THE WRONG BOX [1966 / 2020] [Blu-ray] [Standard Edition] [UK Release]
A deliciously hysterical Black comedy!
THE WRONG BOX [1966] Two warring elderly brothers and their respective heirs are determined that each will outlive the other in an attempt to hold onto the family fortune, and will stop at nothing – even murder – to achieve their goal.
Bryan Forbes’ riotous black comedy, based on the 1889 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne, and stars some of the greatest British talented actors of the day, including Peter Sellers, Sir Michael Caine, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Tony Hancock, Sir Ralph Richardson, Nanette Newman and Sir John Mills.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1997 BAFTA Awards: Nomination: BAFTA Film Award for Best British Art Direction (Colour) for Ray Simm. Win: BAFTA Film Award for Best British Costume (Colour) for Julie Harris. Nomination: BAFTA Film Award for Best British Actor for Ralph Richardson.
FILM FACT No.2: Pinewood Studios, Iver, Buckinghamshire, was the main production base for the studio sets and many exteriors, with the Victorian London crescent exteriors being shot on Bath's historic Royal Crescent, complete with TV aerials on the roofs. The funeral coach and horse chase was filmed in St James's Square, Bath, and on Englefield Green, Surrey, and surrounding lanes. Bosley Crowther wrote in The New York Times, “Perhaps the best of the clowning is the little bit Mr. Sellers does as this drink-sodden, absent-minded skip-jack, fumbling foolishly and a little sadly among his cats. But Mr. Richardson is splendid as a scholarly charlatan, and Mr. Mills and Mr. Lawson are capital as a couple of fuddy-duddy crooks. Sure, the whole nutty business is tumbled together haphazardly in the script that has been written or maybe scrambled by Larry Gelbert and Burt Shevelove. Some sections and bits are funnier than others. Some are laboured and dull. It is that sort of story, that sort of comedy. But it adds up to a lively lark;” while more recently, Dennis Schwartz called it a “Mildly amusing silly black comedy.” AllMovie wrote, “By turns wacky and weird, ‘THE WRONG BOX’ is a welcome alternative to standard issue film comedies.” In his autobiography What's it All About?, Sir Michael Caine wrote of the movie's reception, that the film “is so British that it met with a gentle success in most places except Britain, where it was a terrible flop. I suppose this was because the film shows us exactly as the world sees us - as eccentric, charming and polite – but the British knew better than that they were none of these things, and it embarrassed us.”
Cast: Sir John Mills, Sir Ralph Richardson, Sir Michael Caine, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Nanette Newman, Tony Hancock, Peter Sellers, Cicely Courtneidge, Wilfrid Lawson, Thorley Walters, Gerald Sim, Peter Graves, Irene Handl, Norman Bird, John Le Mesurier, Hilton Edwards, Norman Rossington, Diane Clare, Tutte Lemkow, Josef Behrmann, Charlie Bird, Marianne Stone, Michael Bird, Thomas Gallagher, Timothy Bateson, Reg Lye, John Junkin, Roy Murray, Tony Thawnton, George Selway, Gwendolyn Watts, Vanda Godsell, Donald Tandy, Lionel Gamlin, Martin Terry, George Spence, Jeremy Lloyd, James Villiers, Graham Stark, Dick Gregory, Nicholas Parsons, Willoughby Goddard, Valentine Dyall, Leonard Rossiter, Hamilton Dyce, Donald Oliver, Totti Truman Taylor, Jeremy Roughton, Frank Singuineau, Michael Lees, André Morell, Avis Bunnage, Penny Brahms, Maria Kazan, Fred Clark, George Hilsdon, Alf Mangan, Arthur Sandiford, Louise Nolan, John Tatham, Sarah Harrison, John Parker, John Fitch, Norman Hibbert, Jim Scott, Alistair Dick, Dan Cressey, Lindsay Hooper, Dorothy Ford, Unity Greenwood, John Morris, The Temperance Seven, Denis Cowles, Patsy Snell, Andrea Allan, Phillip Stewart, Rita Tobin-Weske, Alan Beaton (uncredited), Paul Beradi (uncredited), Alf Casha (uncredited), Lee Fenton (uncredited), Sarah Forbes (uncredited), Dorothy Ford (uncredited), Chick Fowles (uncredited), Patrick Halpin (uncredited), Victor Harrington (uncredited), Gerry Judge (uncredited), David Lodge (uncredited), Juliet Mills (uncredited), Norman Morris (uncredited), Norman David Morris (uncredited), Peggy Ray (uncredited), Arthur Sandifer (uncredited), Frank Schock (uncredited), Nicole Shelby (uncredited), Philip Stewart (uncredited), Fred Stroud (uncredited) and Neal Taylor (uncredited)
Director: Bryan Forbes
Producers: Bryan Forbes, Burt Shevelove, Jack Rix and Larry Gelbart
Screenplay: Burt Shevelove (written for the screen), Larry Gelbart (written for the screen), Lloyd Osbourne (suggested by a novel) and Robert Louis Stevenson (suggested by a novel)
Composer: John Barry
Costumes: Julie Harris
Make-up Artists: Basil Newall (Make-up artist) and Paul Rabiger (Make-up artist)
Hairdresser: Maude Onslow
Wardrobe Mistress: Laurel Stafell
Wardrobe Master: Roy Ponting
Cinematography: Gerry Turpin, B.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Color by Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio: 1.75:1
Audio: English: 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 105 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Columbia Pictures / Power House / INDICATOR
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘THE WRONG BOX’ [1966] finds us in Victorian England, in the early 19th century, and a fortune now depends on which of the two brothers outlives the other.
