''The Wrong Box'' is a 1966 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 ...

produced and directed by

Bryan Forbes Bryan Forbes CBE (; born John Theobald Clarke; 22 July 1926 – 8 May 2013) was an English film director, screenwriter, film producer, actor and novelist described as a "Renaissance man"Falk Q. . BAFTA. 17 October 2007. Retrieved 9 May 2013 an ...

from a screenplay by

Larry Gelbart Larry Simon Gelbart (February 25, 1928 – September 11, 2009) was an American television writer, playwright, screenwriter, director and author, most famous as a creator and producer of the television series ''M*A*S*H'', and as co-writer of the B ...

and

Burt Shevelove Burt Shevelove (September 19, 1915 – April 8, 1982) was an American musical theater playwright, lyricist, librettist, and director. Biography Born in Newark, New Jersey, he graduated from Brown University and Yale (Master's degree). At ...

, based on the 1889 novel ''

The Wrong Box ''The Wrong Box'' is a 1966 British comedy film produced and directed by Bryan Forbes from a screenplay by Larry Gelbart and Burt Shevelove, based on the 1889 novel '' The Wrong Box'' by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne. It was made by ...

'' by

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

and

Lloyd Osbourne Samuel Lloyd Osbourne (April 7, 1868 – May 22, 1947) was an American author and the stepson of the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, with whom he co-authored three books, including '' The Wrecker'', and provided input and ideas on oth ...

. It was made by Salamander Film Productions and distributed by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

. The cast includes a number of Britain's leading actors and

comic actors 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 olde ...

of the time, including

John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portray ...

Ralph Richardson Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor who, with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, was one of the trinity of male actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. He wo ...

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...

Peter Cook Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English actor, comedian, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishme ...

Dudley Moore Dudley Stuart John Moore CBE (19 April 193527 March 2002) was an English actor, comedian, musician and composer. Moore first came to prominence in the UK as a leading figure in the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was one of the four writ ...

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...

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 ...

Nanette Newman Nanette Newman (born 29 May 1934) is an English actress and author. She appeared in nine films directed by her husband Bryan Forbes, including ''Séance on a Wet Afternoon'' (1964), ''The Whisperers'' (1967), '' Deadfall'' (1968), ''The Stepfor ...

, Wilfrid Lawson, and

Tony Hancock Anthony John Hancock (12 May 1924 – 25 June 1968) was an English comedian and actor. High-profile during the 1950s and early 1960s, he had a major success with his BBC series ''Hancock's Half Hour'', first broadcast on radio from 1954, ...

. Included in the cast are other actors who later became more well-known, including

John Le Mesurier John Le Mesurier (, born John Elton Le Mesurier Halliley; 5 April 191215 November 1983) was an English actor. He is perhaps best remembered for his comedic role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the BBC television situation co ...

John Junkin John Francis Junkin (29 January 1930 – 7 March 2006) was an English actor and scriptwriter who had a long career in radio, television and film, specialising in comedy. Early life Born in Ealing, Middlesex, the son of a policeman, he and hi ...

Leonard Rossiter Leonard Rossiter (21 October 1926 – 5 October 1984) was an English actor. He had a long career in the theatre but achieved his highest profile for his television comedy roles starring as Rupert Rigsby in the ITV series ''Rising Damp'' from ...

Nicholas Parsons Christopher Nicholas Parsons (10 October 1923 – 28 January 2020) was an English actor, straight man and radio and television presenter. He was the long-running presenter of the comedy radio show '' Just a Minute'' and hosted the game show '' ...

Jeremy Lloyd John Jeremy Lloyd, OBE (22 July 1930 – 23 December 2014) was an English writer, screenwriter, author, poet and actor. He was the co-writer of several successful British sitcoms, including ''Are You Being Served?'' and '' 'Allo 'Allo!''. Ea ...

