''The Crowning Touch'' is a 1959

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

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

David Eady Sir David Eady (born 24 March 1943) is a retired High Court judge in England and Wales. As a judge, he is known for having presided over many high-profile libel and privacy cases. He was called to the bar in 1966 and became a Queen's Counse ...

and starring Ted Ray,

Irene Handl Irene Handl () (27 December 1901 – 29 November 1987) was a British character actress who appeared in more than 100 British films; she also wrote novels. Life Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the younger of two daughters of an Aus ...

and

Greta Gynt Greta Gynt (born Margrethe Woxholt; 15 November 1916 – 2 April 2000) was a Norwegian dancer and actress. She is remembered for her starring roles in the British classic films '' The Dark Eyes of London'', '' Mr. Emmanuel'', ''Take My Life'', '' ...

. It was written by Margot Bennett.

Plot

The "Crowning Touch" of the title is a fancy ladies hat. It has been ordered and specially set aside at a posh British hat shop, but no one has come to collect it. Three of the shop's staff offer different reasons as to why the pretty young girl who'd ordered the hat never showed up.

Cast

* Ted Ray as Bert *

as Rosie * Griffith Jones as Mark *

Sydney Tafler Sydney Tafler (31 July 1916 – 8 November 1979) was an English actor who after having started his career on stage, was best remembered for numerous appearances in films and television from the 1940s to the 1970s. Personal life Tafler was bor ...

as Joe *

Dermot Walsh Dermot Walsh (10 September 1924 – 26 June 2002) was an Irish stage, film and television actor, known for portraying King Richard the Lionheart in the 1962 television series '' ''Richard the Lionheart'. Early life Born in Dublin, Ireland, ...

as Aubrey Drake *

Maureen Connell Maureen Connell (born 2 August 1931) is a British actress. Personal life On 20 July 1956, Connell married British film director, writer and producer John Guillermin. They resided in the Los Angeles area beginning 1968. They had two children, ...

as Julia *

Colin Gordon Colin Gordon (27 April 1911 – 4 October 1972) was a British actor. Although primarily a stage actor he made numerous appearances on television and in cinema films, generally in comedies. His stage career was mainly in the West End, but he w ...

as Stacey *

as Bebe *

Allan Cuthbertson Allan Darling Cuthbertson (7 April 1920 – 8 February 1988) was an Australian actor. He was best known for playing stern-faced military officers in British films of the 1950s and 1960s. Early life Cuthbertson was born in Perth, Western Austra ...

as Philip *

Diane Hart Diane Lavinia Hart (20 July 1926 – 7 February 2002) was an English actress in both films and West End theatre, political campaigner, and inventor. Early life Born in 1926, Hart was educated at various convents and then at Abbot's Hill Schoo ...

as Tess *

Joan Benham Joan Benham (17 May 1918 – 13 June 1981) was an English actress best known for her portrayal of Lady Prudence Fairfax in the ITV period drama series '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. She was born in London and was the first cousin of Hollywood actr ...

as Daphne *

Maurice Kaufmann Maurice Harington Kaufmann (29 June 1927 – 21 September 1997) was a British actor of stage, film and television, who specialised in whodunits and horror films, from 1954 to 1981, when he retired. Personal life He was married to Honor Blackm ...

as David

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: "This quartet of magazine stories is smoothly linked by a generally amusing and entertaining script, while the production's acting and technical qualities are passably good." ''

Allmovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, television series, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was ...

'' called the film "a serviceable British shaggy-dog story, graced by the presence of such top talents as Greta Gynt, Griffith Jones, Sydney Tafler, Dermot Walsh and Irene Handl." In ''British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959'' David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "passes the time agreeably; nothing special." ''

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 it an "okay English comedy ... A number of distinguished performers lift this one above the average."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crowning Touch 1959 films 1959 comedy films 1950s English-language films Films directed by David Eady British comedy films 1950s British films English-language comedy films Films scored by Edwin Astley