''Meet Mr. Lucifer'' is a black-and-white British comedy satire film released in 1953 starring
Stanley Holloway. It was filmed at
Ealing Studios,
London, and is one of the
Ealing comedies. The film is based on the
play ''Beggar My Neighbour'' by
Arnold Ridley (who later played Private Godfrey in the
BBC television comedy series ''
Dad's Army'').
The film opened on 26 November 1953 at the Haymarket Gaumont cinema in London.
The overall scenario is that a television set makes people act out of character, with visible encouragement from the Devil in human form.
Plot
When Mr Pedelty leaves his firm, he is given a television set as a retirement present. At first, he enjoys all the attention from his neighbours, but soon the attraction wears off, and he sells it on to a young married couple the Nortons, living in the flat above him. They soon encounter the same problems, and again the set is passed on to several different characters all with the same results.
The set passes to the chemist Hector McPhee who falls in love with "The Lonely Hearts Singer" on a television programme. At first he has the same dour character as his maiden aunt, Miss MacPherson. At first, the set improves his character, but as his obsession grows, he becomes increasingly angry at any interruption.
Cast
*
Stanley Holloway as Sam Hollingsworth / Mr. Lucifer
*
Peggy Cummins
Peggy Cummins (born Augusta Margaret Diane Fuller; 18 December 1925 – 29 December 2017) was an Irish actress, born in Wales, who is best known for her performance in Joseph H. Lewis's ''Gun Crazy'' (1950), playing a trigger-happy ''femme fa ...
as Kitty Norton
*
Jack Watling as Jim Norton
*
Barbara Murray
Barbara Ann Murray (27 September 1929 – 20 May 2014) was an English actress.
Murray was most active in the 1940s and 1950s as a fresh-faced leading lady in many British films such as ''Passport to Pimlico'' (1949) and ''Meet Mr. Lucifer'' (19 ...
as Patricia Pedelty
*
Joseph Tomelty as Mr. Pedelty
*
Kay Kendall as Lonely Hearts Singer
*
Gordon Jackson as Hector McPhee
*
Charles Victor as Mr. Elder
*
Humphrey Lestocq as Arthur
*
Jean Cadell as Mrs. Macdonald
*
Raymond Huntley as Mr. Patterson
*
Ernest Thesiger as Mr. Macdonald
*
Frank Pettingell as Mr. Roberts
*
Olive Sloane as Mrs. Stannard
*
Gilbert Harding as Himself
*
Philip Harben as Himself
*
McDonald Hobley as Himself
*David Miller as Himself
*Olga Gwynne as Principal Boy
*
Joan Sims as Fairy Queen
*
Ian Carmichael as Man Friday
*
Irene Handl as Lady with Dog
*
Gladys Henson as Lady in Bus
*
Roddy Hughes as Billings
*
Eliot Makeham as Edwards
*
Bill Fraser as Band Leader
*
Dandy Nichols as Mrs. Clarke
*
Toke Townley as Trumpet Player
*
Fred Griffiths as Removal Man
References
External links
*
''Meet Mr. Lucifer''film review at Timeout
*
*
*
{{Anthony Pelissier
1953 films
1953 comedy films
British comedy films
Ealing Studios films
Films directed by Anthony Pelissier
Films set in London
British films based on plays
Films about television
British black-and-white films
1950s English-language films
1950s British films