Graham Stark Graham William Stark (20 January 1922 – 29 October 2013) was an English comedian, actor, writer and director. Early life The son of a purser on transatlantic liners,

Thorley Walters Thorley Swinstead Walters (12 May 1913 – 6 July 1991) was an English character actor. He is probably best remembered for his comedy film roles such as in ''Two-Way Stretch'' and '' Carlton-Browne of the FO''. Early life Walters was born in Tei ...

Norman Rossington Norman Rossington (24 December 1928 – 21 May 1999) was an English actor best remembered for his roles in ''The Army Game'', the ''Carry On'' films and the Beatles' film '' A Hard Day's Night''. Early life Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, ...

, David Lodge,

Juliet Mills Juliet Maryon Mills (born 21 November 1941) is an English-American actress. She is the daughter of actor Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell and the eldest of three siblings; her younger siblings are actress Hayley Mills and director Jonathan M ...

, and

Norman Bird John George Norman Bird (30 October 1924 – 22 April 2005) was an English character actor. Early life Bird was born in Coalville, Leicestershire, England. A RADA graduate, he made his West End theatre, West End debut in Peter Brook's produ ...

Cicely Courtneidge Dame Esmerelda Cicely Courtneidge, (1 April 1893 – 26 April 1980) was an Australian-born British actress, comedian and singer. The daughter of the producer and playwright Robert Courtneidge, she was appearing in his productions in the West E ...

also appears, as

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

Major Martha and

The Temperance Seven The Temperance Seven is a British band originally active in the 1960s, specialising in 1920s-style jazz music. They were known for their surreal performances. Career The Temperance Seven was founded at Christmas 1955 by students at the Chelse ...

also appear (as themselves).

Plot

In the early 19th century, a lawyer explains to a group of young boys that a form of

tontine A tontine () is an investment linked to a living person which provides an income for as long as that person is alive. Such schemes originated as plans for governments to raise capital in the 17th century and became relatively widespread in the 18 ...

has been organised; £1,000 has been invested for each child (£20,000 in total), but only the last survivor will receive all the capital and earned interest. Sixty-three years later, elderly brothers Masterman and Joseph Finsbury, who live next to each other in Victorian

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, are the last surviving members of the tontine. Masterman is attended by his unpromising medical student grandson Michael Finsbury, and, although Masterman has not talked to his despised brother in many years, he sends Michael next door to summon Joseph to see him. Michael is greeted by Julia, Joseph's granddaughter. They see each other often on the street and secretly admire each other. She explains Joseph is in

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

with her cousins. Meanwhile, Julia's cousins, Morris and John, receive a telegram from Michael in their boarding house in Bournemouth, saying that Masterman is dying. On the train trip to London, Joseph escapes from his grandson

minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...

s, entering a compartment and boring the sole occupant with a

diatribe A diatribe (from the Greek ''διατριβή''), also known less formally as rant, is a lengthy oration, though often reduced to writing, made in criticism of someone or something, often employing humor, sarcasm, and appeals to emotion. His ...

of trivial facts about the history of knitting. Joseph goes to smoke a cigarette, leaving behind his coat, which the occupant, "the Bournemouth Strangler", dons. The train then collides with another one. Morris and John find a mangled body wearing their uncle's coat and assume their uncle is dead. To protect their interest in the tontine, they hide the body in the woods. Morris tells John to crate the body up and post it to London. Meanwhile, Joseph wanders away from the accident scene. In London, Michael gets a telegram telling him to expect a crate containing a statue. Morris arrives and mistakes the elderly butler, Peacock, for Masterman. Morris decides to try to hide the body long enough for Masterman to die, and then claim Joseph died of a heart attack upon hearing the news. Morris and John plot to ship the body to Joseph's London home where Julia lives. John sends the body in a large barrel. Joseph makes his way to London on his own and visits his brother. Masterman makes several failed attempts to kill his brother, with Joseph oblivious to the attempts. They separate after quarrelling. Meanwhile, the barrel containing the body is delivered to Masterman's house by mistake, and Joseph is asked to sign for the barrel for "Mr Finsbury". Minutes later, the crate containing the statue, also addressed to "Mr Finsbury", which Michael is expecting, is mistakenly delivered to Joseph's house. Morris, arriving at Joseph's house, sees a

delivery wagon A wagon or waggon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...

just leaving and assumes that his uncle's body has just been delivered. Morris then goes to Dr. Pratt to try to obtain a blank

death certificate A death certificate is either a legal document issued by a medical practitioner which states when a person died, or a document issued by a government civil registration office, that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death, as ...