The film gets off to a rousing start with Lawyer Patience [Thorley Walters] explaining the “Tontine” [Victorian Lottery] in which the fathers of twenty little boys put up £1,000 pounds each with the accumulated boodle, as Morris Finsbury [Peter Cook] and John Finsbury [Dudley Moore] later term it, and going to whoever is the last survivor. Then there is a montage of the deaths of many of the contestants with familiar faces such as Graham Stark as Ian Scott Fife (killed in tontine) and the great Leonard Rossiter as Vyvyan Alistair Montague (killed in tontine). All these dispatches are presented with dry humour by director Bryan Forbes. My favourite is an accidental death is at the hand of Queen Victoria played by Avis Bunnage, who may look more than the real queen than any of the dozens who have played her in the past.
Then the main players are introduced with the final two survivors, brothers Masterman Finsbury [John Mills], Joseph Finsbury [Sir Ralph Richardson], and Masterman’s grandson Michael Finsbury [Sir Michael Caine], and Joseph’s niece Julia [Nanette Newman] and his bumbling nephews Morris Finsbury [Peter Cook] and John Finsbury [Dudley Moore]. All these early scenes are presented in a very tongue-in-cheek look at Victorian manners and mores, and it’s all very charming, especially with Sir Michael Caine’s most understated performance as Michael Caine struggles to control his burgeoning love for Julia Finsbury [Nanette Newman]. But most of all John Barry’s typical waltz composed film score contributes considerably to the film’s wonderful Victorian charm.
The first two-thirds of the film is a very entertaining before it sinks into a tiresome farce towards the end of the film. Anytime a Salvation Army troop shows up in any comedy, my little heart sinks for tired jokes are on the way and slightly stolen from ‘The Pink Panther’ film, with carriages heading for a collision, is also rather weak. Then there is a dull performance by beloved UK TV comedian Tony Hancock as a bumbling Detective.
But back to what is good about the film ‘THE WRONG BOX.’ Sir Michael Caine is about as charming a leading man as can be imagined during his appearance in the fil. Sir Ralph Richardson, as a man who has collected facts for 63 years and bores everyone senseless as he encounters with them, gives probably his best comic performance. Dudley Moore is delightful as Peter Cook’s bumbling foil. Best of all are Wilfred Lawson as a decrepit butler and Peter Sellers as an unethical physician. Wilfred Lawson was considered a great stage actor whose career suffered because of extreme alcoholism.
Wilfred Lawson is of course best known on the big screen as the original Alfred P. Doolittle. Wilfred Lawson stands out here for his wide-eyed, slow-motion reactions to the chaos raging around him and for an equally slow-motion, slurred delivery of his lines and his character is supposed to be ancient, but Wilfred Lawson was surprisingly only 66 years of age. If you must drink, kiddies, always drink in moderation. Peter Sellers’ sleazy doctor gives him a wonderful chance to demonstrate his perfect comic timing, as when he uses a kitten to blot his signature on a death certificate. I wonder if director Bryan Forbes named the kitten Mervyn or whether Peter Sellers improvised it and especially with his use of his signature line, “I was not always as you see me now.”
