''One Wild Oat'' is a 1951 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 Charles Saunders and starring

Stanley Holloway Stanley Augustus Holloway (1 October 1890 – 30 January 1982) was an English actor, comedian, singer and monologist. He was famous for his comic and character roles on stage and screen, especially that of Alfred P. Doolittle in ''My F ...

Robertson Hare John Robertson Hare, OBE (17 December 1891 – 25 January 1979) was an English actor, who came to fame in the Aldwych farces. He is remembered by more recent audiences for his performances as the Archdeacon in the popular BBC sitcom, ''All Ga ...

and

Sam Costa Samuel Gabriel Costa (17 June 1910 – 23 September 1981) was an English singer, entertainer and broadcaster. Initially a popular singer in the dance band era and a comic actor on the show ''Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh'', he was later a disc j ...

with a notable appearance by a pre-stardom Audrey Hepburn as an

extra Extra or Xtra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper * ''Extra!'', an American me ...

Plot

Barrister Humphrey Proudfoot attempts to discourage his Cherrie's infatuation for Fred, a philanderer, by revealing Fred's past. The plan backfires when Alfred Gilbey, the daughter's would-be father-in-law, threatens to reveal the barrister's own shady background.

Cast

as Humphrey Proudfoot *

as Alfred Gilbey *

as Mr. Pepys * Andrew Crawford as Fred Gilbey *

Vera Pearce Annie Vera Pearce (27 May 1895 – 18 January 1966) was an Australian stage and film actress. Her lengthy career was carried out in both her home country and in England. Biography Born in Broken Hill (New South Wales), Pearce spent much of h ...

as Mrs. Gilbey * June Sylvaine as Cherrie Proudfoot *

Robert Moreton Robert Moreton (born Henry Moreton; 25 June 1922 – 22 July 1957) was an English comedian and actor. Biography Born in Teddington, Middlesex, he initially had a successful straight acting career with the Old Vic Theatre, before becoming a s ...

as Throstle * Constance Lorne as Mrs. Proudfoot * Gwen Cherrell as Audrey Cuttle #1 *

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 ...

as Emily Pepys (Audrey Cuttle #2) *

Ingeborg von Kusserow Ingeborg von Kusserow (28 January 1919 – 14 April 2014) was a German film actress. Biography Kusserow was born in Wollstein, Province of Posen, Germany (today Wolsztyn, Poland). She starred in Nazi propaganda films during the Third Reich, w ...

as Gloria Samson (as Ingeborg Wells) * Charles Groves as Charles *

Joan Rice Joan Rice (3 February 1930 – 1 January 1997) was an English film actress. Rice is best known for her role as Dalabo in the film '' His Majesty O'Keefe'' (1954) which co-starred Burt Lancaster. Apart from that she played Maid Marian in ''The ...

as Annie (maid) * Audrey Hepburn as the Hotel receptionist * Fred Berger as Samson * William Fox as the porter * Roger Moore (uncredited) had a bit part

Production

It was made at the

Riverside Studios Riverside Studios is an arts centre on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. The venue plays host to contemporary performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production. Having closed for redevelopment i ...

in Hammersmith with sets designed by the art director Ivan King. The film was adapted by

Vernon Sylvaine Vernon Sylvaine (1896–1957) was a British playwright and screenwriter. He is known for writing several popular stage farces. He began working in film in 1937 when his stage hit ''Aren't Men Beasts!'' was turned into a film of the same title s ...

from his 1948 play '' One Wild Oat''. The stage production debuted at the

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play, ' ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

and was directed by

Jack Buchanan Walter John Buchanan (2 April 1891 – 20 October 1957) was a Scottish theatre and film actor, singer, dancer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George G ...

. The stage version starred Robertson Hare, who reprised his role for the film, and

Arthur Riscoe Arthur Riscoe MC (1896–1954) was a British stage and film actor. Early life He was born Arthur Charles Boorman on 19 November 1896 in Sherburn-in-Elmet near Leeds, but at the age of 15 moved to Tasmania as a farm worker. When 18, he joined ...

(who replaced

Alfred Drayton Alfred Drayton (1 November 1881 – 26 April 1949) was a British stage and film actor. Drayton worked in a brewery when he was 18 but having a good deal of amateur dramatics experience decided to go on stage. His first appearance on stage was ''T ...

following his death in 1949), the part being played by Stanley Holloway in the screen version. The stage cast were (in order of appearance): Julie Mortimer, Constance Lorne,

, George Bradford/Robert Moreton, June Sylvaine,

, John Stone, Ruth Maitland, Tom Squire, Charles Groves, Anne Stapledon, Horace Sequeira and Helene Burls.

Notes

In addition to the film featuring early appearances from future stars Audrey Hepburn and Roger Moore, the role of Cherrie (June Sylvaine) was played, in the stage and film version, by the wife of the author (Vernon Sylvaine). Audrey has a thirty-second scene as a hotel receptionist. Interesting to note that thirteen years later, she would be the star and Holloway the support in My Fair Lady. During the play's West End run, the Garrick Theatre and two cast members were featured in a humorous cameo scene, reading

The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...

newspaper (probably looking for new jobs due to London's anticipated destruction), in the 1950 film ''

Seven Days to Noon ''Seven Days to Noon'' is a 1950 British drama/thriller film directed by John and Roy Boulting. Paul Dehn and James Bernard won the Academy Award for Best Story for their work on the film. Plot In 1950, the British Prime Minister receives ...

'' (see still). There was a television version of the play shown by the BBC in 1972 starring Brian Rix.

External links

* * * {{Portalbar, 1950s, Film, London 1951 films Films directed by Charles Saunders British comedy films 1951 comedy films British films based on plays Films shot at Riverside Studios Films set in London British black-and-white films 1950s English-language films 1950s British films