The Big Money (1958)

Not really a hic-hic hooray here.

Out of Pinewood Studios, The Big Money is directed by John Paddy Carstairs and written by John Baines. It stats Ian Carmichael, Belinda Lee, Robert Helpmann, James Hayter, Kathleen, Harrison and George Coulouris. Music is by Van Phillips and cinematography by Jack Cox. It is a VistaVision/Technicolor production.

When bumbling thief Willie Frith (Carmichael) steals a suitcase from a clergyman, he gets far more than he bargained for. Disowned by star and creators, and left on the shelf for years by the studio, it's safe to say that The Big Money at best is an awkward comedy. It's not bad exactly, in fact there's enough comedy here for those familiar with - and entertained by - British comedy slapstick pics of years gone by. The problem is a poor script that leaves a fine cast wasted.

The premise is a good one, eldest son from a family of crooks is incompetent and desperately wants to not only make the family proud, but also to make it big himself. The latter of which he sees as a way of attracting the opposite sex, notably the blonde siren behind the bar of The Red Dragon. Once he secures what he thinks is his life changing steal, he is thrust into mishap after mishap, all while some unsavoury types get on his trail. What transpires is a gently amusing comedy, but in truth that's not enough to make this a must - seek - out pic for those wishing to blow the blues away. Nice to see Royal Ascot feature though, that is if you like horse racing mind... 5/10

Ian Carmichael "Willie", is the pretty hapless son in a family of petty thieves. One evening he turns up at their daily reckoning with a suitcase that he pinched from a vicar at the railway station. Turns out it contains a small fortune in £1 notes. Snag is, they all have the same serial numbers. Prudent dad (James Hayter) tells him to burn the lot, but he refuses and armed with his loot, he sets off to make a living on his own. Meantime, Robert Helpmann is trying to find out who stole his cash - and is soon on his trail. Carmichael tries quite hard here, but the joke runs out of steam very quickly and the comedy becomes more thinly stretched as he tries to impress barmaid "Gloria" (Brenda Lee). Kathleen Harrison hams up nicely as his emotionally charged mother, and Leslie Philips manages to get in on the joke renting him out an hotel suite for 40 guineas a day, but these are but fragments in a lacklustre vehicle for a star that is just short of sustainability.