The Silver Screen Oasis

Spoiler Alert

A great British comedy. IMO it's John Mills best film and one of Charles Laughton's great roles. however, as great as they were it was character actress Brenda De Banzie in a rare lead role who steals the film she's simply wonderful as potential old maid Maggie Hobson, who sets out to marry Mills, even though he's the lowest of her father's Laughton's employees, working as a boot hand.

Brenda's Maggie pratically bulldozes Mills to the alter as well as turning him into an acclompished buisnessman. also in the film as Brenda's sisters are Daphne Anderson of Gideon's Way and the future Sybil Fawlty from Fawlty Towers a young 19-yr-old Prunella Scales. in fact Prunella reminds me of Claire Bloom in Chaplin's Limelight in a sense that both were still able to, yrs later, look beautiful and play lead roles when other cast members were either old or passed away.

another well known actor in the film was John Laurie, who played Laughton's Doctor

This is a film that highlights Laughton's use of his physical being. He's an angry, embittered, braggart of a character that probably doesn't have any real friends (his bar chums merrily laugh at his problems) and is so physically limited. Here, though, Laughton's natural lack of grace and agility is exploited so well - his drunken lurchings and eventual falls are done so perfectly.

This is probably my favorite Laughton performance because he uses his physicality so much and so well - from his stumbling overweight walking to that face that bubbles up in volcanic explosions only to have his daughters waltz in and douse him with their ages-old wisdom of "handling" him.

And John Mills, growing from Timid into Strong, is a great transition to watch. This is done in other films with a hammy or unjustified set of behaviors, but here, I felt the writers did a great job of showing us why and how this Mills character would change.

In the end, this really IS a deBanzie story. What a great film for her.

I've just watched a production of this in Salford where the play is set. It starred John Savident (Fred from Coronation St my apologies to non Brits who perhaps won't get the reference) It was absolutely brilliant. The play is Maggies for sure. Although John Savident was the star the actress playing Maggie was extremely close to De Banzie's interpretation. It's a wonderful play

The TCM schedule for May has been revealed, and Hobson's Choice will be playing on May 19th. I am greatly looking forward to this, as I haven't seen this film in decades!