''The Little Hut'' is a 1957 British

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

film made by MGM starring

Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' attention in 1946 with her perform ...

Stewart Granger Stewart Granger (born James Lablache Stewart; 6 May 1913 – 16 August 1993) was a British film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s, rising to fame thr ...

and

David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in '' Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other roles ...

. It was directed by Mark Robson, produced by Robson and F. Hugh Herbert, from a screenplay by Herbert, adapted by

Nancy Mitford Nancy Freeman-Mitford (28 November 1904 – 30 June 1973), known as Nancy Mitford, was an English novelist, biographer, and journalist. The eldest of the Mitford sisters, she was regarded as one of the "bright young things" on the London ...

from the play ''La petite hutte'' by

André Roussin André Roussin, (22 January 1911 – 3 November 1987), was a French playwright. Born in Marseille, he was elected to the Académie française on 12 April 1973. Bibliography *1933 ''Patiences et impatiences'' *1944 ''Am Stram Gram'' *1945 ''Un ...

Plot

High-flying tycoon Sir Philip Ashlow (Granger), his neglected wife, Lady Susan Ashlow (Gardner) and his best friend, pettifogger

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

Henry Brittingham-Brett (Niven), are shipwrecked on a desert island. Susan feels neglected and has been trying to make Philip jealous by demonstrating a romantic interest in Henry, who begins taking her seriously. Now that they are alone on the island, Philip constructs a large hut for his wife and himself and a little hut for Henry, but before long Henry is suggesting they share not only food and water but Susan as well. Opposed to this, Susan nevertheless is offended by Philip's indifferent reaction to Henry's indecent proposal. The quarrel escalates until Philip declares that, as captain of their ship, he feels entitled not only to perform marriages but to grant divorces. He awaits Susan's decision on whether the men should change huts or share and share alike. This potential ménage à trois where the two men are competing for the lady's attention is interrupted by a fourth visitor. The stranger is dressed in native garb and takes Susan captive, but is soon revealed to be Mario, the chef from their yacht, indulging a whim. The laughter from inside the hut between Susan and Mario is misinterpreted by Henry and her husband as being romantic in nature, arousing jealousy from both men. After their rescue and return to society, Henry comes to visit Susan to propose they be together. But when he finds her and Philip in domestic repose, and Susan knitting baby booties, he knows the battle for her love is lost.

Cast

as Lady Susan Ashlow *

as Sir Philip Ashlow *

as Henry Brittingham-Brett *

Walter Chiari Walter Annicchiarico (8 March 1924 – 20 December 1991), known as Walter Chiari , was an Italian stage and screen actor, mostly in comedy roles. Biography Walter Annicchiarico was born in Verona, Italy on 8 March 1924 to a family originally ...

as Mario *

Finlay Currie William Finlay Currie (20 January 1878 – 9 May 1968) was a Scottish actor of stage, screen, and television.McFarlane, Brian (28 February 2014). ''The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition''. Oxford University Press. pp. 175-176; He re ...

as The Reverend Bertram Brittingham-Brett *

Jean Cadell Jean Dunlop Cadell (13 September 1884 – 29 September 1967) was a Scottish character actress. Although her married name was Jean Dunlop Perceval-Clark she retained her maiden name in the context of acting. Life and career She was born at 4 ...

as Mrs. Hermione Brittingham-Brett * Jack Lambert as Captain MacWalt *

Henry Oscar Henry Wale (14 July 1891 – 28 December 1969), known professionally as Henry Oscar, was an English stage and film actor. He changed his name and began acting in 1911, having studied under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Dram ...

as Mr. Trollope *

Viola Lyel Viola Lyel (19 December 1896 – 14 August 1972) was an English actress. In a long stage career she appeared in the West End and on Broadway, for leading directors of the day, including Sir Barry Jackson, and Nigel Playfair. Her roles ranged fr ...

as Miss Edwards * Jaron Yaltan as Indian Gentleman *

Richard Wattis Richard Wattis (25 February 1912 – 1 February 1975) was an English actor, co-starring in many popular British comedies of the 1950s and 1960s. Early life Richard Cameron Wattis was born on 25 February 1912 in Wednesbury, Staffordshire, the ...