. Michael helps the delivery men move the crate into Joseph's house. This stirs the passions of both Julia and Michael and they kiss for the first time. Michael draws back and says they cannot do this because they are cousins; then they discover that they were both adopted orphans, thus unrelated by blood. Michael discovers the body in the barrel and, after learning of the "altercation" between Masterman and Joseph from Peacock, assumes that his grandfather killed his brother. When Julia arrives with some broth for Masterman, Michael hides the body in a piano. That night, Michael hires "

undertaker A funeral director, also known as an undertaker (British English) or mortician (American English), is a professional involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks often entail the embalming and burial or cremation of the dead, as w ...

s" to dump the corpse into the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

, but when they arrive, Masterman has just fallen down the staircase, so they take his unconscious body. Seeing this, Morris gleefully assumes Masterman has died. Morris and John go to claim the tontine, producing the fake death certificate. The lawyer tells them it is now worth £111,000. Rescued from the river, Masterman is returned home by

the Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...

, who assume he drowned himself. Julia orders a fancy

coffin A coffin is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, either for burial or cremation. Sometimes referred to as a casket, any box in which the dead are buried is a coffin, and while a casket was originally regarded as a box for jewel ...

for him. Morris orders a cheap coffin to remove the mutilated body, but it is delivered to the wrong house, and Michael sells the piano, unaware the body is still in it. The police become involved when that body is discovered. Masterman sits up as the coffin is being taken away. The cousins make off with the tontine money in a

hearse A hearse is a large vehicle, originally a horse carriage but later with the introduction of motor vehicles, a car, used to carry the body of a deceased person in a coffin at a funeral, wake, or memorial service. They range from deliberately ano ...

. Michael and Julia chase Morris and John aboard another hearse. They then encounter a real

funeral procession A funeral procession is a procession, usually in motor vehicles or by foot, from a funeral home or place of worship to the cemetery or crematorium. In earlier times the deceased was typically carried by male family members on a bier or in a cof ...

. After a confusing crash, Morris and John realise they have a body instead of the money. The tontine money is about to be buried when they grab it and run off. The box bursts open, and money is blown around the cemetery. Joseph pops up from the open grave just as Masterman arrives. The lawyer arrives to say the tontine has yet to be won. The police detective arrives, and Morris is arrested. They ask who put the body in the piano, as there is a £1000 reward for catching the Bournemouth Strangler. A new argument begins.

Cast

as Masterman Finsbury *

as Joseph Finsbury *

as Michael Finsbury *

as Morris Finsbury *

as John Finsbury *

as Julia Finsbury *

as Dr. Pratt *

as Detective *

Valentine Dyall Valentine Dyall (7 May 1908 – 24 June 1985) was an English character actor. He worked regularly as a voice actor, and was known for many years as "The Man in Black", the narrator of the BBC Radio horror series '' Appointment with Fear'' ...

as Oliver Pike Harmsworth *

as Vyvyan Alistair Montague (killed in tontine) * Wilfrid Lawson as Peacock *

as Lawyer Patience *

as Major Martha *

Diane Clare Diane Clare (born Diane Dirsztay; 8 July 1938 – 21 June 2013) was an English film and television actress. Career Clare started acting at a very young age playing uncredited baby parts in films such as ''The Ghosts of Berkeley Square'' and ' ...

as Mercy *

Gerald Sim Gerald Grant Sim (4 June 1925 – 11 December 2014) was an English television and film actor who is perhaps best known for having played the Rector in ''To the Manor Born''. Career Sim was born in Liverpool, Lancashire and made over a hundred ...

