''No Kidding'' is a 1960 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

Gerald Thomas Gerald Thomas (10 December 1920 – 9 November 1993) was an English film director, best known for the long-running ''Carry On'' series of British film comedies. Biography Born in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, Thomas was educated ...

featuring

Leslie Phillips Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor, director, producer and author. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. ...

Geraldine McEwan Geraldine McEwan (born Geraldine McKeown; 9 May 1932 – 30 January 2015) was an English actress, who had a long career in film, theatre and television. Michael Coveney described her, in a tribute article, as "a great comic stylist, with a ...

and

Irene Handl Irene Handl (27 December 1901 – 29 November 1987) was a British author and character actress who appeared in more than 100 British films. Life Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the younger of two daughters of an Austria-born father ...

, Noel Purcell and

Julia Lockwood Julia Lockwood (born Margaret Julia Leon; 23 August 1941 – 24 March 2019) was a British actress. Daughter of Margaret Lockwood, her career began as a child actress at the age of four and spanned 30 years in film, television and the theatre. ...

. The film is adapted from

Verily Anderson Verily Anderson (12 January 1915 – 16 July 2010) was a British author, best known for writing the screenplay of the 1960 film '' No Kidding'',Eloise Miller"Verily Anderson obituary" ''The Guardian'' (London), 29 July 2010. based on her 1958 book ...

's 1958 memoir ''Beware of Children'', under which title the film was released in the US. Anderson also wrote the screenplay. The film has been interpreted by film scholar

Wheeler Dixon Wheeler Winston Dixon (born March 12, 1950) is an American filmmaker and scholar. He is an expert on film history, theory and criticism.Bill Goodykoontz, December 23, 2012, USA TodayDefining Tarantino Accessed Aug. 25, 2013, Quote = "...long, invo ...

as "a gentle critique of A. S. Neill's

Summerhill Summerhill or Summer Hill may refer to the following places: Australia * Summer Hill, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney *Summerhill, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston * Summerhill (Mount Duneed), a prefabricated iron cottage in Victoria Canada * ...

, whose theories were published in America in the same year as the film's release, by the Hart Publishing Company. ''

Harrison's Reports ''Harrison's Reports'' was a New York City-based motion picture trade journal published weekly from 1919 to 1962. The typical issue was four letter-size pages sent to subscribers under a second-class mail permit. Its founder, editor and publisher ...

'' gave it a good review, calling it an "uneven but well-enacted comedy by the ' Carry On ...' series film-makers.... Unobjectionable for all." Elsewhere it is described as "surprisingly sophisticated fare that also scores a number of interesting points about greed, privilege and class.""No Kidding (Leslie Phillips)"
Studiocanal.

Plot

David (

) and Catherine Robinson (

) have inherited a large but rundown country house. David suggests they now have room to increase their family beyond their son, but, after a number of his previous business ventures have failed, his wife demurs. However, she does agree to his idea to use the house as a summer holiday home for the children of the wealthy. By advertising in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', they attract a number of customers, and hire a matron (

June Jago June Jago (31 March 1928 – 29 July 2010) was an Australian-born actress. Biography She made her stage debut in Australia and went to Britain in the 1950s with a touring production of ''Summer of the Seventeenth Doll''. She made her film debu ...

) and a cook (

Joan Hickson Joan Bogle Hickson, OBE (5 August 1906 – 17 October 1998) was an English actress of theatre, film and television. She was known for her role as Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in the television series ''Miss Marple''. She also narrated a number ...

), but immediately fall foul of a

local councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

, Mrs Spicer (

), who wants the local authority to

compulsorily purchase Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...

the house for a project of her own. The children arrive, and while some are polite, scared and helpful, others are wild, spoilt, and rebellious, including an American brother and sister, and an English girl (

) who insists (falsely) that she has been maltreated by her parents. As the children grow increasingly ill-disciplined, the Robinsons and the staff struggle to keep them under control. David advocates a tough approach, while Catherine believes that the children should be allowed their freedom, but they are both undermined by a cook who is drunk most of the time. After an illicit midnight trip out to a nearby café, the children are grounded for two days. Then the Robinsons hear that the local council is sending an inspector, who may close them down if they fail the test. They rally the staff and children, who all behave correctly when the inspector and Mrs Spicer visit. When the time arrives for the children's parents to come to collect them, David tells them that the children are refusing to leave unless their parents promise to spend more time with them and not send them away to holiday homes and boarding schools. After the parents agree, all the children depart. Impressed by what she has seen, Mrs Spicer says she will no longer oppose the holiday home business. When their son protests at having lost his playmates, Catherine tells David that perhaps they should now have more children of their own.