as Official

Original play

The script of ''The Little Hut'' was written by the French writer André Roussin, based on his own play ''La petite hutte'' (1947). Both play and script are based on another play in Catalan, Windsor Theatre Programme Note May 2010 written by the novelist and playwright Carles Soldevila (1892–1967): ''Civilitzats tanmateix'' (''Nevertheless civilized'') (1921). This play was known in France through a translation by Adolphe de Faigairolle and Francesc Presas, published in 1927 in the magazine ''Candide''. The play ran for over 1,500 performances in Paris, was translated into English by

and ran for three years in the West End, starting in 1950 with

Robert Morley Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE (26 May 1908 – 3 June 1992) was an English actor who enjoyed a lengthy career in both Britain and the United States. He was frequently cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment, of ...

and

David Tomlinson David Cecil MacAlister Tomlinson (7 May 1917 – 24 June 2000) was an English stage, film, and television actor and comedian. Having been described as both a leading man and a character actor, he is primarily remembered for his roles as authorit ...

(with

Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the third actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in seven feature films between 1 ...

as their understudy) at the Lyric Theatre before being made into the film.Greenwich Theatre Information
/ref> The play flopped on Broadway in 1953 despite being directed by

Peter Brook Peter Stephen Paul Brook (21 March 1925 – 2 July 2022) was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Sha ...

was unable to reprise his performance in New York due to a tax situation. In 2010, the play was revived starring

Aden Gillett John Aden Gillett is a British actor. He is best known for playing the role of Jack Maddox on the BBC series '' The House of Eliott''. Biography and career Gillet was born in the city of Aden, Yemen, from which he got his name. He attended ...

and Janie Dee.

Production

There was reluctance to obtain the screen rights due to concern about censorship. In February 1955 F Hugh Herbert and Mark Robson announced they had formed a company to purchase the film rights to the play and make a movie from it. Herbert had written ''The Moon Is Blue'', which had famously been released without a seal of approval from the Production Code. However Herbert said "after that episode I was determined not to make another picture without a seal." The screenplay made a number of changes from the play. In the play, the affair was real, but in the film. the wife only pretended to get her husband interested in her. Robson said Herbert had proved with ''The Moon Is Blue'' that the censors did not mind if characters "talked about sex as much as you want – as long as nothing happens." The boyfriend became an old admirer of the woman, and the woman and her husband were given a divorce on board the ship. Also a dog was added to interrupt any potential sex moments. Herbert completed the script by January 1956 and

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

and

Clifton Webb Webb Parmelee Hollenbeck (November 19, 1889 – October 13, 1966), known professionally as Clifton Webb, was an American actor, singer, and dancer. He worked extensively and was known for his stage appearances in the plays of Noël Coward, i ...

were being discussed for the male leads.

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen ...

and

Mel Ferrer Melchor Gastón Ferrer (August 25, 1917 – June 2, 2008) was an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He achieved prominence on Broadway before scoring notable film hits with ''Scaramouche'', ''Lili'' and ''Knights of the Round ...

were also discussed. By April, the lead roles had been cast: Niven, Ava Gardner and Stewart Granger. They made the film independently but did a deal with MGM to finance which involved MGM loaning their contract players Stewart Granger and Ava Gardner. Herbert said it "doesn't matter much where we make the film since 75% of it takes place on a desert island." It was planned to shoot the whole film in England, but a shortage of suitable studio space made this impossible. The film was shot in England and Italy over August to September 1956, with six weeks filming at the

Cinecittà Studios Cinecittà Studios (; Italian for Cinema City Studios), is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios we ...

in Rome and some background filming in Italy. Post production was done in England.

Reception

According to MGM records, the film earned $2,085,000 in North America and $1,515,000 elsewhere, making a profit of $340,000. It did not perform well at the French box office with admissions of only 591,767.Box office information for Stewart Granger films in France
at Box Office Story Mark Robson signed Walter Chiari to a five-picture contract on the basis of his performance calling him a "new

Maurice Chevalier Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", " Louise", " Mimi", and " Thank H ...

Notes and references

External links

* *
Review of film
at Variety {{DEFAULTSORT:Little Hut, The 1957 films British films based on plays American films based on plays Films directed by Mark Robson Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1957 romantic comedy films American romantic comedy films British romantic comedy films Films set on uninhabited islands 1950s English-language films 1950s American films 1950s British films