''Those People Next Door'' is a 1953 British

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 ...

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 John Harlow and starring Jack Warner,

Charles Victor Charles Victor (10 February 1896 – 23 December 1965) was a British actor who appeared in many film and television roles between 1931 and 1965. He was born Charles Victor Harvey. Born in Southport, Lancashire, England, Victor was a fourth ...

and

Marjorie Rhodes Marjorie Rhodes (9 April 1897 – 4 July 1979) was a British actress. She was born Millicent Wise in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. One of her better-known roles was as Lucy Fitton, the mother in Bill Naughton's play '' All in Good Time''. S ...

Plot

In Second World War era Britain, working-class Sam Twigg (Jack Warner) and his wife Mary (Marjorie Rhodes) are raising their family in the shadow of the Blitz. Their next door neighbours Joe (Charles Victor) and Emma (Gladys Henson) practically live in the Twiggs’ house, borrowing cups of sugar or using their

Anderson shelter Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but many ...

. Controversy arises when Sam's pretty daughter Anne (Patricia Cutts) becomes romantically involved with RAF officer Victor Stevens (Peter Forbes-Robertson). There is disapproval from Victor's wealthy parents, Sir Andrew and Lady Stevens (Garry Marsh and Grace Arnold), who object to the match on grounds of class. Lady Stevens even offers money to the Twigg family to call off the relationship, which enrages father Sam. However, when RAF man Victor is reportedly shot down in action, parental attitudes soften.

Cast

* Jack Warner as Sam Twigg *

as Joe Higgins *

as Mary Twigg *

Gladys Henson Gladys Henson (27 September 1897 – 21 December 1982) was an Irish actress whose career lasted from 1932 to 1976 and included roles on stage, radio, films and television series. Among her most notable films were ''The History of Mr. Polly ( ...

as Emma Higgins *

Garry Marsh Garry Marsh (21 June 1902 – 6 March 1981) was an English stage and film actor. Born Leslie Marsh Gerahty in St Margarets, Surrey, his parents were George and Laura. His elder brothers were the author Digby George Gerahty and the journalist ...

as Sir Andrew Stevens * Jimmy James as Drunk *

Patricia Cutts Patricia Cutts (20 July 1926 – 6 September 1974)Patricia Cu ...

as Anne Twigg * Peter Forbes-Robertson as Victor Stevens *

Anthony Newley Anthony Newley (24 September 1931 – 14 April 1999) was an English actor, singer, songwriter, and filmmaker. A "latter-day British Al Jolson", he achieved widespread success in song, and on stage and screen. "One of Broadway's greatest leading ...

as Bob Twigg *

Grace Arnold Grace Arnold (19 September 1894 – 26 February 1979) was an English actress. Selected filmography * ''Guilt'' (1931) * ''Men Without Honour'' (1939) - Mrs. Hardy * ''Crimes at the Dark House'' (1940) - Maid (uncredited) * ''Spare a Copper'' ( ...

as Lady Stevens *

Norah Gorsen Norah Ethel Gaussen (22 November 1931 – 15 April 2020), better known as Norah Gorsen, was a British actress. Gorsen was born in Weymouth, Dorset, on 22 November 1931. Her first big role was on stage as Wendy in a 1953 production of ''Peter Pan' ...

as Margaret Twigg *

Geoffrey Sumner Geoffrey Sumner (20 November 1908, Ilfracombe, Devon – 29 September 1989, Alderney, Channel Islands) was a British actor. As well as appearing in a number of films, he was also a commentator for British Movietone News., His parents were Edmund ...

as F / Lt Claude Kimberley

Recent assessment

According to ''

Sky Movies Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema ...

'', which gives the film three out of five stars, "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 ...

had unexpectedly boosted its bank balance with comedies about the cockney Hugget family (starring Jack Warner and

Kathleen Harrison Kathleen Harrison (23 February 1892 – 7 December 1995) was a prolific English character actress best remembered for her role as Mrs. Huggett (opposite Jack Warner and Petula Clark) in a trio of British post-war comedies about a working ...

) in post-war years, but decided to end the series after four films. Unconvinced that this vein of comedy had been mined out, producer Tom Blakeley's Manchester-based film unit, which had made

Frank Randle Frank Randle (born Arthur Hughes, also known as Arthur McEvoy or Arthur Twist; 30 January 1901 – 7 July 1957) was an English comedian. A contemporary of fellow Lancastrians George Formby and Gracie Fields, he was regarded as more subv ...

comedies in the war years, took an old play set in 1941, hired Jack Warner and a good cast, and let rip. Unfortunately, the characters were too unsympathetic and the piece still ran like a play, but the same distributors had better luck a couple of years later when they reunited Warner with Kathleen Harrison in ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip ...

''."

References

External links

* 1953 films 1953 comedy films Films directed by John Harlow British comedy films British black-and-white films Films shot in Greater Manchester 1950s English-language films 1950s British films {{1950s-UK-comedy-film-stub