''No Smoking'' is a 1955 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

Henry Cass Henry Cass (24 June 1903 – 15 March 1989) was a British director, particularly prolific in film in the horror and comedy genres. Previously an actor, he was also a prolific stage director of classical theatre at the Old Vic in the 1930s. In 19 ...

and starring Reg Dixon, Peter Martyn,

Belinda Lee Belinda Lee (15 June 193512 March 1961) was an English actress. A profile for the British Film Institute's Screenonline website asserts: "of all the Rank Organisation's starlets, Belinda Lee stands out as the most notorious, yet paradoxically ...

and

Lionel Jeffries Lionel Charles Jeffries (10 June 1926 – 19 February 2010) was an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He appeared primarily in films and received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Golden Globe Awa ...

. It was produced by Tempean Films as a

second feature A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

. The film was shot at Southall Studios with sets designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Wilfred Arnold Wilfred Arnold (1903–1970), also known as C. Wilfred Arnold, was a British art director.Ryall p.98 He was prolific contributor to British films, designing the sets for more than a hundred. His brother Norman Arnold was also an art director. ...

. Shortly after the production Lee was signed up for a contract with the

Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribu ...

Synopsis

Reg Bates is a scientist who invents a pill that can cure smokers of their

nicotine Nicotine is a natural product, naturally produced alkaloid in the nightshade family of plants (most predominantly in tobacco and ''Duboisia hopwoodii'') and is widely used recreational drug use, recreationally as a stimulant and anxiolytic. As ...

addiction. This is revealed by a visiting American, Hal Hurst. Bates faces strong opposition from both the

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

industry and the government.

Cast

* Reg Dixon as Reg Bates * Peter Martyn as Hal Hurst *

as Miss Tonkins *

Ruth Trouncer Isabel Ruth Trouncer (born 9 September 1930) is a British stage, film and television actress. During the late 1950s she had a recurring role on the television series ''The Larkins''. She is the daughter of the actor Cecil Trouncer. Selected fil ...

as Joyce *

Alexander Gauge Alexander Gauge (29 July 1914 – 29 August 1960) was a British actor best known for playing Friar Tuck in ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' from 1955 to 1959. Born in a Methodist Mission station in Wenzhou in China,Lionel Jeffries Lionel Charles Jeffries (10 June 1926 – 19 February 2010) was an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He appeared primarily in films and received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Golden Globe Awa ...

as George Pogson * Myrtle Rowe as Milly * Arthur Young as Joe Dawson *

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 Yokel * Tom Gill as Foreign Office Official * Ronnie Stevens as BBC Man * Alan Robinson as Thackery * Bill Lowe as Civil Servant * Doris Hare as Customer *

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...

as Doctor Moxom *

Patrick Jordan Albert Patrick Jordan (10 October 1923 – 10 January 2020) was a British stage, film and television actor. Biography He was born and raised in Harrow, Middlesex, the son of Margaret, a cook, and Albert Jordan, a regimental sergeant major. An ...

as Reporter *

Alan Gifford Alan Gifford (born John Lennox; March 11, 1911 – March 20, 1989) was an American-born actor from Taunton, Massachusetts, who worked mainly in the UK, where he died in Blairgowrie, Scotland at age 78. Known best for his role in '' 2001: A ...

as American Ambassador *

Roger Maxwell Roger Francis Hamilton Maxwell (born 21 March 1941) is a former New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1984 to 1999, representing the National Party. Early life Maxwell was born in South Canterbury. He obtained his tertiary education at Li ...

as Major * Scott Harrold as Man in Surgery *

Jan Holden Valerie Jeanne Wilkinson (9 May 1931 – 11 October 2005) was an English actress known as Jan Holden, using her mother's maiden name as a stage name. In theatre she was known for her performances in light comedy and appeared in several telev ...

as Receptionist * Phil Park as Vicar *

James Raglan James Raglan (6 January 1901 – 15 November 1961) was a British stage, film and television actor. In Australia Early in 1935 he was brought out to Australia with the Gabriel Toyne company by J. C. Williamson, playing ''Laburnum Grove'' and ...

as Chancellor

Production

It was based on a 1952 TV play. One review said it had "plenty of good family fun." It was made at Alliance Studios, Southall. It was one of only a few movies starring Reg Dixon. It was one of several comedies featuring Belinda Lee.

Reception

''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' said "the action does not fizz; the bubbles never quite come to the surface."NO SMOKING Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 22, Iss. 252, (Jan 1, 1955): 181.

References

External links

*
No Smoking
at BFI
No Smoking
at Reel Streets
No Smoking
at Letterbox DVD 1955 films British comedy films 1955 comedy films Films directed by Henry Cass Films shot at Southall Studios Films set in England 1950s English-language films 1950s British films British black-and-white films {{1950s-UK-comedy-film-stub