User Reviews

Why does everybody in this programmer British comedy seem to have their nose in the air, even the servants? Nobody seems to really like each other, either, that is with the exception of retiring mill owner Frank Pettingell's housekeeper, Joyce Bland, seemingly sweet in the opening scenes, and turning out to be an Una O'Connor like shrieking shrew when she discovers first that Pentigell is hiring another housekeeper (whom he eventually fires) and later finds out that he's become engaged to the snooty and very dingy Ruby Miller. Pettingell has left the factory to nephew Tom Helmore on the condition that he wait until he turns 40 to marry.

Hard to believe and even harder to take film version of an old stage chestnut that should have been roasted to a crisp on an open fire and never done again. None of the characters are likeable at all, treating everyone around them like their inferiors, to the point that the inferiors run out of inferiors to treat inferior. Pettingell's dialect after a while becomes truly a curse to have to listen to, and the sharp features of Bland makes her seem hard, even when she's attempting to be soft. The fact that she has unrequited love for her employer is completely unbelievable, especially since she treats him like a possession. After a while, this just becomes far too much to tolerate.

This story written by actor H.F.Maltby was first performed on the stage in 1925, and 10 years later it was filmed, with Maltby making an appearance. It tells the story of a Lancashire mill owner Mr Lomas (Frank Pettingell), who having left school at 12 years, and spent 38 years in the mill, decides that at 50, it's time for him to retire, down south. He hands over control of the mill to his nephew (Tom Helmore), who immediately announces his plan to get married: much against his uncle's wishes. The uncle believing his nephew is too young, and he doesn't support the idea of marriage anyway.

Settling in Brighton, Lomas, attracts the attention of a gold digging widow. She introduces him to her friends, who introduce him to the game of golf. He is tolerated because of his wealthy status, but secretly, his new friends laugh behind his back. Unable to settle into a new way of life, Lomas sends for his old housekeeper Ellen (Joyce Bland) who secretly loves him. She immediately realises that the widow is only after money and tells her so. Soon after Lomas announces he is to be married. Ellen gives her notice and returns North. Lomas' nephew Stephen (Tom Helmore) is on honeymoon when most of the mill is destroyed in a blaze; worse still, the mill was not insured. Mr Lomas returns to the North to use all his savings to try to rebuild the mill; The gold digging widow now calls the wedding off. Just as Lomas feels that he has nothing left, Ellen (Joyce Bland) returns and tells him of her feelings, and Lomas asks her to marry him.

I personally enjoyed this movie and there are one or two funny moments, but it is dated, and probably wouldn't appeal to most under 40.