The Wrong Box

I laughed like a banshee when this flick was first released to theaters. I have a weakness for dry British almost-farces like Kind Hearts and Coronets and The Ladykillers. "The Wrong Box" is very much in their vein, a star-studded cast bringing to life a company of ne'er-do-wells and innocent eccentrics, all of them slightly mad, popping out of every corner. When I went to look for it on several streaming services, I learned to my astonishment none of them had it on offer. Fearing it might fall out of the memory of man, I snapped up a copy on DVID, and found it was as good as I remembered.It centers around a tontine - a compact in which the members all put up a considerable sum of money, to be awarded to whomever of them outlives all the others. (It's my understanding that tontines are illegal in Britain nowadays, for obvious reasons.) We follow the adventures of the two last men standing and, in cameo, the resurrection men who stand at the ready to take charge of the next to last man standing when the time comes.You can't beat the stellar cast, including Michael Caine, Peter Sellers, Dudley Moore and Ralph Richardson. Personally, I'm of the opinion that Michael Caine has never been in a bad movie, because no matter how terrible the script he'll make a good movie out of it. As the male ingenue who is the calm center of this movie's whirlwind, Cain doesn't have to labor under any such burden. I was particularly taken with Richardson 's turn as a garrulous gentleman of means who manages to be both endearing and intolerable.

One of my all time favorite movies, starring a young and very appealing Michael Caine and filled with wonderful characters and character actors. The late 19th century setting is lovely, the humor and wit are wonderful, and the plot deliciously absurd. Based on, but differing significantly from, the Robert Louis Stevenson novel. A real treat that makes me laugh every time I watch it.

I thought this was supposed to be released on DVD, but have yet to find a copy. Own a copy on VHS, but I am sure the troop of Finsbury will be much more enjoyable on DVD!! This is one overlooked gem, with a cast that won't quit.The Finsbury are gentle Victorian Brits down on their luck. Where to start with the Finsbury Clan...well Michael Caine plays struggling student doctor Michael Finsbury. He and his uncle, John Mills (Masterman Finsbury) live next door to Masterman's brother Joseph Finsbury (Ralph Richardson), but they don't speak because of long standing feud and the fact they are the last two survivors of a tontine - a trust where all the families of children put in a certain amount of money with the "winner" being the last kid standing. Sort of an exclusive lottery. With all their classmates dead - and both Masterman and Joseph needing the money desperately, they are eager to see the other with one foot in the grave. Since the feud has gone on, Julia Finsbury and John and Morris Finsbury (wards of Joseph) do not speak with Michael Finsbury. Though Julia pines for Michael from the mail slot in her door.Michael and his riotous butler, Peacock (Wilfred Lawson) are reduced to selling off every piece of china and furniture they can just to make ends meet. When Masterman has a seizure a.k.a. tizzy fit from trying to kill...um, seeing Joseph, everyone presumes he is dead. John and Morris see this as their opportunity to finally gain the pounds they so richly desire. Only they believe Joseph was killing a train wreck. They have to keep Joseph "alive" to win the tontine, so they visit Dr. Pratt who loves cats (Peter Sellers) to get a forged death certificate. Meanwhile Julia and Michael have falling in love, meaning they can get married and live happily ever after with Julie being Julie Finsbury Finsbury....but wait...what happened to the Bournemouth Strangler???Well, you will just have to watch The Wrong Box to find out!! Mad cap from beginning to end and Caine putting in a wonderful performance showing his comedic skill. Utterly Brilliant