The cast is absolutely wonderful, even affording to drop the likes of Leonard Rossiter in for a wordless cameo appearance before he's shot. Peter Sellers pops in halfway through in the film and of course notably hilarious as the dopey Doctor Pratt and what an appropriate name, but he doesn't stick around long enough. The way the whole film is played out; and there are no actual lead characters, which is a fascinating way of using such a star-studded cast. It sort of all adds up to a total hilarious chaotic British comedy film of all time.
‘THE WRONG BOX’ is littered with superb hilarious one-liners and exchanges like “My father is dying” or “Ooh, I'm sorry!” or "Oh, it's nothing serious.” But I probably derived most laughs from Wilfrid Lawson, playing a hilariously timid butler with the most bizarre speaking voice I've heard for quite some time and one of those outstanding performances where Wilfrid Lawson barely has to say anything and I'm already cracking up.
The “set up” on which this film is all based on was probably the perfect way to start off this loony wackiest type of a film. I'm not entirely sure I know what ‘THE WRONG BOX’ is, but I certainly do know that I really and totally bloody enjoyed it immensely.
Although ‘THE WRONG BOX’ sadly falls apart towards the end of the film, it still has enough going for it to make it one of the most notable British comedies of the 1960’s. The film’s image is the crispest and sharpest I have ever seen in a long time, and the Blu-ray disc offers a great wealth of extras. All in all, honestly don't even know where to start with the film ‘THE WRONG BOX,’ it is an absolutely mad black comedy where two halves of the same family compete to win a sort of death lottery. I mean, that sounds like a great idea all by itself but it comes nowhere near explaining any of the million other things that happen in Bryan Forbes' film and he did dabble occasionally in comedy but has always been mostly noted for his more serious works, especially an all-time favourite of mine, ‘Séance on a Wet Afternoon.’
This farcical caper has so much going on that if I were to describe the majority of it then it would seem like a really confusing film, but it really isn't. There is a lot going on but it all somehow gets glued together in its final stages, leaving despairing cop Tony Hancock trying to make sense of it all, and he might not, but it does make sense, even if it's all very silly indeed and done in the best possible taste.
* * * * *
Blu-ray Image Quality – Columbia Pictures, Power House and INDICATOR presents the film ‘THE WRONG BOX’ with a superb 1080p Technicolor image and shown in the 1.75:1 aspect ratio ticks all the right boxes and the detail is consistently sharp, the contrast nicely balanced, the black levels crisp without punishing shadow detail, and the colour reproduction is very pleasing and even vibrant when appropriate, with no errant colour tints due to age and fading. Any damage and dust has been scrupulously cleaned up and a fine film grain is visible.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Columbia Pictures, Power House and INDICATOR brings us the film ‘THE WRONG BOX’ with a 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio experience and it is in very good shape, a damage-free restoration with consistently clear dialogue and a better than average dynamic range than I would expect of a film of this vintage and of course the John Barry's composed film score sounds particularly good, so all in all, a really good audio performance.
* * * * *
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
High Definition Remastered Print
Special Feature: Audio Commentary with Josephine Botting and Vic Pratt [Audio only] [2018] [1080p] [1.75:1] [95:30] With this featurette, we get to hear this audio commentary with Film Historians Josephine Botting and Vic Pratt. As the film starts, first up is Josephine Botting who informs us that she is a curator at the British Film Institute National Archive and next up is Vic Pratt to introduce himself and informs us that he is a writer as well as a film historian and now works as a Blu-Ray and DVD producer at the British Film Institute and of course are here to talk about the film ‘THE WRONG BOX,’ and Josephine Botting informs us that it’s her favourite film and Vic Pratt asks her does she like the psychedelic title sequence and says, “yes very much” and Vic Pratt thinks the opening credits has a feel of electric Victoriana look about it. They both say that the credit for the screenplay for the film was by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart and supposedly based on the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson and they also say that Robert Louis Stevenson was not very well known for writing comedy novels, but they say that Larry Gelbart went onto to do the scripts for the American TV series “MASH.” They both then get onto to talking about the start of the film with all the school children listening to Lawyer Patience [Thorley Walters] explaining the “Tontine” [Victorian Lottery] in which the fathers of twenty little boys put up £1,000 pounds each with the accumulated boodle, which is the main pot of the film, and they say some critics did not seem to understand what the hell was the “Tontine” and