreeing to!

      Chinese Trade Attache: Your gunboats were right up our Yangtze!

      Sir Francis Leybourne: No use getting hysterical, Mr Feng.

      Chinese Trade Attache: Then let me appeal to our friendship; those happy weekends I used to spend at your townhouse; your late wife was always so kind to me. More than kind. She...

      Sir Francis Leybourne: She was an eccentric about the inferior races. My dear fellow, I've put a lot of money into that opium plantation. Damn it, it's hard enough to get the Indians to harvest the stuff. Blasted natives! You pay them two pounds ten a year and they're useless.

      Chinese Trade Attache: If you could see what the opium does to our people; they lie about the streets like dead flies.

      Sir Francis Leybourne: Well, get them to use a little self-discipline, man. Self control - works wonders. Look at the English!

    • Connections
      Referenced in The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart (1970)
    • Soundtracks
      MY LITTLE PUSSY
      by Ronald Cass and Peter Myers

    User reviews11

    Review
    Top review
    5/10
    Political incorrectness gone mad
    One of the earliest and certainly one of the most lavish of the British sex comedies that were to proliferate over the following decade, and typical of its time in the lampooning of Victorian double standards, a period then regarded as the ultimate in repression, prudery and hypocrisy. Today's audiences, reputedly as eager to take offence as any Victorian maiden aunt will no doubt find much of the content fairly deplorable, including a white actor 'yellowed-up' as a Chinese delegate. Though you don't have to be a censorious millennial to feel uneasy at some of the material, the jokes about rape and the flippant attitude to young girls in brothels, not to mention a particularly crass piece of innuendo in a song from a little girl, especially in the light of what we now know about the likes of Jimmy Savile and co at the time. David Hemmings stars in a dual role but struggles to convince in either. Despite all this Denis Norden's script does conjure up its share of amusing moments and it is fun spotting the numerous well-known actors and celebrities of the time popping up in cameo roles.
    helpful•2
    1
    • wilvram
    • Sep 22, 2020

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 1969 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Ein liebenswertes Freudenhaus
    • Filming locations
      • London, England, UK
    • Production company
      • Bridge Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 37 minutes
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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