''Fast and Loose'' is a 1954 British

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Gordon Parry and starring

Stanley Holloway Stanley Augustus Holloway (1 October 1890 – 30 January 1982) was an English actor, comedian, singer and monologist. He was famous for his comic and character roles Stanley Holloway on stage and screen, on stage and screen, especially t ...

Kay Kendall Justine Kay Kendall McCarthy (21 May 1927 – 6 September 1959) was an English actress and singer. She began her film career in the musical film ''London Town (1946 film), London Town'' (1946), a financial failure. Kendall worked regularly unti ...

and Brian Reece. It was written by

Ben Travers Ben Travers (12 November 188618 December 1980) was an English writer. His output includes more than 20 plays, 30 screenplays, 5 novels, and 3 volumes of memoirs. He is most notable for his long-running series of farces first staged in the 19 ...

and A.R. Rawlinson based on the 1925 play ''

A Cuckoo in the Nest ''A Cuckoo in the Nest'' is a farce by the English playwright Ben Travers. It was first given at the Aldwych Theatre, London, the second in the series of twelve Aldwych farces presented by the actor-manager Tom Walls at the theatre between 1923 ...

'' by Travers, the first of his

Aldwych farce The Aldwych farces were a series of twelve stage farces presented at the Aldwych Theatre, London, nearly continuously from 1923 to 1933. All but three of them were written by Ben Travers. They incorporate and develop British low comedy styles ...

s, which had previously been adapted as a 1933 film of the same title.

Plot

Peter Wickham puts his wife Barbara on a train and then misses it himself. He meets his ex-girlfriend Carol Hankin at the station; they hire a car and take off in search of Barbara. The car breaks down and they spend the night at a country pub which has only one guest-room. When Barbara and Carol's husband also turn up, farce ensues.

Cast

as Major George Crabb *

as Carol Hankin * Brian Reece as Peter Wickham *

Charles Victor Charles Victor (10 February 1896 – 23 December 1965) was a British actor who appeared in many film and television roles between 1931 and 1965. He was born Charles Victor Harvey. Born in Southport, Lancashire, England, Victor was a fourth- ...

as Lumper *

June Thorburn Patricia June Thorburn-Smith (8 June 1931 – 4 November 1967) was a popular English actress whose career was cut short by her death in an air crash. Early life Thorburn was born in Karachi, then part of British India. She was the eldest ...

as Barbara 'Babsie' Wickham *

Reginald Beckwith William Reginald Beckwith (2 November 190826 June 1965) was an English film and television actor, who made over one hundred film and television appearances in his career. He died of a heart attack aged 56. Beckwith was also a film critic and ...

as Reverend Tripp-Johnson *

Vida Hope Vida Hope (16 December 1910 – 23 December 1963) was a British stage and film actress, who also directed stage productions. Life and career Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, to theatrical parents, Hope travelled widely as a child.Some of the Com ...

as Gladys * Joan Young as Mrs. Gullett, inn manageress *

Fabia Drake Fabia Drake OBE (born Ethel McGlinchy; 20 January 1904 – 28 February 1990) was an English actress whose professional career spanned almost 73 years during the 20th century. Drake was born in Herne Bay, Kent. Her first professional role ...

as Mrs Crabb *

Dora Bryan Dora May Broadbent (7 February 1923 – 23 July 2014), known as Dora Bryan, was an English actress of stage, film and television.Aubrey Mather Aubrey Mather (17 December 1885 – 16 January 1958) was an English character actor. Career Mather was born in Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, and began his career on the stage in 1905. He debuted in London in ''Brewster's Millions'' in ...

as Noony * Toke Townley as Alfred *

Alexander Gauge Alexander Gauge (29 July 1914 – 28 August 1960) was a British character actor best known for playing Friar Tuck in ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' from 1955 to 1959. Biography Gauge was born in a Methodist Mission station in Wenzhou, China ...

as Hankin *

Eliot Makeham Harold Elliott Makeham (22 December 1882 – 8 February 1956) was an English film and television actor. Career Makeham was born in London, England. Between 1931 and 1956, Makeham appeared, primarily in character roles, in 115 films and in 11 t ...

as railway porter * John Warren as chauffeur

Production

It was one of a number of stage adaptations made by Group Film Productions around this time. The film was shot at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

near London with sets designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

John Howell. Brian Reece had just appeared on stage in Lonodn in ''The Seven Year Itch''. Filming took place in October 1953.

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "A dated farce of the Aldwych school. Unfortunately the players have not the ability of the Aldwych teams for this sort of material (Kay Kendall alone manages to make something of her part), and the film is over-extravagant without the saving grace of a logical art of nonsense. The dialogue is stretched to the utmost for the sake of doubles entendres; for example, 'I'm taking a young lady with me, and we're going pretty far'." ''

Kine Weekly ''Kinematograph Weekly'', popularly known as ''Kine Weekly'', was a trade paper catering to the British film industry between 1889 and 1971. Etymology The word Kinematograph was derived from the Greek ' Kinumai ', (to move, to be in motion, to ...

'' wrote: "The picture, reminiscent of early British talkies, has a wild moyotcycle chase but otherwise it's all talk. Unfortunately, Ben Travers' dialogue dates. Kay Kendall is most attractive, but neither her physical attributes nor her talents are flattered by the rôle of Carol. Stanley Holloway, Brian Reece, Joan Young and Fabia Drake also work hard, but they, too, find it difficult to score. Yet harmless and innocuous as it all is, the Censor has given it an 'A' certificate." In ''British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959'' David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Supposed comedy is much inferior to ''

'' (1934)." ''Filmink'' called it "clunky... pretty dire."

Leslie Halliwell Robert James Leslie Halliwell (23 February 1929 – 21 January 1989) was a British film critic, encyclopaedist and television rights buyer for ITV, the British commercial network, and Channel 4. He is best known for his reference guides, '' Fi ...

said: "spiritless and miscast remake of ''A'' ''Cuckoo in the Nest''; all talents below form." ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' called the film an "unfunny remake of ''A Cuckoo in the Nest'' (1933)." Kay Kendall's biographer called it "a witless, braying comedy... After ''Genevieve'' — and even the oddities of ''Meet Mr. Lucifer'' — this role was such a letdown that Kay barely managed to walk through her performance with a slightly annoyed look on her face... Everyone wildly overacted except for Kay, who looked distinctly bored throughout, as if she were mentally tallying the months left in her Rank contract."

References

External links

* * {{Gordon Parry 1954 films Films directed by Gordon Parry 1954 comedy films British comedy films Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films set in London Remakes of British films British films based on plays 1950s English-language films British black-and-white films 1950s British films English-language comedy films Films scored by Philip Green