were totally confused, but of course the film all hinges on the fact that the last person in that classroom that is the only last one left alive will receive all of the money. But of course as we get into the actual film, we get to see each character gets bumped off and we see their names crossed off the legal document. They say that the critics really liked the sequence where each character is being bumped off. They talk about the actor Sir Michael Caine who became famous for the film ‘ZULU’ and ‘The Ipcress File,’ and of course much earlier appeared in the film ‘Alfie,’ and Josephine Botting actually spoke to Sir Michael Caine about his character in the film and was very dismissive about his role in the film and was more of a romantic role in the film, but they felt he was very pivotal for his role in the film. They talk about Wilfrid Lawson and they felt his character in the film was his best performance and it was his last film he ever appeared in and always played this type of character in films and they say his best period was in the 1930’s and because he was a very heavy drinker throughout his career, this sadly was his downfall in later life near the end of his career. But they say that Sir Michael Caine got on very well with Wilfrid Lawson, but had to help him to get him in the right position to be filmed, and unfortunately Wilfrid Lawson would forget his lines and so had to do loads of retakes of a certain scene he was in. Then we eventually get to see the wonderful actress Nanette Newman for the first time who they point out was married to the director Bryan Forbes, and the actress had not long before they started shooting the film, gave birth to a baby daughter named Emma. They point out that the film was shot in Technicolor and feel it really brought out the Victorian dresses worn by the female actors and also feel it brought out the wallpaper really well and of course all the colourful eggs that Peter Cook’s character was a totally obsessive collector and was the brother to Nanette Newman’s character. They say a lot of the actors stayed in a hotel in Bristol and one of them were Sir Michael Caine and they inform us that one day Sir Michael Caine happens to be walking down one of the corridors in the hotel and bumped into the actor Cary Grant, and Sir Michael Caine said, “Your Cary Grant” and the actor replied back, “Yes I know,” and staying in the same hotel was Cary Grant’s mother and was not very well, and Cary Grant was there to look after her, but we are told that Sir Michael Caine was a massive fan of Cary Grant. They say that because Bryan Forbes was married to Nanette Newman, and tended to cast the actress in a lot of his films, and the critics were very critical about this situation and of course Bryan Forbes was very angry about this negative comment, and said that he had Nanette Newman in his films because she was a very fine professional actress and always gave a good performance in his films. They now praise John Barry for his lush composed film score for the film ‘THE WRONG BOX’ and felt it really helped the film and of course created the period the film is set in so brilliantly. At chapter 4 we get to view the massive head on two steam trains crash sequence and they say it was filmed on the Brighton Bluebell Railway line which is situated in Sussex, Sheffield Park, Uckfield TN22 3QL in England and the actual two crashed steam trains was filmed in Black Park Country Park which is adjacent to Pinewood Studios, and they say the filmed sequences at the crash site was filmed in the very early mornings and they also say Peter Cook would sit around people holding court with everyone, but at the same time the actor was said to be extremely nervous his scene in the two steam trains crash sequence, but what upset Peter Cook was no one was laughing at his jokes. They say Bryan Forbes died of emphysema because he was an extremely heavy cigarette smoker, but before directing this film, directed the film ‘King Rat’ and decided he must try to quit smoking, but unfortunately the damage was done inevitable, but was able to finish the film ‘King Rat.’ But at one time when he was about to shoot a scene with ‘THE WEONG BOX’ and when wanted to shout to start filming he had no breath, so in an emergency was to light up a cigarette, had a couple of puffs and was then able to shot the word “ACTION.” They say there was some kind of conflict between Peter Cook, Dudley Moore and Bryan Forbes, and they also say that Dudley Moore did not enjoy making the film and after watching the finished film several times, still did not understand what the film was all about, but on the other hand Peter Cook really enjoyed the glamour of the film and allowed Bryan Forbes to tell Peter Cook what do with a particular scene in the film. They also get back to Wilfrid Lawson and they say he would walk around Pinewood Studios stark naked and they say he was a very strange man. At chapter 6 they both comment that we get to see two great actors in one scene alone in the film, and that is Wilfrid Lawson and Sir Ralph Richardson and the critics praised their scene together, but they say whenever Sir John Mills and Sir Ralph Richardson were in a scene together, they both felt their performances together were totally superb, and