''My Wife's Lodger'' is a 1952 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 ...

directed by

Maurice Elvey Maurice Elvey (11 November 1887 – 28 August 1967) was one of the most prolific film directors in British history. He directed nearly 200 films between 1913 and 1957. During the silent film era he directed as many as twenty films per year. He a ...

and starring

Dominic Roche Dominic Roche (1902–1972), was a British actor and playwright. His 'North country farce' My Wife's Lodger had a West End run in 1950,and was filmed with Roche in the leading role. The BFI Screenonline observed, "Roche's impressively spiky, downb ...

Olive Sloane Olive Sloane (16 December 1896 – 28 June 1963) was an English actress whose film career spanned over 40 years from the silent era through to her death. Sloane's career trajectory was unusual in that for most of her professional life she was e ...

and

Leslie Dwyer Leslie Gilbert Dwyer (28 August 1906 – 26 December 1986) was an English film and television actor. Career He was born in Catford, the son of the popular music hall comedian Johnny Dwyer, and acted from the age of ten and appeared in his firs ...

. The screenplay concerns a who soldier returns home after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

only to find a

spiv In the United Kingdom, the word spiv is slang for a type of petty criminal who deals in illicit, typically black market, goods. The word was particularly used during the Second World War and in the post-war period when many goods were rationed du ...

lodger has established himself in his place. It was based on the play ''My Wife's Lodger'' written by Roche.

Cast

as Willie Higginbotham *

as Maggie Higginbotham *

as Roger the Lodger *

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 ...

as Eunice Higginbotham * Alan Sedgwick as Tex *

Vincent Dowling Vincent Gerard Dowling (7 September 1929 – 9 May 2013) was an Irish actor and director. Ireland Dowling was born in Dublin and educated at St Mary's College and Rathmines College of Commerce. He came to prominence in the 1950s for his role ...

as Norman Higginbotham *

Vi Kaley Vi Kaley, (19 November 1878, Lambeth - 1967, Marylebone), was a British actress. She was married to Alfred Artois. Partial filmography * '' Lloyd of the C.I.D.'' (1932) * '' A Royal Demand'' (1933) * ''Gay Old Dog'' (1935) * ''The Man Without a F ...

as Mother-in-Law *

Martin Wyldeck Martin Wyldeck (11 January 1914 – 29 April 1988) was an English actor who played a wide range of parts over many years on stage, screen and TV. He also appeared in the first episode of the TV series '' Fawlty Towers'', as Sir Richard Morri ...

as Policeman * David Hannaford as Vernon * Ilena Sylva as Vernon's Mother *

Ronald Adam General Sir Ronald Forbes Adam, 2nd Baronet, (30 October 1885 – 26 December 1982) was a senior British Army officer. He had an important influence on the conduct of the British Army during the Second World War as a result of his long tenure ...

as Doctor *

Wally Patch Walter Sydney Vinnicombe (26 September 1888 – 27 October 1970) was an English actor and comedian. He worked in film, television and theatre. Biography Vinnicombe was born in Willesden, Middlesex and began working on the music hall stages in ...

as Sergeant * Derek Tansley as Deserter * Alastair Hunter as Lance Corporal *

Toke Townley John Antony Townley (6 November 1912 – 27 September 1984), known professionally as Toke Townley, was an English actor. Biography Townley was born on 6 November 1912 at Great Dunmow, Essex; his father was a vicar. His first name, "John", was c ...

as Soldier * Fred Griffiths as Driver *

Harry Locke Harry Locke (10 December 1913 – 7 September 1987) was an English character actor. He was born and died in London. He married Joan Cowderoy in 1943 and Cordelia Sewell in 1952. He was a good friend of the poet Dylan Thomas. Their friendship in ...

as Passer-by

Production

The film was based on a 1951 play. Filming took place in May 1952. Dors was appearing in a revue ''Rendezvous'' at night It was one of a series of low budget comedies Dors made around this time.

Critical reception

The ''

Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...

'' said "this comedy runs through a repertoire of farcical situations of the most ancient variety. The playing does not lack energy but the music-hall style jokes - domestic bickering, mothers-in-law and so on - become very exhausting." ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' wrote, "the energy of the ensemble partly makes up for the film's lack of coherence and taste." The 'Daily Film Renter' (quoted in

BFI Screenonline Screenonline is a website about the history of British film, television and social history as documented by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute and funded by a £1.2 million grant from the National Lot ...

) wrote, "the acting is of the 'Ee-bai-goom' school and the dialogue is the ripe, uninhibited language of the

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

... as briny as

jellied eels Jellied eels are a traditional English dish that originated in the 18th century, primarily in the East End of London. The dish consists of chopped eels boiled in a spiced stock that is allowed to cool and set, forming a jelly. It is usually se ...

Southend Pier Southend Pier is a major landmark in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, United Kingdom. Extending into the Thames Estuary, it is the longest pleasure pier in the world. The bill to build the new pier, to replace a previous timber jetty, received Royal ...

." In 'CathodeRayTube.co.uk', Frank Collins writes, "there are some genuinely laugh out loud moments here and the humour derived from the antics of such a

dysfunctional family A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often child neglect or abuse and sometimes even all of the above on the part of individual parents occur continuously and regularly, leading other members to accommodate suc ...

reflect many of the tropes that would find their way into

British sitcoms A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television. Most British sitcoms are recorded on studio sets, while some have an element of location filming. A handful are made almost exclusively on location ...

of the late 1960s and 1970s where other ideological wars would be fought - based on gender, class, race and religion."

References

External links

*
''My Wife's Lodger'' at BFI ScreenonlineMy Wife's Lodger
at Letterbox DVD
My Wife's Lodger
at Reel Streets
My Wife's Lodger
at BFI 1952 films 1950s English-language films Films directed by Maurice Elvey 1952 comedy films British comedy films British black-and-white films 1950s British films {{1950s-UK-comedy-film-stub