LADIES WHO DO [1963 / 2022] [Blu-ray] [UK Release] One of the Great British comedies of all time, and it has a very strong message!
When charwoman Mrs. Cragg [Peggy Mount], learns that her entire street is to be demolished by some unscrupulous business types, she and her friends decide to take matters into their own hands. Using important financial information gathered from the offices at which they regularly clean, the group seek to make a fortune with insider dealing to save their homes. Starring a host of British household favourites such as Harry H. Corbett (Steptoe and Son), Dandy Nichols (Till Death Us Do Part) and Jon Pertwee (Doctor Who), and ‘LADIES WHO DO’ is where a “small woman takes on the world” in this vintage British comedy from veteran director C.M Pennington-Richards.
FILM FACT: ‘LADIES WHO DO’ was shot at Twickenham Studios and on location around London. Kinematograph Weekly [Trade Paper] called the film ‘LADIES WHO DO’ a “money maker” at the British box office in 1964.
Cast: Peggy Mount, Miriam Karlin, Dandy Nichols, Avril Elgar, Robert Morley, Harry H. Corbett, Jon Pertwee, Joan Benham, Ron Moody, Cardew Robinson, Nigel Davenport, Arthur Howard, Ernest Clark, Tristram Jellinek, John Laurie, Graham Stark, Brian Rawlinson, Harry Fowler, Bruce Wightman, Margaret Boyd, Arthur Mullard, Ed Devereaux, Marianne Stone, Raymond Smith, Carol White, Barbara Mitchell, Gerald Andersen (uncredited), Gerald Case (uncredited), Alan Curtis (uncredited), Claire Davenport (uncredited), Bill Edwards (uncredited), Fred Griffiths (uncredited), Victor Harrington (uncredited), Margaret Lacey (uncredited), Bill Rayment (uncredited) and Walter Sparrow (uncredited)
Director: C.M. Pennington-Richards
Producers: George H. Brown and Jan Darnley-Smith
Screenplay: John Bignall (original idea) and Michael Pertwee (screenplay)
Composer: Ron Goodwin
Make-up and Hair Department: Eddie Knight (Make-up Artist) and Pat McDermott (Hairdresser)
Cinematography: Geoffrey Faithfull, B.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Black-and-White)
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 85 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: British Lion Films / Bryanston Films Fanfare Films / 88 Films
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: With the film ‘LADIES WHO DO’ [1963] Four formidable British comedy stalwart ladies – Peggy Mount, Miriam Karlin, Avril Elgar and Dandy Nichols – head the superb Sixties British comic cast with director C.M. Pennington-Richards’s very amusing 1963 farcical British comedy film about office cleaners char ladies who have a run of luck with the sensitive stock market information tips that they retrieve from the office rubbish bins and on top of all that Mrs. Cragg [Peggy Mount] also “does” for the Colonel Whitforth [Robert Morley], who is an impecunious gambler that that we definitely know the results beforehand. But of course the film belongs to the actors Peggy Mount and Robert Morley.
Early one morning Mrs. Cragg is under a desk cleaning the floor when businessmen James Ryder [Harry H. Corbett] and Sydney Tait [Jon Pertwee] arrive and begin discussing a potential take-over. After their departure Mrs. Cragg salvages a cigar for the Colonel Whitforth, wrapping it in a discarded telegram. The Colonel Whitforth is extremely thankful for the top-quality cigar, but even more when he realises what it is wrapped in and the information the telegram contains! Using the newfound knowledge to his advantage, he doubles a £5,000 investment within a few hours and splits the money 50-50 with Mrs. Cragg.
Sensitive commercial information contained in the telegram leads the penniless The Colonel Whitforth to buy some shares and make a cool £5,000’s. Being honest, the Colonel Whitforth shares the proceeds with Mrs. Cragg, who rounds up a few other char ladies who also clean up carelessly discarded paperwork and, and with a bit of discerning analysis, they are soon wheeling and dealing on the stock market like experts.
However, on arriving at his office Mrs. Cragg hears a tape recording that James Ryder has just bought Pitt Street and intends to move her and her friends out of London to new towns and replace the neighbourhood with two huge office blocks – Mrs. Cragg quickly decides not only to keep the money, but to play him at his own game!