Finally a good copy of The Wrong Box. This movie has one of the greatest British comedy casts ever assembled under one plot and the dramatic likes of Ralph Richardson, John Mills and Michael Caine(the latter looking younger than we could ever possibly have been). The farce is worthy of the French and the laughs keep coming rat-a-tat-tat with many sly utterances finding their way to your funnybone in a deliciously delayed fashion. Taking a small role and rising above even this accomplished cast you have the genius of Peter Sellers to enjoy along the way but by no means bereft of talent themselves the rest of the cast hold their own...especially the family retainer to end all Butlers...Wilfrid Lawson...as Peacock. His performance rivals that of the great Sellers himself in it's uninhibited skewering of the British serving classes all the while appearing decrepid to the point of teetering on the edge of his own grave. Caine is not to be dismissed nor a couple of new kids...let me see now...what were their names again...Dudley Moore and Peter Cooke I believe...stealing scenes from the veterans with delightful abandon. They all assembled in 1966 and under the deft direction of Bryan Forbes and with the wide eyed innocent assistance of Nanette Newman (utterly convincing opposite Caine) and Tony Hancock (as the Inspector) managed to produce this absolutely top drawer comedy for the ages. It's all about a tontine involving two surviving members with one out to do the other in (some of the biggest laughs are the attempts) and their respective families. The movie opening is not to be missed and the ending will leave you and the survivors in stitches. Do yourself a favor and if you haven't seen this one correct the oversight immediately!

Iʻve been looking for a copy of this film for a long time, having seen it twice at a foreign film theater in Southern California in the late 1960s, with college friends. The DVD and box arrived in virtually new condition, and it was great to finally watch it again, and laugh and laugh. Btw, there are at least two films with this title, so if you are interested in seeing this one, be sure it is the British film.

First off to the DVD: Both picture and sound are very nice for a film from the 1960s. And now to the film: the story centers around a tontine, a form of game where a considerable sum of money will be paid out to the last surviving member of those who pay into the fund. There is a bit of fun early on in the film with a short sequence detailing the deaths of all but two of the people involved. The story really kicks off when it comes down to the last two survivors. Greedy relations of the two elderly gentlemen are resorting to every trick to ensure the money will come to the one they will inherit it from and all manner of skulduggery is the order of the day.A young Michael Caine can be seen doing slapstick and I must say I found him hugely entertaining in this. Peter Sellers is, of course, a dab hand at comedy and he doesn't disappoint here. Fun to watch, especially for fans of Mr Caine and Mr Sellers, but a bit dated as a whole. However, if you enjoy British comedy with quality actors, this should do very nicely to keep you entertained on a wet Sunday afternoon.

If you have never seen this film, I suggest you do. This is one of those movies that you have to see more than once. It has some great actors in it and is rather in the slapstick genre but so wonderfully done, with such perfect timing. Michael Caine just gorgeous, getting a glimpse of Nanette Newmans ankle and her slightly pulsating bosom! The story surrounds a family in line for an inheritance on the last person standing type. So of course there is only two not really interested in that (Michael Caine & Nanette Newman) they are interested in something else, need we say more. Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, doing what they did best, all the old actors sadly now gone trying to bump each other off, is a sight to be seen. And like I said, you need to see it more than once because you see something more funny the next time round.

A extremely British romp with a youthful mild-mannered Michael Caine. Vintage Ralph Richardson( wonderful Shakespearian tones perfect for the character portrayed) and John Mills in to me an unfamiliar role of slapstick mishaps. Peter Cook and Dudley Moore star as a pair of devious plotters thwarting each other on every move. Peter Sellers appears in a vignette of a venal doctor. A doctor now finding solace in his cats - only Sellers could play this sort of role credibly and with superb witty asides. Described as a 'black comedy farce', the costumes of the undertakers and mourners alone dispense gloom and the final scenes have more than a touch of the Wild West played out in country lanes. The plot is based on a story by Robert Louis Stevenson, the creator of Treasure Island. Quite the funniest, most delicious black comedy I have watched on film.

One of the funniest films ever made with an all-star cast, John Mills, Ralph Richardson, Michael Caine, Nanette Newman, two villainous nephews (Peter Cook and Dudley Moore), Tony Hancock and best of all Peter Sellers as Doctor Pratt. The cameos at the beginning of the film showing how 10 former schoolboys meet an untimely end are great fun too. This film deserves to be better-known.

An enjoyable film with many memorable cameo performances, sadly let down by its ending. Worth watching for the cavalcade of now largely-forgotten British comedy and character actors, the best parts of the film are the many cameo performances - such as Peter Sellar's crooked doctor, blotting a fake death certificate with a kitten. Whilst enjoyable and memorable - and worth watching - for those scenes alone, the film as a whole comes across as incomplete, and loses pace as it moves across the many characters.