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Will Any Gentleman...?

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Will Any Gentleman...?
British poster
Directed byMichael Anderson
Written byVernon Sylvaine
Based onWill Any Gentleman? by Vernon Sylvaine
Produced byHamilton G. Inglis
StarringGeorge Cole
Veronica Hurst
Heather Thatcher
Jon Pertwee
William Hartnell
CinematographyErwin Hillier
Edited byMax Benedict
Music byWally Stott
Production
company
Distributed byAssociated British-Pathé
Release date
  • 24 August 1953 (1953-08-24)
Running time
84 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office£128,522 (UK)[1]

Will Any Gentleman...?, also known as Reluctant Casanova, is a 1953 British comedy film directed by Michael Anderson and starring George Cole, Veronica Hurst, Heather Thatcher, Jon Pertwee, and William Hartnell.[2] It was written by Vernon Sylvaine based on his 1950 play Will Any Gentleman...?.[3] It was the first of five movies Anderson made for ABPC and was reasonably successful at the box office.[4]

It is notable for featuring both William Hartnell and Jon Pertwee onscreen together. Both actors would later go on to play The Doctor in Doctor Who.

Plot

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Henry Sterling, a mild-mannered bank clerk, visits a music hall to pay the manager a debt owed by his cheque-bouncing philandering brother. He is persuaded to stay and become the subject of a stage hypnotist, "The Great Mendoza". Fleeing back home, he cannot remember where he's been and what he's done.

His now-twin personas come and go at random. When in the hypnotised state, he becomes very reckless, both in chatting up women he would never normally dare approach, and spending money he has not got.

After he insults his domineering mother-in-law, his wife leaves him. He robs his boss of £300, but his brother realises what has happened and persuades the hypnotist to get him back to normal.

Cast

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Production

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The film was made at Elstree Studios with sets designed by the art director Terence Verity and shot in Technicolor by cinematographer Erwin Hillier.

Critical reception

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The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This film will either entertain or bore, according to one's reaction to this venerable brand of farce. Most of the fun is derived from well-worn stage jokes, but, on the whole, they are put across with enough vigour and verve to make them seem quite fresh. Slow to start, it warms up into a fairly bright little film. There are nice performances by Joan Sims as the maid and Alan Badel as the magician. George Cole is not quite at ease as Henry, but perhaps this is because the part seems to belong to Robertson Hare, and one tends to think of Henry as middle-aged. "[5]

The New York Times wrote, "Although the British movie makers have been known to make the most of humor, their infrequent lapses in this genre can be deadly dull. And Will Any Gentleman . . .?, the farce by that cryptic title, which landed at the Plaza yesterday, falls flatly into the latter niche...All that may be said of Michael Anderson, a young and respected director, is that he has kept his cast, if not his story, moving. George Cole is largely bewildered and woebegone as the transformed bank teller. Jon Pertwee, who looks a bit like Danny Kaye, adds an occasional comic touch as his energetic, scapegrace brother. ... As the film's confused detective, William Hartnell delivers the script's most ambitious line when he says, "there's something funny going on around here!"[6]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "good", writing: "Bright, funny, well-produced comedy."[7]

References

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  1. ^ Vincent Porter, 'The Robert Clark Account', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 20 No 4, 2000 p502
  2. ^ "Will Any Gentleman...?". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Will Any Gentleman...? (1953)". Archived from the original on 15 January 2009.
  4. ^ Harper, Sue; Porter, Vincent (2003). British Cinema of The 1950s The Decline of Deference. Oxford University Press USA. p. 82.
  5. ^ "Will Any Gentleman...?". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 20 (228): 112. 1 January 1953 – via ProQuest.
  6. ^ "Movie Reviews". The New York Times. 6 May 2022.
  7. ^ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 400. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.
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