Joining forces with three of her closest female char lady friends – Emily Parish [Avril Elgar], Mrs. Higgins [Miriam Karlin] and Mrs. Merryweather [Dandy Nichols] – Mrs. Cragg and the Colonel Whitforth form a new speculating company entitled LADEZUDU Ltd. [Laddies Who Do] and start rifling through the rubbish collections from their regular office cleaning routines. After a number of successes they soon have more than £120,000 banked; with a couple of further crafty deals, it'll be enough to buy Pitt Street back once and for all.
Meanwhile, James Ryder's associates have heard of the residents’ unwillingness to leave their homes and are threatening to pull out of the redevelopment deal, which would leave him seriously indebted. Sydney Tait has already dissolved their partnership and James Ryder is at such pains to ensure work begins imminently that he heads to the site himself. Fearing their newfound fortune will not come through, the char ladies put up a show of force and neither James Ryder's workmen's pneumatic drill nor the Metropolitan Police Force can stop these women on their mission.
Heartened, Mrs. Cragg organises stiff resistance, which convinces James Ryder's investor Mr. Strang [Nigel Davenport] to withdraw from the project. The Colonel Whitforth invites James Ryder to his office to discuss selling out. There he meets the board of directors, the four charwomen, and realises how they obtained their information. So the Colonel Whitforth invites James Ryder to his office LADEZUDU Ltd., to discuss him in joining the board and when James Ryder walks into the Colonel Whitforth office and to his surprise finds the four charwomen all dressed up in their posh outfits and suddenly James Ryder realises how they obtained their information. So the Colonel Whitforth invites him to lunch to discuss James Ryder joining the board and as the Colonel Whitforth and James Ryder walk out of the office, and the four charwomen follow them both to the posh restaurant and all four charwomen have great big grins in knowing the mighty can fall and they have finally saved their street and especially their homes and thwarted a big greedy corporation.
‘LADIES WHO DO’ was a quality comedy film from 1963. Even all these years later it's still wonderfully funny, and gloriously sentimental. All of the actors play to their strengths, Peggy Mount is the domineering, brash lead character, Miriam Karlin is like a shop steward, Harry H. Corbett is the rags to riches businessman, and Robert Morley is the bumbling Colonel Whitforth. ‘LADIES WHO DO’ is a classic British comedy film of working class makes good, with some good gags and excellent physical humour and a real twist at the end of the film. This is the kind of film which British studios used to do so well and it has a kind of cheeky, cheery, working class charm to it like the CARRY ON movies.
The supporting superb cast includes Jon Pertwee, Nigel Davenport, Dandy Nichols, Miriam Karlin, Graham Stark, Cardew Robinson, Avril Elgar, Arthur Mullard and John Laurie. This classic British comedy was made in 1963 by the ailing British Lion Films Company but the release was shelved until early 1964. It’s still a very charming funny British film – and a first-rate social history statement to boot. So to find out what happens with the char ladies and the Colonel Whitforth battle against the evil property developers, and of course, it is a MUST watch brilliant British comedy classic film.
With so much classic British talent, raining down on the film, you will wonder why ‘LADIES WHO DO’ wasn’t an all-time comedy classic. Perhaps it was to do with the screenplay or maybe the directing might have something to do with it, still we will never know that conundrum? The man that directed the film C.M. Pennington-Richards, is much better known for his work as a cinematographer on films like ‘1984’ [1956] and ‘Scrooge’ [1951]. C.M. Pennington-Richards is perhaps much better distinguished by his directorial for British Television, including the very popular “Ivanhoe” [1958 – 1959] which gave the actor Roger Moore his first big break. C.M. Pennington-Richards directs the film ‘LADIES WHO DO’ pretty much as a routine sitcom, and when outlandish visual comedy presents themselves, then the comedy really kicks in the most hilarious situation.
There is no doubt the brilliant actress Peggy Mount’s claim to fame, is the she has a tongue can really lash out through a six inch thick slab of concrete ay sixty paces and glare almost as deadly and Peggy Mount’s character Mrs. Cragg is so terrifyingly belligerent, that she could have neutralised the entire Red Army and rendered nuclear weapons obsolete in less time you can raise the red flag.
As to the brilliant composer Ron Goodwin, he of course famously gave Margaret Rutherford her wonderful melodic signature tune with her famous portrayal of Miss Marple and her famous composed theme music and especially written for the wonderful iconic British film ‘Murder She Wrote,’ but here Ron Goodwin also serves up an equally wonderful composed theme music for the brilliant actress Peggy Mount’s character Mrs. Cragg in the same way with a brilliant and memorable and totally catchy composed theme music.