Sir John Mills was heard to say that he loved working with Sir Ralph Richardson in their scenes together. They say that Sir Ralph Richardson called Bryan Forbes “The Professor” all the way throughout the shooting of the film. When we get to chapter 7 we get to see the scene where Peter Cook turns up at Doctor Pratt’s place of resident, who of course was actor Peter Sellers, who was surround with massive amounts of cats and they say just before shooting a scene with both of the actors, Peter Sellers suffered a massive heart attack and had just finished filming the comedy James Bond 1967 spy parody film ‘Casino Royale’ and had also just married the Swedish actress Britt Elkland and they say he was doing too much exercise in the bedroom with her and at the same time was raking large quantities of Amyl Nitrate chemical compound stimulants and had a really massive heart attack in April 1964 and at one point nearly died 8 times and eventually was brought back to life and was told to rest as much as possible and of course with Peter Sellers true to form returned to filming his sequences far too early and both commentators think he is totally brilliant as Doctor Pratt, but they say that you will notice a lot of the time in his filmed scenes he is sitting down, as the doctor not to get too stressed out acting in his scenes in the film. They inform us that Bryan Forbes was actually offered to direct the James Bond 1967 spy parody film ‘Casino Royale’ for $800,000 Dollars but eventually turned it down outright, because directing a James Bond film was not his thing. When we get to chapter 9, they both say that the film is very well constructed and now that the plot of the film is now building up with all the sequences coming together and slowly being revealed to what you might call a cataclysmic final end to the film. When you get to chapter 10 and we are now back at The Royal Crescent in Bath and you can actually see the television Ariel’s on the roof of the building that were supposed to have been removed, so someone did not do their job properly which both comment about it, and now say that everything is coming together very nicely to the climatic end to the film. When we get to chapter 11, both commentators start to talk about the actor Tony Hancock who plays the Detective in the film, and they mention it was his last cameo performance in a film and was a very popular BBC Radio/TV comedian in the United Kingdom, and they say that Tony Hancock’s career was slowly turning for the worse in the last part of the 1960’s, but Tony Hancock was very well known to the British public, this mainly thanks to his successful BBC Radio series “Hancock’s Half Hour” and then followed up with a BBC TV series of the same name title that originally began in the 1950’s and they both also say that Tony Hancock burnt too many bridges with a lot of people he worked with and both of them say that we get the sense looking at Tony Hancock, that he knows that his vest work is behind him. In 1961, Tony Hancock finished his last BBC TV series with the great writing team of Ray Galton OBE and Alan Simpson OBE and in 1961 Tony Hancock decided to go it alone, but despite this Tony Hancock was still very popular with the British public and the BBC continued to repeat his programme “Hancock’s Half Hour” on BBC Radio and you can still buy the “Hancock’s Half Hour” board games and by 1962 sadly Tony Hancock’s popularity with the general British public had started to tail off and of course new and up and coming comedy comedians were filling the gap of Tony Hancock’s popularity. At chapter 12 we have the madcap funeral. Where total mayhem is happening and Peter Cook and Dudley Moore have loaded the wooden box with the “Tontine” money into the Funeral Hearse and are trying to escape from everyone and at that point other people get onto the other Funeral Hearses and start chasing after Peter Cook and Dudley Moore in hot pursuit, at one point everyone is at the funeral site and this is where total mayhem happens and we see Sir Michael Caine wrestle to the ground Peter Cook and Dudley Moore and at that point the box they were running away with open ups and all the “Tontine” money starts flying about and we are informed that this total mayhem was a last minute thought up improvised end to the film and all the actors were told to do whatever they wanted, but director Bryan Forbes said after the film was released, that he would never ever contemplate doing this type mayhem scene if he was ever asked to direct another comedy film again, and at that point as the end credits for the end of the film starts, and once again the total mayhem with all of the actors carries on, and to me it looks like they all had a great deal of fun being totally outrageous and very silly. They both say that the critics felt chase scene at the end of the film with all the Funeral Hearses was far too long, but for me personally it added to the totally hilarious comedy caper for the film and to me it really worked, and both of them say that the film was edited really well and they say on the whole the critics really enjoyed most of the film, and especially seeing a great cast of wonderful British actors. At the point the audio commentary with Josephine Botting and Vic Pratt ends.