Cast

as David Robinson *

as Catherine Robinson *

as Fenella / "Vanilla" *

as Mrs Spicer * Noel Purcell as Tandy *

as Cook *

as Matron *

Cyril Raymond Cyril William North Raymond MBE (13 February 1899 – 20 March 1973) was a British character actor. He maintained a stage and screen career from his teens until his retirement, caused by ill health, in the 1960s. His many stage, film and tele ...

as Colonel Matthews *

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 District Nurse *

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 Edgar Treadgold *

Sydney Tafler Sydney Tafler (31 July 1916 – 8 November 1979) was an English actor who after having started his career on stage, was best remembered for numerous appearances in films and television from the 1940s to the 1970s. Personal life Tafler was bor ...

as Mr Rockbottom *

Brian Oulton Brian Oulton (11 February 1908 – 13 April 1992) was an English character actor. Biography Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, Oulton made his acting debut in 1939 as a lead actor. During the Second World War he served in the British Army, and ret ...

as Vicar *

Eric Pohlmann Eric Pohlmann (german: Erich Pohlmann; born Erich Pollak; 18 July 1913 – 25 July 1979) was an Austrian theatre, film and television character actor who worked mostly in the United Kingdom. He is known for voicing Ernst Stavro Blofeld, th ...

as King *

Patricia Jessel Patricia Helen Mary Jessel (15 October 1920 – 8 June 1968) was an English actress of stage, film and television. Biography Jessel was born in the then British Crown Colony of Hong Kong, daughter of Clement Edward Jessel and Ursula Theodor ...

as Queen *

Brian Rawlinson Brian Rawlinson (12 November 1931 – 23 November 2000)"Brian Rawlinson"
''BFI''. Retr ...

as Will * Michael Sarne as Henri *

Joy Shelton Joy Winstanley Shelton (3 June 1922 – 28 January 2000) was an English actress who performed in films, radio and television. Biography Joy Shelton was born in Marylebone, London, and trained at RADA. She appeared in a number of British films in ...

as Mrs Rockbottom *

Earl Cameron Earlston Jewitt Cameron, CBE (8 August 19173 July 2020), known as Earl Cameron, was a Bermudian actor who lived and worked in the United Kingdom. After appearing on London's West End stage, he became one of the first black stars in the Britis ...

as Black father *

Pearl Prescod Pearl Priscilla Prescod (28 May 1920 – 25 June 1966) was a Tobagonian actress and singer. She was one of the earliest Caribbean entertainers to appear on British television and was the first Black woman to appear with London's National Theatr ...

as Black mother * Peter Howell as father of Angus * Marion Mathie as Helen Treadgold *

Peggy Simpson Peggy Simpson (4 July 1913 in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire – 1 January 1994 in London) was a British actress. She appeared twice for director Alfred Hitchcock in '' The 39 Steps'' (1935) and ''Young and Innocent'' (1937). Partial filmograp ...

as mother of Angus *

Noel Hood Margaret Noel Hood (25 December 1909 – 15 October 1979) was a British actress. She was married to the Irish-born actor Charles Oliver. Filmography Film * ''Crook's Tour'' (1940) as Edith Charters * ''Personal Affair'' (1953) as 4th Gossip (u ...

as Vicar's wife *

Cyril Chamberlain Cyril Chamberlain (8 March 1909 – 5 December 1974) was an English film and television actor. He appeared in a number of the early ''Carry On'', ''Doctor'' and ''St. Trinian's'' films. Chamberlain was born on 8 March 1909 in London and died ...

as Cafe proprietor * Christopher Witty as Richard Robinson * Martin Stephens as Angus *

Francesca Annis Francesca Annis (born 14 May 1945) is an English actress. She is known for television roles in '' Reckless'' (1998), ''Wives and Daughters'' (1999), ''Deceit'' (2000), and '' Cranford'' (2007). A six-time BAFTA TV Award nominee, she won the 1979 ...

as Priscilla * Haydn Evans as Lionel Rockbottom * Michael Gowdy as Dandy Big Treadgold * Janet Bradbury (as Jeanette Bradbury) as Dandy Little Treadgold * Keith Lacey as Hassan * Mark Milleham as Suleiman * Millicent Kerr as Eileen * Louise Redman as Margaret

References

External links

*
"No Kidding (1960)", with clip from the film
Summer Camp Culture. {{Gerald Thomas 1960 films Films directed by Gerald Thomas 1960 comedy films Films based on British novels British comedy films 1960s English-language films Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films with screenplays by Norman Hudis Films produced by Peter Rogers 1960s British films