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Blu-ray Image Quality – British Lion Films, Bryanston Films Fanfare Films and 88 Films presents this brilliant British comedy classic ‘LADIES WHO DO’ in a stunning black-and-white 1080p image that is a pristine, and reference level treatment, and is also presented in the standard 1.66:1 aspect ratio and it has been given a brand new high-definition transfer from a 35mm nitrate fine-grain master positive. The black-and-white image really looks totally fantastic and also totally outstanding, and I am again very impressed what British Lion Films and 88 Films have done to preserve this classic British comedy film. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – British Lion Films, Bryanston Films Fanfare Films and 88 Films brings us this British comedy classic film ‘LADIES WHO DO’ with just one standard 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio experience. Of course this film is a very dialogue driven one for this 1963 film and that means the audio is really outstanding for a film of this hilarious comedy genre film. On top of all that, the audio has been mastered from a 35mm optical soundtrack, so all the sound is focused via the front speakers, and since this film lives and breathes on the amazing screenplay, especially with the clever use of narration and the brisk pace of the story, it serves the film well and I found myself totally immersed in the hilarious British comedy film, which may very well have more to do with the great brilliant British character actors and again the razor sharp witty screenplay. So once again, well done British Lion Films and 88 Films for their sterling work and definitely gets a five star rating from me.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Audio Commentary with Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw [Audio only] [2022] [1080p] [1.66:1] [85:02] With this featurette, we get to hear from with Kim Newman [English Journalist and Film Critic] and Barry Forshaw [Writer, Broadcaster and Journalist] who are here to talk about the fantastic British comedy classic 1963 film ‘LADIES WHO DO’ and as the film starts, up to first introduce himself is Kim Newman and says he is here to host this commentary track on the 1963 film and next to him to introduce himself is Barry Forshaw and both are proud British citizens. They feel the 1963 film is the new sort of up and coming Ealing comedy film and Michael Balcon was involved as the Ealing comedy films collapsed. They talk about directing the actor Robert Morley and they say it is like “trying to alter the set of traffic lights,” and they feel Robert Morley really acts professional in this 1963 film, and they also feel this is definitely a Peggy Mount film and it is entirely built around this actress and Barry Forshaw feels Peggy Mount is the ultimate “Battle Axe” and of course proves she is right what she has found out about the evil property developers, and they think it is even more biting in 2022 with modern property developers. Here they feel the film is about a community that is going to be destroyed by the demolition of their homes in Pitt Street, and Kim Newman actually visited the street called in the film Pitt Street and found it is still the same houses that we see in the film and the street is now called “Cambridge Cottages” and is now a set of leafy upper crust set of houses and technically it is not in the actual part of the London area and it is remarkably well preserved. Now Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw say that the interesting point about this 1963 film, there is a slight adjustment with the concept of the film, one is Peggy Mount is not quite the Peggy Mount we have seen this actress in other British films, and in this film she is a bully, but not the bully we may have seen her character in other films. Even though she appeared in a lot of British films, Peggy Mount also did a lot of theatre work at the same time when filming the actress appeared at the same time in a Franco Zeffirelli stage production of “Romeo and Juliet” at The Old Vic theatre, also on stage Peggy Mount appeared in London and the regions during the decade. At Bristol Old Vic in October 1962 she played Queenie Hesseltine in “All Things Bright and Beautiful,” subsequently appearing at the Phoenix Theatre, London, in the same play; at the Globe in March 1964 she played Mrs. Spicer in “Mother's Boy;” at the Arts Theatre, Ipswich, in September 1964 she appeared as Mrs. Wolff in “The Beaver Coat” the Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham in May 1965 she played Gladys in “Did You Feel It Move?” In 1968 she toured with Naunton Wayne and Jon Pertwee in “Oh, Clarence!,” a stage adaptation of P. G. Wodehouse's “Blandings Castle” stories. Now Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw also talk about the actor Robert Morley and the films he has appeared in and usually plays very unpleasant authoritarian characters, and also a very pompous blustering character, but they both do say Robert Morley has done theatre stage productions, and also say his character were usually quite nice. Now Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw also talk about the other three char ladies Miriam Karlin, Dandy Nichols and Avril Elgar and mainly talk about the actress Miriam Karlin who they mention appeared in the famous British Television comedy series “The Rag Trade” which was a British television sitcom broadcast by the BBC between 1961 and 1963 who played the Marxist character Paddy Fleming and in particular for the character's catchphrase “Everybody out!” and her trademark throughout her career was her deep, husky voice like her character in the film ‘LADIES WHO DO.’ When the film was made in 1963, Peggy Mount was 48 years of age; Miriam Karlin was 38 years of age; Dandy Nichols was 55 years of age and Avril Elgar was 31 years of age, and they both feel that actress Dandy Nichols was very under used in the film and apart from actress Avril Elgar, they say that Peggy Mount, Miriam Karlin and were in very well know British comedy television series on the 1960’s period. Barry Forshaw informs us that he had spoken to Sheridan Morley, who was the son of Robert Morley and informed Barry Forshaw that when Robert Morley went to Hollywood he as offered the part in the film ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ [1939] as Quasimodo and turned the part down flat as he was told that Quasimodo would of just grunted throughout the film rather than a speaking part in the film, so the part when to Charles Laughton who had a big Hollywood career, and Robert Morley was said to say that he was very glad to escape the Hollywood acting career, and of course Robert Morely went onto to have a massive acting career in so many British films. Now Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw also talk specifically about the subject in the film ‘LADIES WHO DO’ and the illegal business of “insider trading,” but this 1963 film tends to brush the subject under the carpet, and they also both say the plot in the film is based on Wall Street in America, and again say what they are doing in the film is very dangerous if happened in real life, but folks, it is just a very funny fantasy British comedy film, but on top of all that, Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw say the film us really about class, and that working class in the film want to get one over of the upper class snobs in the film. Now Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw talk about the actor Jon Pertwee who they thought was a marvellous Doctor Who in the British BBC Television series, and of course Jon Pertwee is the younger brother of Michael Pertwee who was the screen writer for the film ‘LADIES WHO DO.’ Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw also say that Michael Pertwee is a screenwriter with a flash of brilliance, always reliable, and always very professional. Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw now get round to talking about the character actor Arthur Mullard who is the husband of the actress Dandy Nichols in the film and inform us that Arthur Mullard in the 1970’s had a lot of records released and some of them were big chart hits of cover version of well-known songs, that were made into comedy records and Arthur Mullard’s biggest chart success was the song “You’re The One That I Want” in 1978 with the duet with Hylda Baker and Arthur Mullard and was written by John Farrar and was first released by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John in the 1978 film ‘Grease.’ Now Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw talk about actual char ladies in real life, and what back breaking job it is, whereas in the actual film it has turned char women into a comedy film, but as to actual real char ladies going into a big modern office block and having to work at night, is not a very nice job and totally and horribly anti-social job and under paid and prone to a lot of exploitation, but here with the film you’ve got a bit of a tongue in cheek comedy film, especially middle management in bossing these char ladies about, and Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw say this is the last film that Peggy Mount works with Robert Morley, but of course Peggy Mount does appear in other British films. Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw now talk about the wonderful Scottish actor John Laurie who plays the character Doctor MacGregor who is perhaps best remembered for his role in the famous BBC Television sitcom “Dad's Army” (1968 – 1977) as Private Frazer, a member of the Home Guard and would always be saying “We-re Doomed,” and also appeared in scores of feature films with directors including Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Powell and Laurence Olivier, generally playing memorable small or supporting roles. As a stage actor, he was cast in Shakespearean roles and was a speaker of verse, especially of Robert Burns. The Alfred Hitchcock film he appeared in was the Scottish John the Crofter in the 1935 film ‘The 39 Steps,’ Also as Clive Candy's batman in Powell and Pressburger's film ‘The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp’ [1943], and also as Angus in Pandora and the ‘Flying Dutchman’ [1951], and Dr. MacFarlane in ‘Hobson's Choice’ [1954]. Now Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw talks about the actress Peggy Mount in the scene where she walks out of the house to stop the workman using his pneumatic drill because upstairs in the bedroom is an 80 year old lady on her death bed, but of course is not true, but the workman does not know this, and the talk about the actors in this part of the film and they are Harry Fowler as the Drill Operator, Graham Stark as the Foreman, Nigel Davenport as Mr. Strang, then we have Ron Moody as the Police Inspector, then there is Cardew Robinson as the Police Driver and also comment about the male extras who are the other workmen in Pitt Street, who they say have also been in a lots of British films, and they day you can see these male extras are really enjoying themselves, also, they day that Harry Fowler and Graham Stark are really milking their scenes in Pitt Street, When we see the very angry 80 year old mother throwing her chamber pot and other objects out of her bedroom window at Harry H. Corbett, Nigel Davenport and Graham Stark, they both say that they don’t think it is a very scene in the film, well I totally disagree, as I thought it was a totally hilarious scene in the film. As we get near to the end of the film, Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw do not think the climax in the film where the four women have finally beaten the evil property developers and the workmen in Pitt Street, but when Harry H. Corbett is invited to the office of LADEZUDU Ltd., by Robert Morley to discuss him in joining the board, but when Harry H. Corbett walks into the office of LADEZUDU Ltd., he is confronted by Peggy Mount, Miriam Karlin and Dandy Nichols their finery outfits who he has been battling with and is of course kind of shocked wat he sees, and definitely realises he has been had by these women in getting one over him, and Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw feels it is a sort of happy ending to the film in some degree as a picture of British society, because it is now a vanished world, and of course the majority of the female and male actors have sadly passed away, and both Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw when the film was shown on a Sunday afternoon on British television, they hated the film, but now viewing with a fresh look and talking about it with this audio commentary, they now both really love the film, and now Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw give the film a rating of 8 out of 10 and at that point, this really nice and insightful audio commentary comes to an end.
