''Brandy for the Parson'' is a 1952

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 Eldridge John Eldridge may refer to: * John Eldridge (politician) (1872–1954), Australian politician * John Eldridge (British Army officer) (1898–1985) * John Eldridge (sociologist), British sociologist * John Eldridge Jr. (1903–1942), United States ...

and starring

Kenneth More Kenneth Gilbert More, CBE (20 September 1914 – 12 July 1982) was an English film and stage actor. Initially achieving fame in the comedy '' Genevieve'' (1953), he appeared in many roles as a carefree, happy-go-lucky gent. Films from this per ...

, Charles Hawtrey,

James Donald James Donald (18 May 1917 – 3 August 1993) was a Scottish actor. Tall and thin, he specialised in playing authority figures, particularly military doctors. Early life Donald was born in Aberdeen, the fourth son of a Scottish Presbyterian m ...

and

Jean Lodge Jean Margaret Lodge (born 4 August 1927) is an English stage, film and television actress. Career In 1952 she appeared alongside Claude Hulbert in the West End in Constance Cox's ''Lord Arthur Savile's Crime''. In 1954 she starred in William ...

. It was based on a short story by

Geoffrey Household Geoffrey Edward West Household (30 November 1900 – 4 October 1988) was a prolific British novelist who specialized in thrillers. He is best known for his novel '' Rogue Male'' ( 1939). Personal life He was born in Bristol; his father Hora ...

from ''Tales of Adventurers'' (1952). The title is a reference to the refrain of the poem "A Smuggler's Song" by

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

Plot

Bill and Petronilla are a young couple on a

yachting Yachting is the use of recreational boats and ships called ''yachts'' for racing or cruising. Yachts are distinguished from working ships mainly by their leisure purpose. "Yacht" derives from the Dutch word '' jacht'' ("hunt"). With sailboats, ...

holiday. They agree to give a lift to friendly Tony and his cargo, who unbeknownst to them is a brandy smuggler. Before they know it, the couple are fleeing cross-country, chased by customs men.

Main cast

as Bill Harper *

as Tony Rackham *

as Petronilla Brand *

Frederick Piper Frederick Piper (23 September 1902 – 22 September 1979) was an English actor of stage and screen who appeared in over 80 films and many television productions in a career spanning over 40 years. Piper studied drama under Elsie Fogerty at th ...

as Customs inspector * Charles Hawtrey as George Crumb *

Michael Trubshawe Michael Trubshawe (7 December 1905 – 21 March 1985) was a British actor and former officer in the Highland Light Infantry Regiment of the British Army. Trubshawe was very close friends with fellow British actor David Niven, serving with hi ...

as Redworth *

Alfie Bass Alfie Bass (born Abraham Basalinsky, 10 April 1916 – 16 July 1987) was an English actor. He was born in Bethnal Green, London, the youngest in a Jewish family with ten children; his parents had left Russia many years before he was born. He a ...

as Dallyn *

Wilfrid Caithness Wilfrid Caithness or Wilfred Caithness (1883–1954) was a British stage and film actor. He played the role of Sebastian Moran in the 1935 film ''The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes''.Reid p.163 Selected filmography * '' A Voice Said Goodnight '' (19 ...

as Mr. Minch * Lionel Harris as Mr. Frost *

Richard Molinas Richard Molinas (17 November 1911 – 1975) was a British stage and film actor. A character actor, he appeared in a number of supporting role A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storylin ...

as Massaud * Reginald Beckwith as Scoutmaster * Stanley Lemin as Customs officer *

Arthur Wontner Arthur Wontner (21 January 1875 – 10 July 1960) was a British actor best known for playing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's master detective Sherlock Holmes in five films from 1931 to 1937. Career Wontner's acting career began on the stage where h ...

as Major Glockleigh * Frank Tickle as Vicar *

Amy Dalby Amy Mary Dalby (3 January 1888 – 10 March 1969) was an English actress of stage and screen, often in kindly or eccentric spinster roles. Amy first acted at the age of six. Her final performance was in the 8 March 1969 episode "The Battle of G ...

as Postmistress *

Wensley Pithey Wensley Ivan William Frederick Pithey (21 June 1914 – 10 November 1993) was a South African character actor who had a long stage and film career in Britain. Biography Pithey was born in Cape Town, South Africa. A graduate of the Univers ...

as Circus owner *

Sam Kydd Samuel John Kydd (15 February 1915 – 26 March 1982) was a British-Irish actor. His best-known roles were in two major British television series of the 1960s, as the smuggler Orlando O'Connor in '' Crane'' and its sequel ''Orlando''. He als ...

as Lorry driver

Critical reception

Allmovie called it "wafer-thin comedy"; and ''

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 d ...

'' called it "a mild but tasty distillate." '' Picture Show'' magazine found it "well acted against a delightful background of English scenery, beautifully photographed", and the film's executive producer John Grierson described it as "a sweet lemon of a picture" with a feel of "old oak and seaweed".Steve Chibnall & Brian McFarlane, ''The British 'B' Film'', Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2009, p. 116.

References

External links

*
Review of film
at Variety 1952 films 1952 romantic comedy films British crime comedy films British romantic comedy films 1950s English-language films Films set in England Films set in London Seafaring films 1950s crime comedy films British black-and-white films Films directed by John Eldridge 1950s British films {{romantic-comedy-film-stub