as First Undertaker *

as Mrs. Hackett *

as Dr. Slattery *

as Alan Frazer Scrope *

James Villiers James Michael Hyde Villiers (29 September 1933 – 18 January 1998) was an English character actor. He was particularly known for his plummy voice and ripe articulation. He was a great-grandson of the 4th Earl of Clarendon. Early life Villie ...

as Sydney Whitcombe Sykes *

Graham Stark Graham William Stark (20 January 1922 – 29 October 2013) was an English comedian, actor, writer and director. Early life The son of a purser on transatlantic liners,

as Ian Scott Fife (killed in tontine) *

as Brian Allen Harvey *

Peter Graves Peter Graves (born Peter Duesler Aurness; March 18, 1926 – March 14, 2010) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Jim Phelps in the CBS television series '' Mission: Impossible'' from 1967 to 1973 (original) and from 1988 to ...

as Military Officer *

as 1st Engine Driver *

Timothy Bateson Timothy Dingwall Bateson (3 April 1926 – 15 September 2009) was an English actor. Life and career Born in London, the son of solicitor Dingwall Latham Bateson and the great-nephew of rugby player Harold Dingwall Bateson, he was educated at U ...

as Official *

as Spiritual *

as first hooligan

Filming locations

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to te ...

Iver Iver is a large civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. In addition to the central clustered village, the parish includes the residential neighbourhoods of Iver Heath and Richings Park. Geography, transport and economy Part of the 43-square- ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, was the main production base for the studio sets and many exteriors, with the Victorian London

crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his ...

exteriors being shot on

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

's historic

Royal Crescent The Royal Crescent is a row of 30 terraced houses laid out in a sweeping Crescent (architecture), crescent in the city of Bath, Somerset, Bath, England. Designed by the architect John Wood, the Younger and built between 1767 and 1774, it is a ...

, complete with TV aerials on the roofs. The funeral coach and horse chase was filmed in

St James's Square, Bath St James's Square in Bath, Somerset, England consists of 45 Grade I listed buildings. It was built in 1793 by John Palmer. It is the only complete Georgian square in Bath. Each of the 3 storey houses has a mansard roof. The central buildings ha ...

, and on

Englefield Green Englefield Green is a large village in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, approximately west of central London. It is home to Royal Holloway, University of London. The village grew from a hamlet in the 19th century, when much of Egham ( ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, and surrounding lanes.

Reception

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

wrote in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', "Perhaps the best of the clowning is the little bit Mr. Sellers does as this drink-sodden, absent-minded skip-jack, fumbling foolishly and a little sadly among his cats. But Mr. Richardson is splendid as a scholarly charlatan, and Mr. Mills and Mr. Lawson are capital as a couple of fuddy-duddy crooks. Sure, the whole nutty business is tumbled together haphazardly in the script that has been written—or maybe scrambled—by Larry Gelbert and Burt Shevelove. Some sections and bits are funnier than others. Some are labored and dull. It is that sort of story, that sort of comedy. But it adds up to a lively lark"; while more recently, Dennis Schwartz called it a "Mildly amusing silly black comedy."

AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...

wrote, "By turns wacky and weird, ''The Wrong Box'' is a welcome alternative to standard issue film comedies." In his autobiography ''What's it All About?'', Michael Caine wrote of the movie's reception, that the film "is so British that it met with a gentle success in most places except Britain, where it was a terrible flop. I suppose this was because the film shows us exactly as the world sees us - as eccentric, charming and polite - but the British knew better that they were none of these things, and it embarrassed us."

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wrong Box, The 1966 films 1966 comedy films British black comedy films Films based on British novels Films based on works by Robert Louis Stevenson BAFTA winners (films) Films directed by Bryan Forbes Films scored by John Barry (composer) Films with screenplays by Larry Gelbart Films set in England Films set in the 1880s Films shot at Pinewood Studios Columbia Pictures films 1960s English-language films 1960s British films