Special Feature: Cleaning Up: Lucy Bolton on ‘LADIES WHO DO’ [2022] [1080p] [1.66:1 / 1.78:1] [18:40] With this featurette, Lucy Bolton [Lecturer in Film Studies at Queen Mary University of London, UK] talks in-depth about the great British comedy film ‘LADIES WHO DO’ and personally finds it totally hilarious and invigorating romp from 1963, but also thinks the film is still relevant in today’s society and also has a brilliant roll call of British talented actors in the 1960’s period who were very familiar to the British public at the time of the film’s release and clearly the film is about genuine social issues and about gender of the women in the film in the 1960’s, but also about class, but also about changes in the world of capitalism and the ways of thinking about the City of London, and Lucy Bolton also thinks it is a very pivotal film and really very interesting important issues at the heart of the film. Lucy Bolton also says the film had a virtual roll call of British comedy talent, and clearly it focuses on the core of the storyline, where a group of women who are called derogatory char women, old bags and lots of other insulting names and the four women are the heart of the film and also the main characters in the film, and how they look, talk and how their husbands treat them, and how one of the woman has a very domineering 80 year old mother in treating her, and the film has very driven female characters throughout the film. Now Lucy Bolton now talks about the wonderful British actress Peggy Mount, who is the force to be reckoned with and her performance throughout the film is really wonderful, who is the main char woman in the film. Lucy Bolton also says that the four char women in the film were of course Peggy Mount, Miriam Karlin, Avril Elgar and Dandy Nichols and they are all a varied wonderful bunch of forthright confident women, and of course the most forthright women is of course actress Peggy Mount, and then there is the very switched on, very intelligent and biting satirist Miriam Karlin, and then there is the actress Avril Elgar who lives with her 80 year old very difficult domineering belligerent mother, and the other wonderful character actors in the film are Harry H. Corbett, Ron Moody, Nigel Davenport, Graham Stark and of course the wonderful Robert Morley, each of course are fiving us really biting social satire issues. At the heart of the film, is the looming catastrophe with the underhanded property developers buying up the properties in Pitt Street area of London where people have lived there for years, and the residents going about threatening the nasty property developers to stop them demolition their homes, but also there are stages in the film of an awareness of the women involved about the big businesses in the dastardly game of cat and mouse, and hot to be on a board of directors, and how to make loads of money, especially when it comes to investing in a heard of pigs in Ireland, but when the heard of pigs dies, and when they are buried find precious metal in the ground, an so their investment has doubled in price, and there is a strange kind of events happening, and how the four women come together and become a property development company and also a high finance company. Actor Harry H. Cornett plays a kind of social climbing character who wants to desperately get into high finance, whereas the character actor Robert Morley plays someone who is an insider dealer, who helps the four char women with his purely self-centred motive, but what is very interesting, is the way the four char women, who happened to come by that information on the knowledge of the evil property developers and simply by way of the waste paper found in the rubbish waste bins and there is a very interesting comment there on how they find out this information by people throwing their waste paper away, which actually is very important information, which the five main characters can use for their insider dealings and making lots of money in the process of other people’s misfortune and in fact the four main women seem to take the situation and turn it around in their advantage and by simply making loads of money out of thrown away waste paper. The life of the four main women and where a couple of their husbands are quite violent and belligerent to them and also most dismissive, and of curse cone of the women lives with a very domineering 80 years old mother, but one of the most wonderful thing is the when the group of women in Pitt Street are prepared to take on the Metropolitan Police force with there out of control demonstrations to stop the evil property developers in demolishing their homes and take over the street and doing their subtle sabotage of the different vehicles involved in the demolition of their houses, and also all of the men in this section of the film, are shown to be of different social strata, and showing that none of the men are up to these strong women when on mass, so the policemen are afraid to upset the ladies in the street and not to assert themselves over the ladies, and actor Graham Stark as the foreman who turns to be totally ineffectual in getting the workmen back to work and also trying at the same time to put on a posh voice, and of course Harry H. Corbett and the other evil property developers turn up in Pitt Street to total chaos, and they are also totally frustrated with all the women taking control of the situation, and we also see in this film how these men are shown up in their true ineffectual characters again ordinary women fighting back for justice and of course coming together. Lucy Bolton says that in the film there are fantastic shots of the City of London skyline and one in particular that stands out for Lucy Bolton in the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral