''The Constant Husband'' is a 1955

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

, directed by

Sidney Gilliat Sidney Gilliat (15 February 1908 – 31 May 1994) was an English film director, producer and writer. He was the son of George Gilliat, editor of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1928 to 1933. Sidney was born in the district of Edgeley in Sto ...

and starring

Rex Harrison Sir Reginald Carey "Rex" Harrison (5 March 1908 – 2 June 1990) was an English actor. Harrison began his career on the stage in 1924. He made his West End debut in 1936 appearing in the Terence Rattigan play '' French Without Tears'', in wh ...

Margaret Leighton Margaret Leighton, CBE (26 February 1922 – 13 January 1976) was an English actress, active on stage and television, and in film. Her film appearances included (her first credited debut feature) in Anatole de Grunwald's ''The Winslow Boy'' ( ...

, Kay Kendall,

Cecil Parker Cecil Parker (born Cecil Schwabe, 3 September 1897 – 20 April 1971) was an English actor with a distinctively husky voice, who usually played supporting roles, often characters with a supercilious demeanour, in his 91 films made between ...

, George Cole and Raymond Huntley. The story was written by Gilliat together with Val Valentine, and the film was produced by Individual Pictures, Gilliat's and

Frank Launder Frank Launder (28 January 1906 – 23 February 1997) was a British writer, film director and producer, who made more than 40 films, many of them in collaboration with Sidney Gilliat. Early life and career He was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire ...

's joint production company. Because the film got caught up in the 1954 bankruptcy of British Lion Film Corporation, it was not released until more than seven months after it had been finished and reviewed by the

British Board of Film Censors The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organization, non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national clas ...

Plot

A man (Rex Harrison) wakes up in a hotel room in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, suffering from amnesia. He has no recollection of who he is, why he is there, or where he comes from. With the help of psychologist Doctor Llewellyn (Cecil Parker), they trace a wife and home in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, but they go on to discover that she is just one of many women whom he has bigamously married.

Main cast

as William Egerton *

as Llewellyn * Sally Lahee as The Nurse * Kay Kendall as Monica Hathaway *

Nicole Maurey Nicole Maurey (20 December 1925 – 11 March 2016) was a French actress, who appeared in 65 film and television productions between 1945 and 1997. Life and career Born in Bois-Colombes, a northwestern suburb of Paris, Maurey was originally ...

as Lola * Valerie French as Bridget *

Ursula Howells Ursula Howells (17 September 1922 – 16 October 2005) was an English actress whose elegant presence kept her much in demand for roles in film and television. Life and career Howells was born in London, the daughter of composer Herbert Howells, ...

as Ann *

Jill Adams Jill Adams (22 July 1930 – 13 May 2008) was an English actress, artist and fashion model. She featured or starred in over 25 films during the 1950s and 1960s. Life Jill Adams was born Jill Siggins in London in 1930, the daughter of the sil ...

as Joanna Brent * Roma Dunville as Elizabeth *

Robert Coote Robert Coote (4 February 1909 – 26 November 1982) was an English actor. He played aristocrats or British military types in many films, and created the role of Colonel Hugh Pickering in the long-running original Broadway production of ''My Fai ...

as Jack Carter * Raymond Huntley as J.F. Hassett *

Noel Hood Margaret Noel Hood (25 December 1909 – 15 October 1979) was a British actress. She was married to the Irish-born actor Charles Oliver. Filmography Film * '' Crook's Tour'' (1940) as Edith Charters * '' Personal Affair'' (1953) as 4th Gossip ...

as Gladys *

Eric Pohlmann Eric Pohlmann (german: Erich Pohlmann; born Erich Pollak; 18 July 1913 – 25 July 1979) was an Austrian theatre, film and television character actor who worked mostly in the United Kingdom. He is known for voicing Ernst Stavro Blofeld, th ...

as Papa Sopranelli *

Marie Burke Marie Burke (born Marie Rosa Altfuldisch, later Holt, 18 October 189421 March 1988) was an English actress of stage, cinema and television. She appeared in over 40 films between 1917 and 1971, and appeared in TV series between 1953 and 1969. B ...

as Mama Sopraneli * George Cole as Luigi Sopranelli * Derek Sydney as Giorgio Sopranelli *

Guy Deghy Guy Deghy (born Gedeon Aladar Istvan Deghy; 11 October 1912 – 25 February 1992), was a Hungarian-born actor who appeared largely in British films and television, as in the 5th episode of the first season of '' The Saint'' depicting Inspector ...

