''My Wife's Lodger'' is a 1952 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 o ...

directed by

Maurice Elvey Maurice Elvey (11 November 1887 – 28 August 1967) was one of the most prolific film directors in British history. He directed nearly 200 films between 1913 and 1957. During the silent film era he directed as many as twenty films per year. He ...

and starring Dominic Roche,

Olive Sloane Olive Sloane (16 December 1896 – 28 June 1963) was an English actress whose film career spanned over 40 years from the silent era through to her death. Sloane's career trajectory was unusual in that for most of her professional life she was e ...

and

Leslie Dwyer Leslie Gilbert Dwyer (28 August 1906 – 26 December 1986) was an English film and television actor. Career He was born in Catford, the son of the popular music hall comedian Johnny Dwyer, and acted from the age of ten and appeared in his fi ...

. The screenplay concerns a who soldier returns home after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

only to find a

spiv In the United Kingdom, the word spiv is slang for a type of petty criminal who deals in illicit, typically black market, goods. The word was particularly used during the Second World War and in the post-war period when many goods were rationed du ...

lodger has established himself in his place. It was based on the play ''My Wife's Lodger'' written by Roche.

Cast

* Dominic Roche as Willie Higginbotham *

as Maggie Higginbotham *

as Roger the Lodger *

Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was ...

as Eunice Higginbotham * Alan Sedgwick as Tex *

Vincent Dowling Vincent Gerard Dowling (7 September 1929 – 9 May 2013) was an Irish actor and director. Ireland Dowling was born in Dublin and educated at St Mary's College and Rathmines College of Commerce. He came to prominence in the 1950s for his role ...

as Norman Higginbotham *

Vi Kaley Vi Kaley, (19 November 1878, Lambeth - 1967, Marylebone), was a British actress. She was married to Alfred Artois. Partial filmography * ''Lloyd of the C.I.D.'' (1932) * '' A Royal Demand'' (1933) * '' Gay Old Dog'' (1935) * '' The Man Without a ...

as Mother-in-Law * Martin Wyldeck as Policeman * David Hannaford as Vernon * Ilena Sylva as Vernon's Mother * Ronald Adam as Doctor *

Wally Patch Walter Sydney Vinnicombe (26 September 1888 – 27 October 1970) was an English actor and comedian. He worked in film, television and theatre. Biography Vinnicombe was born in Willesden, Middlesex and began working on the music hall stages i ...

as Sergeant * Derek Tansley as Deserter * Alastair Hunter as Lance Corporal * Toke Townley as Soldier * Fred Griffiths as Driver * Harry Locke as Passer-by

Production

The film was based on a 1951 play. Filming took place in May 1952. Dors was appearing in a revue ''Rendezvous'' at night It was one of a series of low budget comedies Dors made around this time.

Critical reception

The ''

Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...

'' said "this comedy runs through a repertoire of farcical situations of the most ancient variety. The playing does not lack energy but the music-hall style jokes - domestic bickering, mothers-in-law and so on - become very exhausting." ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program TV listings, listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine, TV Guide Mag ...

'' wrote, "the energy of the ensemble partly makes up for the film's lack of coherence and taste." The 'Daily Film Renter' (quoted in

BFI Screenonline Screenonline is a website about the history of British film, television and social history as documented by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute and funded by a £1.2 million grant from the National Lo ...

) wrote, "the acting is of the 'Ee-bai-goom' school and the dialogue is the ripe, uninhibited language of the music hall... as briny as

jellied eels Jellied eels are a traditional English dish that originated in the 18th century, primarily in the East End of London. The dish consists of chopped eels boiled in a spiced stock that is allowed to cool and set, forming a jelly. It is usually s ...

on Southend Pier." In 'CathodeRayTube.co.uk', Frank Collins writes, "there are some genuinely laugh out loud moments here and the humour derived from the antics of such a

dysfunctional family A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often child neglect or abuse and sometimes even all of the above on the part of individual parents occur continuously and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such ...

reflect many of the tropes that would find their way into British sitcoms of the late 1960s and 1970s where other ideological wars would be fought - based on gender, class, race and religion."

References

External links

*
''My Wife's Lodger'' at BFI ScreenonlineMy Wife's Lodger
at Letterbox DVD
My Wife's Lodger
at Reel Streets
My Wife's Lodger
at BFI 1952 films 1950s English-language films Films directed by Maurice Elvey 1952 comedy films British comedy films British black-and-white films 1950s British films {{1950s-UK-comedy-film-stub