building with the new high rise tower blocks of buildings either side of St. Paul's Cathedral which of course is sent in the early 1960’s period and of course the four main char women actual work in those new high rise tower block buildings, and the film shows a massive social change and is a pivotal social change happening in the City of London and especially the London skyline, and it also shows a very important social change that is happening. Lucy Bolton says in the film ‘LADIES WHO DO’ we see Harry H. Cornett character tries to persuade the Peggy Mount character to try and persuade all of the other three char women who live in Pitt Street to move out of their homes and especially bribing the Peggy Mount character with a very large amount of money, and of course Peggy Mount turns his large money offer down instantly, and says the Harry H. Corbett, “Money can’t buy you friends,” and of course there is a big clash of modern day personalities with these people into anything to do with massive profits and the clash of characters with the old fashioned values. So of course the film is also about women taking on the powerful people and showing these men they are just as good as them also, so there is something deeply political about the film as well and when the Jon Pertwee character knocks on actress Miriam Karlin’s door to offer her a £100 to move out of her home, this is where Miriam Karlin goes into a massive rant with her biting socialist political stance on the workers’ rights and also he political rant against capitalist bosses who eat caviar and drink champagne and that the workers are going to rise up against capitalist pigs. Lucy Bolton now says that with the film, it shows how these women in Pitt Street can rise up and fight back in solidarity, especially stopping the workmen destroying their homes in telling long stories about their operations which makes some of the workmen feel very ill, and of course the women fight back in sabotaging all of the vehicles and especially the police cars, and of course the women use items what they have in sabotaging the vehicles in a spirit of communal fearless ness, and the fearless ness that is most appealing moment in the film and the women are not afraid of anyone and it is not just the men they have to deal with, but also have to deal with their woman supervisor where they work, who thinks she is far superior over the four char women. On top of all that, these char women who find these important thrown away waste paper, is a statement of today’s society as well, but there is also the moral journey if the film, and when Peggy Mount finds out that the Colonel Whitforth has made £5,000, is at first quite appalled, but of course later on in the film in meeting the ruthless Harry H. Corbett character, and changes her mind 100% and is up for a fight against these evil property developers. Also in the film, these four char women find out how to go on a journey on how to collaborate, to get in on the act and try their hand at also making money as well, and by the end of the film, we get to see them swanning off to the Savoy for their posh meal in their finery clothes and looking totally fabulous, and they are confronted with the fact that the 80 year old belligerent mother is refusing to move out of her home, and Peggy Mount is quite ruthless and will definitely sort out this slight problem instantly, but hang on their Peggy Mount, and that the film is about not moving out of her home and not to sacrifice her stability in the name of property developers, but now the boot seems to be on the other foot and now you have learnt how to be a property developer and what it means in what you want to assert yourself, especially as the 80 year old belligerent mother doesn’t stand a chance. Lucy Bolton says the 1963 film was written by Michael Pertwee [1916 – 1991] who was an English playwright and screenwriter who was also the older brother of Jon Pertwee and the film also has a really wonderful composed film score by Ron Goodwin, which is jokey and fun throughout the film, and makes it a very lively and pacey film to watch and a lot of the elements in the film makes it still feel very relevant and fresh actually, but it is also not a sweet and soppy tale about four ladies winning and about conquering all, but it is quite something about how the four women have changed and what their value have become into and a comment about one-upmanship and how to become property dealers. But the film also has lots of typical stereo type characters, and all the men in the film are shown in all types of society and all levels of society. Also the language in the film is very important and the way the women are described in the film as char women, old bags and really insulting terms and also a total array of abuse for these cleaning women. It is also revealing how these women are spoken about in the film in very derogatory terms, but the film also paints a complex picture with relationships between the workers, capital and labour and social strata and also a complex picture of social relations. Lucy Bolton says that as we come to the end of the film, the four women look fabulous in their finery, because Robert Morley is taking them off to the Savoy for a slap up meal, and when Peggy Mount walks out of the office, Lucy Bolton feels it is absolutely one of the highlights in the film and Peggy Mount is now 100% confident. Lucy Bolton also says that the film ‘LADIES WHO DO’ is all about class structure, men and women, labour and capital, and of course the roll call on the finest British character actors and it is a real gem of a film, and at that point, this Lucy Bolton featurette finally comes to an end, phew! Finally, of course throughout this featurette, we get to view lots of clips from the film ‘LADIES WHO DO.’
