''Here Come the Huggetts'' is a 1948 British

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 ol ...

, the first of the

Huggetts series ''The Huggetts'' are a fictional family who appear in a series of British films which were released in the late 1940s by Gainsborough Pictures. The films centre on the character of Joe Huggett, played by Jack Warner, the head of a working class ...

, about a

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

English family. All three films in the series were directed by

Ken Annakin Kenneth Cooper Annakin, Order of the British Empire, OBE (10 August 1914 – 22 April 2009) was an England, English film director. His career spanned half a century, beginning in the early 1940s and ending in 2002, and in the 1960s he was notice ...

and released by

Gainsborough Pictures Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, north London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The com ...

. Jack Warner and

Kathleen Harrison Kathleen Harrison (23 February 1892 – 7 December 1995) was a prolific English character actress best remembered for her role as Mrs. Huggett (opposite Jack Warner and Petula Clark) in a trio of British post-war comedies about a working ...

head the cast as factory worker Joe Huggett and his wife Ethel, with

Petula Clark Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades. Clark's professional career began during the ...

Jane Hylton Jane Hylton (16 July 1926 – 28 February 1979, born as Audrey Gwendolene Clark) was an English actress who accumulated 30 film credits, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s, before moving into television work in the latter half of her career in the ...

and

Susan Shaw Susan Shaw (29 August 192927 November 1978) was an English actress. Biography Shaw was born Patsy Sloots in West Norwood, London. She had wanted to become a dress designer and was working as a typist at the Ministry for Information when she di ...

as their young daughters (all with the same first names as the actresses portraying them) and

Amy Veness Amy Veness (26 February 1876 – 22 September 1960) was an English film actress. She played the role of Grandma Huggett in ''The Huggetts Trilogy'' and was sometimes credited as Amy Van Ness. Veness was born Amy Clarice Beart in Aldeburgh, Suff ...

as their opinionated grandmother.

Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was pr ...

had an early role. Joe and Ethel had been introduced a year earlier in the film ''

Holiday Camp A holiday camp is a type of holiday accommodation that encourages holidaymakers to stay within the site boundary, and provides entertainment and facilities for them throughout the day. Since the 1970s, the term has fallen out of favour with term ...

'' and there would be two sequels, ''

Vote for Huggett ''Vote for Huggett'' is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Susan Shaw and Petula Clark. Warner reprises his role as the head of a London family, in the post-war years. In this, the t ...

'' and ''

The Huggetts Abroad ''The Huggetts Abroad'' is a 1949 British film starring Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Petula Clark and Susan Shaw. It was the final film of The Huggetts. The film was less commercially successful than its predecessors. A sequel, ''Christmas ...

'' (both 1949).

Plot

Factory worker Joe Huggett has a first-time telephone installed at home, for work purposes, but his daughters quickly find a lot more use for it. Diana, a flighty cousin of Ethel's (played by a 16-year-old

), arrives for a not-very-welcome visit and causes problems at home and at Joe's workplace when Ethel persuades Joe to get her a job there. Eldest daughter Jane must choose between her fiancé who has been away in the forces and a new local admirer. Meanwhile, the family is planning to go to London to see the

royal wedding ''Royal Wedding'' is a 1951 American musical comedy film directed by Stanley Donen, and starring Fred Astaire and Jane Powell, with music by Burton Lane and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. Set in 1947 London at the time of the wedding of Princess ...

, and Grandma Huggett joins them in camping out overnight near

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

. Clark, who began her career as a child vocalist on

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

, sings the song "Walking Backwards".

Cast

* Jack Warner as Joe Huggett *

as Ethel Huggett *

as Jane Huggett *

as Susan Huggett *

as Pet Huggett *

Jimmy Hanley Jimmy Hanley (22 October 1918 – 13 January 1970) was an English actor who appeared in the popular Huggetts film series, and in ITV's most popular advertising magazine programme, ''Jim's Inn'', from 1957 to 1963. Early life Born in Norwich, No ...

as Jimmy Gardner *

David Tomlinson David Cecil MacAlister Tomlinson (7 May 1917 – 24 June 2000) was an English stage, film, and television actor and comedian. Having been described as both a leading man and a character actor, he is primarily remembered for his roles as authori ...

as Harold Hinchley *

as Diana Hopkins * Peter Hammond as Peter Hawtrey * John Blythe as Gowan *

as Grandma Huggett *

Clive Morton Clive Morton (16 March 1904 – 24 September 1975) was an English actor best known for playing upper class Englishmen, he made many screen appearances, especially on television. In 1955, he appeared in Laurence Olivier's '' Richard III'' and is ...

as Mr. Campbell *

Maurice Denham William Maurice Denham OBE (23 December 1909 – 24 July 2002) was an English character actor who appeared in over 100 films and television programmes in his long career. Family Denham was born on 23 December 1909 in Beckenham, Kent, the son ...

as 1st Engineer *

Doris Hare Doris Breamer Hare, MBE (1 March 1905 – 30 May 2000) was a British actress, comedian, singer, and dancer best known for portraying Mabel Butler in the British sitcom ''On the Buses'' and its film spin-offs, after replacing the original actres ...

as Mrs. Fisher *

Esma Cannon Esma Ellen Charlotte Littmann (née Cannon) (27 December 1905 – 18 October 1972), credited as Esme or Esma Cannon, was a diminutive () Australian-born character actress and comedian, who moved to Britain in the early 1930s. Although she freque ...

as Youth Leader *

Alison Leggatt Alison Joy Leggatt (7 February 1904 – 15 July 1990) was an English character actress. Career Born in the Kensington district of London, Leggatt trained under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Drama, then based in the Royal Alber ...

as Miss Perks *

Dandy Nichols Dandy Nichols (born Daisy Sander; 21 May 1907 – 6 February 1986) was an English actress best known for her role as Else Garnett, the long-suffering wife of the character Alf Garnett who was a parody of a working class Tory, in the BBC sit ...

as Aunt Edie Hopkins *

Hal Osmond Hal Osmond (27 May 1903 – December 1959) was a British stage, film and television actor. He played Anselm in ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' episode "Errand of Mercy" (1956). Selected filmography * '' Once Upon a Dream'' (1949) * ''Vote for H ...

as 2nd Engineer * Peter Scott as Office Boy * Keith Shepherd as Vicar *

Edmundo Ros Edmundo Ros OBE, FRAM (7 December 1910 – 21 October 2011), born Edmund William Ross, was a Trinidadian-Venezuelan musician, vocalist, arranger and bandleader who made his career in Britain. He directed a highly popular Latin American orchestra ...

as Himself (as Edmundo Ros and His Rhumba Band)

Production

Filming took place in June 1948. The working title was ''Wedding Bells''.Sonia Dresdel opens the large Tory Rally Date: Friday, June 18, 1948 Publication: Essex Newsman (Chelmsford, England) Issue: 4325 page 2 Film reviewer Stephen Vagg described the film as a breakthrough role for Diana Dors, who played Ma Huggett's niece.

References

External links

*
Here Come the Huggetts
at BFI
Review of film
at ''Variety'' 1948 films Gainsborough Pictures films Films directed by Ken Annakin British black-and-white films Films with screenplays by Muriel Box Films with screenplays by Sydney Box Films produced by Betty Box Films scored by Antony Hopkins Films with screenplays by Peter Rogers Islington Studios films British comedy films 1948 comedy films The Huggetts (film series) 1940s British films {{1940s-UK-film-stub