''A Man About the House'' is a British

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

film directed by

Leslie Arliss Leslie Arliss (6 October 1901, London – 30 December 1987, Jersey, Channel Islands) was an English screenwriter and director. He is best known for his work on the Gainsborough melodramas directing films such as ''The Man in Grey'' and ''The Wi ...

and released in 1947. The film is a melodrama, adapted for the screen by J. B. Williams from the 1942 novel of the same name by Francis Brett Young. A theatrical adaptation '' A Man About the House'' by John Perry had been staged in London's West End in 1946, with

Flora Robson Dame Flora McKenzie Robson (28 March 19027 July 1984) was an English actress and star of the theatrical stage and cinema, particularly renowned for her performances in plays demanding dramatic and emotional intensity. Her range extended from q ...

as Agnes,

Kieron Moore Kieron Moore (born Ciarán Ó hAnnracháin, anglicised as Kieron O'Hanrahan) (5 October 1924 – 15 July 2007) was an Irish film and television actor whose career was at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s. He may be best remembered for his role as ...

as Salvatore, and

Ernest Thesiger Ernest Frederic Graham Thesiger, CBE (15 January 1879 – 14 January 1961) was an English stage and film actor. He is noted for his performance as Doctor Septimus Pretorius in James Whale's film ''Bride of Frankenstein'' (1935). Biography ...

as Sanctuary. The film was produced by Edward Black and edited by Russell Lloyd, with cinematography by Georges Périnal and music by

Nicholas Brodszky Nicholas "Slug" Brodszky (russian: Николай Бродский; April 20, 1905December 24, 1958) was a composer of popular songs for the theatre and for films. Brodszky was born in Odessa, Russian Empire, into a Jewish family, who moved to ...

. Shot at

Shepperton Studios Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not to be confused ...

and on location around

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, the film's sets were designed by the art director Andrej Andrejew.

Plot

Two impecunious English sisters, Ellen and Agnes Isit (

Dulcie Gray Dulcie Winifred Catherine Savage Denison, (''née'' Bailey; 20 November 1915 – 15 November 2011), known professionally as Dulcie Gray, was a British actress, mystery writer and lepidopterist. While at drama school in the late 1930s she met ...

and

Margaret Johnston Margaret Johnston (10 August 1914 – 19 June 2002) was an Australian actress. Johnston was best known for her stage performances, but also appeared in 12 films and a handful of TV productions before retiring from acting in 1968 to devote herse ...

), unexpectedly inherit a Neapolitan villa from a deceased uncle and move to Italy to view and sell their property. A local man, Salvatore (

), has, since a boy, been employed by the deceased uncle becoming major domo and he now manages the villa and its vineyard. Exploring her late uncle's studio, Ellen uncovers a painting of a nude Salvatore as

Bacchus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; grc, wikt:Διόνυσος, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstas ...

. Soon Ellen becomes drawn to the carefree life of the locals and the romantic charisma of Salvatore, while the prudish Agnes resists. During the raucous revelry of the grape-treading festival, Agnes succumbs to her suppressed desire. Rushing to the balcony she cries out for Salvatore who drops a local woman he's kissing and climbs from the grape vat and to her bedroom. The pair are quickly married and husband Salvatore now is master of the estate. Soon, Ellen becomes aware of a change in Salvatore's behaviour towards Agnes. Not long after the marriage, Agnes's health begins to deteriorate and Ellen's suspicions are aroused. She expresses her concerns to a visiting English doctor, Benjamin Dench (

Guy Middleton Guy Middleton Powell (14 December 1906 – 30 July 1973), better known as Guy Middleton, was an English film character actor. Biography Guy Middleton was born in Hove, Sussex, and originally worked in the London Stock Exchange, before tu ...

) who is Agnes's former fiance. Ellen is convinced that Agnes is being poisoned. She enlists Dench's help in trying to prove that Salvatore is slowly murdering her sister with arsenic. The villa once belonged to Salvatore's family and he has long been determined to regain ownership. Having poisoned his employer to inherit, he had not anticipated the sisters' arrival on the scene. The film culminates in a clifftop struggle between Salvatore and Dench, who beats Salvatore and tells him to flee to America at once or face the consequences. Ellen and Dench return to the villa to tend the sickened and weak Agnes. Suddenly they learn that Salvatore is dead. His body is brought from the bay by villagers, having cast himself from the clifftop in despair rather than lose his family's former property. Ellen and Dench, who have fallen in love, depart together to England and leave the recovered Agnes, who is determined to remain at the villa and to fulfil her dead husband's wishes, tending the vineyard.

Cast

as Ellen Isit *

as Agnes Isit *

as Salvatore *

as Dr. Benjamin Dench *

Felix Aylmer Sir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones, OBE (21 February 1889 – 2 September 1979) was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television. Aylmer made appearances in films with comedians such as Will Hay and George Formby. Earl ...

as Richard Sanctuary *

Lilian Braithwaite Dame Florence Lilian Braithwaite, (9 March 1873 – 17 September 1948), known professionally as Lilian Braithwaite, was an English actress, primarily of the stage, although she appeared in both silent and talkie films. Early life She was born ...

as Mrs. Armitage *

Reginald Purdell Reginald Purdell (4 November 1896 – 22 April 1953) was an English actor and screenwriter who appeared in over 40 films between 1930 and 1951. During the same period he also contributed to the screenplays of 15 feature films, such as '' Th ...

as Higgs * Wilfred Caithness as Solicitor *

Gina Lollobrigida Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida (born 4 July 1927) is an Italian actress, photojournalist, and politician. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s, a period in which she was an international sex symbol. As o ...

as a young girl * Jone Salinas as Maria * Marisa Finiani as Assunter * Fulvia De Priamo as Gita * Nicola Esposita as Antonina * Andreas Malandrinos as Peasant * Philip Ridgeway as Polite Man * Victor Rietta as Railway Porter

Reception

As of 30 June 1949 the film earned £166,075 in the UK of which £111,820 went to the producer.

References

* ''TimeOut Film Guide'' - published by Penguin Books -

External links

* *
Review of film
at ''Variety'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Man About The House 1947 films 1940s historical drama films British historical drama films British black-and-white films Films about wine Films directed by Leslie Arliss Films set in London Films set in Naples Films shot in Italy Films shot at Shepperton Studios British Lion Films films London Films films Films set in the 1900s Films based on British novels 1940s English-language films 1940s British films