Special Feature: Jon Dear on ‘LADIES WHO DO’ [2022] [1080p] [1.66:1 / 1.78:1] [19:35] With this featurette, Jon Dear talks basically at first about the 1963 British comedy film ‘LADIES WHO DO’ which is about a group of cleaning ladies who obtain sensitive stock market information via the waste paper bins in the offices where they work and are able to raise monies to stop the evil property developers from destroying their homes in Pitt Street and Jon Dear says the film ‘LADIES WHO DO’ was financed by Bryanston Films Fanfare Films which is a confederation group of producers in wanting more control over the films they produce from financiers, especially films like ‘Lunch Hour’ [1963], ‘A Taste of Honey’ [1961] or ‘The Small World of Sammy Lee’ [1963], but they would not finance the film ‘Tom Jones’ [1963] because it was in colour, whereas United Artists picked up the film and made it, and of course the film ‘Tom Jones’ went onto win Four Oscars and was of course a very successful film. But Jon Dear now says that Bryanston Films Fanfare Films was eventually sold to Associated-Rediffusion Company in 1965 and they were a British ITV franchise holder for London and parts of the surrounding counties in the UK. Jon Dear now talks about the director of the film ‘LADIES WHO DO’ and he was C.M. Pennington-Richards was born in London and began his film career producing religious films for J. Arthur Rank's Religious Film Society, but were also shots and animation films, and C.M. Pennington-Richards entered the “mainstream” film industry as a cinematographer for the film ‘Ireland's Border Line’ [1938], a low-budget vehicle for Irish comic actor Jimmy O'Dea. During the Second World War C.M. Pennington-Richards really starts to make his name when he was attached to the renowned documentary unit The Crown Film Unit, and was the cinematographer on Humphrey Jennings [Director, Writer and Actor] famous film ‘Fires Were Started’ [1943]. C.M. Pennington-Richards worked briefly for Pathé UK and then went back to J. Arthur Rank's Religious Film Society. After the war ended he continued as a cinematographer, working on many films directed by his former colleagues in The Crown Film Unit, and is started to be remembered for film like for Brian Desmond Hurst [Director, Writer and Producer] for the film ‘Theirs Is the Glory’ [1946], Jack Lee [Director, Writer and Second Unit Director or Assistant Director] for the film ‘The Wooden Horse’ [1950] and Pat Jackson [Director, Production Designer and Writer] for the film White Corridors [1951]. Then C.M. Pennington-Richards was the cinematographer on Brian Desmond Hurst film ‘A Christmas Carol’ [1951] which starred Alastair Sim and was considered by many to be the definitive version of the famous Charles Dickens novel. C.M. Pennington-Richards worked with noted American director Edward Dmytryk, who was making films in England due to his being blacklisted during the notorious McCarthy "Red Scare" era in the USA. C.M. Pennington-Richards made his directorial debut with the comedy film ‘The Horse's Mouth’ [1953]. C.M. Pennington-Richards was involved with the film ‘1984’ [1956] as the Cinematographer and ‘1984’ was a British black-and-white science fiction film, and based on the 1949 novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four” by George Orwell, depicting a totalitarian future of a dystopian society. The film was the first feature-length adaptation of the story, and followed a previous Westinghouse Studio One adaptation and a BBC-TV made-for-TV adaptation. Then C.M. Pennington-Richards first film he directed was ‘The Oracle’ [1953]. In 1956 C.M. Pennington-Richards started working for ITC Entertainment for British television series like “The Buccaneer” [1956 – 1957] and also worked on the British television series like “Ivanhoe” [1958] that starred Roger Moore. Another British television series C.M. Pennington-Richards was involved in was “Danger Man” [1960 –1968] and featured actor Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Jon Dear says that C.M. Pennington-Richards other films he was involved in was ‘Tarzan and the Lost Safari’ [1957], ‘Stormy Crossing’ [1958], ‘Inn for Trouble’ [1960], ‘Double Bunk’ [1961], ‘Mystery Submarine’ [1963], ‘A Challenge for Robin Hood’ [1967], ‘Danny the Dragon’ [1967] and the last film C.M. Pennington-Richards was