JohnHowardReid Review of My Wife's Family

My Wife's Family (1956)

This movie is not available on DVD, but you're not missing anything

[3/10 · 31 October 2013]

Not a case of third time lucky for Fred Duprez's dated stage play which was already old hat when the first screen version directed by Monty Banks hit theatres back in 1932. Gene Gerrard played Jack Gay, Muriel Angelus, his wife. In the 1941 remake, John Warwick and the super-lovely Patricia Roc played these roles under the direction of Walter C. Mycroft. The minor role of Doc Knott in both the play and the first movie version was updated to the star part and was enacted by Charlie Clapham. This "revision" was also followed by our 1956 re-make when Ronald Shiner was cast as the doc, and Ted Ray was Jack Gay. Alas, the players seem to spend all 76 minutes of the third version, shouting at the tops of their voices – but to precious little effect. It would be hard to point out even three or four mild chuckles in the entire script. Mind you, the players are not helped by the tawdry screenplay itself – the uninspired work of Talbot Rothwell and Gilbert Gunn – nor Gunn's equally pedestrian direction. This version was photographed in Eastman Colour (sic) – but to little avail. Robert Lennard and G.B. Walker were responsible for casting. Polly Young and Eric Aylott handled make-up. Music composed by Ray Martin was played by the Studio Novelty Group. Val Stewart served as the camera operator, while the R.C.A. sound recording camera was handled by Fred Goodes.