Isn't Life Wonderful!
Isn't Life Wonderful! | |
---|---|
Directed by | Harold French |
Screenplay by | Brock Williams |
Based on | novel Uncle Willie and the Bicycle Shop by Brock Williams[1] |
Produced by | Warwick Ward |
Starring | Cecil Parker Eileen Herlie Donald Wolfit Peter Asher |
Cinematography | Erwin Hillier |
Edited by | Edward B. Jarvis |
Music by | Philip Green |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Associated British-Pathé (UK) |
Release date | 16 November 1953 |
Running time | 81 minutes[2] |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Box office | £97,710[3] |
Isn't Life Wonderful! is a 1953 British Technicolor comedy film directed by Harold French.[4] It was released in the U.S. as Uncle Willie's Bicycle Shop, the title of Brock Williams original 1948 novel based on his boyhood experiences.[5] An Edwardian family must deal with its black sheep, the alcoholic Uncle Willie (Donald Wolfit).
Plot[]
In Edwardian England, alcoholic Uncle Willie (Donald Wolfit) is an embarrassment to his family. Head of the household father (Cecil Parker), decides to set Willie up as the manager of a bicycle shop, hoping to impress visiting American heiress Virginia van Stuyden (Dianne Foster). The surprise for everyone comes when Uncle Willie's little shop begins to prosper.
Cast[]
- Cecil Parker as Father
- Eileen Herlie as Mother
- Donald Wolfit as Uncle Willie
- Peter Asher as Charles
- Eleanor Summerfield as Aunt Kate
- Dianne Foster as Virginia van Stuyden
- Robert Urquhart as Frank
- Russell Waters as Green
- Cecil Trouncer as Dr. Barsmith
- Philip Stainton as Dr. Mason
- Edwin Styles as Bamboula
- Arthur Young as Sir George Probus
- Fabia Drake as Lady Probus
Critical reception[]
TV Guide called it "A pleasant little charmer";[6] while Sky Cinema wrote, "Director Harold French skilfully milks its situations for all they are worth...No big stars in this film, which makes it an unexpected treat. Based on an equally entertaining novel Uncle Willie and the Bicycle Shop. Donald Wolfit stars as the alcoholic Uncle Willie, Cecil Parker suffers splendidly as Father."[7]
References[]
- ^ bnpfl4U3PT5S16ipZKL-nHP1psI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiQsMHS6LjWAhXEI1AKHf8TCDwQ6AEIQzAJ#v=onepage&q=Isn't+Life+Wonderful!+literary+sources+in+film&f=false | title = The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film | first = Alan | last = Goble | date = 1 January 1999 | publisher = Walter de Gruyter | via = Google Books }}
- ^ "ISN'T LIFE WONDERFUL - British Board of Film Classification". www.bbfc.co.uk.
- ^ Vincent Porter, 'The Robert Clark Account', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 20 No 4, 2000 p502
- ^ "Isn't Life Wonderful! (1953)".
- ^ 'https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/27578183
- ^ "Isn't Life Wonderful!". TVGuide.com.
- ^ "Isn't Life Wonderful!".
External links[]
- English-language films
- 1953 films
- Films directed by Harold French
- British films
- Films set in England
- Films based on British novels
- Films set in 1902
- British historical comedy films
- 1950s historical comedy films
- 1953 comedy films
- 1950s British comedy film stubs