involved in was ‘Sky Pirates’ [1977] was a children’s Adventure film involving two boys who wage a battle against diamond smugglers with radio controlled model Spitfire aeroplanes loaded with darts. Jon Dear says that director C.M. Pennington-Richards was looked upon as a safe pair of reliable hands when directing films and always came in on budget and that is why Television mogul Lew Grade employed him at ITC Entertainment because C.M. Pennington-Richards was looked upon as a very reliable director. Jon Dear now says that the film ‘LADIES WHO DO’ it used some very good locations around London and of course a lot of the film was filmed in Pitt Street, but the film also had a good sense of community spirit, but says the actual Pitt Street in the film was actually Cambridge Gardens in London, but today the street is now called “Cambridge Cottages.” Jon Dear now starts to mention about Michael Pertwee [1916 – 1991] who was an English playwright and screenwriter and co-wrote three films in which his younger brother Jon Pertwee who was now best known for comical farces that includes ‘Trouble in the Air’ [1948], ‘LADIES WHO DO’ [1963] and ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’ [1966] among his other credits ere British Television series that included “The Saint” [1962 – 1969], “Danger Man” [1960 –1968], “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” [1962 – 1965], and many other films and TV series. For the stage he co-wrote the 1938 thriller “Death on the Table.” Also, Michael Pertwee the son of Roland Pertwee, the screenwriter and actor of the 1910’s – 1950’s, a distant cousin of Bill Pertwee, the character actor, and the uncle of actor Sean Pertwee. Jon Dear feels the 1963 film ‘LADIES WHO DO’ is quite a subversive film and some of its issues it deals with and the first phase of the New Towns being built from 1946 which includes Harlow, Basildon and Bracknell and a lot of people from London were moved out to these New Towns which was mainly young married couples and families, but the older generation stayed pit and would not be moved and wanted to live in their homes in London. Jon Dear now says that the women in Pitt Street, they were able to use their soft power to stop the workmen being able to start work on demolishing their home in Pitt Street, and standing up to the powerful evil property developers, who were in fact corrupt, and now the main four lady cleaners are now in charge of the situation and giving those nasty evil property developers a good run for their money, and showing these ladies of Pitt Street are just as good as the feckless men in showing the men cannot always be in charge of the situation. Jon Dear now says that the film ‘LADIES WHO DO’ is nearly 60 years old and is certainly slightly dated in many ways, but it still sends out a message that it is still relevant in our modern society in the 21st Century. At that point this featurette comes to an end. Finally, of course throughout this featurette, we again get to view lots of clips from the film ‘LADIES WHO DO.’
Special Feature: Stills Gallery: With this featurette, we get to view 25 wonderful 1080p Black-and- White images for the film ‘LADIES WHO DO.’ Running time: 2:02
Finally, with the 1963 film ‘LADIES WHO DO’ we have a plot that is quite original, on top of all that, there are plenty of tongue in cheek funny moments and the film that is really nice because the acting and the writing are spot on target. It also has a strong populist bent and one that pits these simple ladies against capitalist investors. It is top quality 1963 British comedy film, even after all these years later it's still wonderfully and hilariously funny, and gloriously sentimental. All of the actors play to their strengths, Peggy Mount is the domineering, brash lead, Miriam Karlin is the shop steward, Harry H. Corbett is the rags to riches businessman, and Robert Morley is the bumbling The Colonel Whitworth and it is a story that would have been very relevant at the period in time, especially with many houses were pulled down for clearance and the ravages of World War 2, especially with people forced to move out. There are plenty of laughs throughout the film, with such an amazing classic British cast, and the film delivers totally spectacular, and is well worth viewing. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