as Stromboli *

as Miss Chesterman *

Eric Berry James Eric Berry (born December 29, 1988) is an American former football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers, where he was a two-time unanimous All-American and rec ...

as Counsel for the Prosecution *

Michael Hordern Sir Michael Murray Hordern Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (3 October 19112 May 1995)Morley, Sheridan"Hordern, Michael Murray (1911–1995)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online e ...

as Judge *

Charles Lloyd-Pack Charles Lloyd-Pack (10 October 1902 – 22 December 1983) was a British film, television and stage actor. Life and career Lloyd-Pack was born at Wapping, East London, to working-class parents. He was seen in several horror films produced by the ...

as The Solicitor *

Arthur Howard Arthur Howard (born Arthur John Steiner; 18 January 1910 – 18 June 1995) was an English stage, film and television actor. Life and career Born in Camberwell, London, Howard was the younger son of Lilian (née Blumberg) and Ferdinand "Frank" ...

as Clerk of the Court * John Robinson as Secretary *

Michael Ripper Michael George Ripper (27 January 1913 – 28 June 2000) was an English character actor. He began his film career in quota quickies in the 1930s and until the late 1950s was virtually unknown; he was seldom credited. Along with Michael Gough ...

as Left Luggage Attendant *

Muriel Young Muriel Young (19 June 1923 – 24 March 2001) was an English television continuity announcer, presenter and producer. Early life Young was born in 1923 in Bishop Middleham near Sedgefield, County Durham. As a child, she lived with her family ...

as Clara *

Sam Kydd Samuel John Kydd (15 February 1915 – 26 March 1982) was a British-Irish actor. His best-known roles were in two major British television series of the 1960s, as the smuggler Orlando O'Connor in '' Crane'' and its sequel ''Orlando''. He als ...

Uncredited

Production

The film was made in

Shepperton Studios Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not to be confused ...

, with shooting finished in early June 1954, just a week after the studio's owner and the film's intended distributor, British Lion Film Corporation, went into receivership on 1 June 1954. The opening scenes were filmed on location at

New Quay New Quay ( cy, Cei Newydd) is a seaside town (and electoral ward) in Ceredigion, Wales, with a resident population of around 1,200 people, reducing to 1,082 at the 2011 census. Located south-west of Aberystwyth on Cardigan Bay with a harbour a ...

and

Aberaeron Aberaeron, previously anglicised as Aberayron, is a town, community, and electoral ward between Aberystwyth and Cardigan, in Ceredigion, Wales. Ceredigion County Council offices are in Aberaeron. The name of the town is Welsh for ''mouth of ...

Ceredigion Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cer ...

, Mid Wales, and others at Kensington, Millbank,

Wormwood Scrubs Wormwood Scrubs, known locally as The Scrubs (or simply Scrubs), is an open space in Old Oak Common located in the north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London. It is the largest open space in the borough, ...

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its root ...

, and St. Paul's, London. When the film was screened by the censors at

BBFC The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of fi ...

on 10 September 1954, it was submitted by

's company Launder Productions, as it did not yet have a new distributor. In January 1955, Launder, Gilliat and the

Boulting brothers John Edward Boulting (21 December 1913 – 17 June 1985) and Roy Alfred Clarence Boulting (21 December 1913 – 5 November 2001), known collectively as the Boulting brothers, were English filmmakers and identical twins who became known for thei ...

formed a new company, British Lion Films Ltd., which took over the running of Shepperton as well as British Lion's distribution business, and the film finally received its world premiere at the

London Pavilion The London Pavilion is a building on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Coventry Street on the north-east side of Piccadilly Circus in London. It is currently a shopping arcade and part of the Trocadero Centre. Early history The first build ...

on 21 April 1955.

Reception

According to the

National Film Finance Corporation The National Film Finance Corporation (NFFC) was a film funding agency in the United Kingdom in operation from 1949 until 1985. The NFFC was established by the Cinematograph Film Production (Special Loans) Act 1949, and further enhanced by the ...

, the film made a comfortable profit.U.S. MONEY BEHIND 30% OF BRITISH FILMS: Problems for the Board of Trade The Manchester Guardian (1901-1959) anchester (UK)4 May 1956: 7

External links

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Constant Husband, The 1955 films 1955 comedy films British comedy films Films about amnesia Films set in Wales Films set in London Films directed by Sidney Gilliat Films scored by Malcolm Arnold 1950s English-language films 1950s British films