Special Feature: The British Entertainment History Project [BEHP] Interview with Bryan Forbes [Audio only] [1994] [1080p] [1.75:1] [101:15] With this featurette, we get to hear a fascinating and interesting archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring the celebrated filmmaker in conversation with Roy Fowler on the 9th August, 1994 and talks with director and actor Bryan Forbes, and at the same time we get to view the film ‘THE WRONG BOX’ and is like a second audio commentary track, and is a really excellent inclusion, and as the film starts Roy Fowler introduces himself and at the same time starts to interview Bryan Forbes. Here director/actor Bryan Forbes talks openly and in a very captivating detail about his early theatre work, and his time as the head of the Elstree Studio, forming his own production company, how much easier it once was to get a worthwhile project greenlighted, and much more. We also find out that Bryan Forbes made his film-acting debut in ‘The Small Back Room’ [1948]. Bryan Forbes continued as a performer and screenwriter until 1961, when he made his directorial bow in ‘Whistle Down The Wind’ [1961]. Bryan Forbes subsequently directed and sometimes produced and or wrote such critical and audience favourites as ‘The L Shaped Room’ [1962], ‘Séance On A Wet Afternoon’ [1964], ‘King Rat’ [1965], ‘The Whisperers’ [1966], ‘The Wrong Box’ [1966], ‘The Stepford Wives’ [1975] and ‘Hopscotch’ [1980]. There is some really interesting information, that from 1969 until 1971, Bryan Forbes was chief of production/managing director of EMI Studios. Bryan Forbes also talks a film starring Edward Woodward and Nanette Newman that he had to pull the plug on when it became clear that its young first-time director was going to go wildly over-schedule and over-budget. Bryan Forbes was married to actresses Constance Smith and Nanette Newman respectively, the latter appearing prominently in many of his films of the 1960’s. Bryan Forbes was the father of Emma Forbes (Actress and TV presenter) and Sarah Standing (Journalist) and Bryan Forbes was named a Commander of the British Empire in 2004 for his services to the arts. As the audio interview comes to a close Bryan Forbes says to Roy Fowler that he will have to try to find more time and I would like to do another audio interview session. I don't know if this ever actually happened, but I'd definitely be up for these two again with another interesting and fascinating excellent audio commentary. Please Note: The British Entertainment History Project was founded in 1987 by Roy Fowler, the History Project started as an independent volunteer project by members of the industry trade union, ACTT, who wanted to preserve the stories and memories of the lives of the men and women who had been working in the various film and television industries. The organisation was originally called the ACTT History Project, reflecting the fact that though it was an entirely separate project run by volunteers, it was nevertheless supported by the ACTT union. In 1991, the ACTT merged with the Broadcasting and Entertainment Trades Alliance, to form BECTU (Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union) and the ACTT History Project became known as the BECTU History Project. In 2016, it was officially registered as a company limited by guarantee, as an independent, non-profit, voluntary organisation, and renamed the British Entertainment History Project. The work of the project continues to be acknowledged and supported by BECTU, industry-related unions and many other media organisations and educational institutions. The recordings are used as a primary source by researchers and students, especially in the fields of media and social history. In addition, the archive is used by television and radio programmes, film documentaries, publishers, authors, historians, obituarises and journalists as well as the general public. Other partnerships and collaborations include work with the BFI, the BBC, and the British Universities Film & Video Council and with universities such as the University of East Anglia. In 2017, the BEHP began working with Sussex University and other partners as part of the “100 voices That Made The BBC,” which is part of the Connected Histories of the BBC, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).
Special Feature: Box of Delights: Nanette Newman on ‘THE WRONG BOX’ [2018] [1080p] [1.78:1] [20:19] With this featurette, we get to view the award-winning actress Nanette Newman who talks about the film ‘THE WRONG BOX’ and her work with her husband Bryan Forbes, but as the interview with Nanette Newman starts, the actress says that she had such fun being involved with the film and would love to watch the film again, as it was such a fun film to make and such a long time ago the film was made. Nanette Newman says it is much better to make a film set in the Victorian and Edwardians times as it does not date the film, but feels if you make a film in modern times, when the is viewed a few years later it looks very dated and no matter how good it is, because nobody had a mobile phone, no one is carrying a bottle of water, which everyone does these days, and how strange the cars were and you could park anywhere, so all of those things you think about in films that go far back, whereas again making a period film you are much safer, because everyone excepts it is a period film, and is going to be much better to survive being viewed long after the film was released way back in time and Nanette Newman thinks that a period film will probably appeal to a younger audience. Nanette Newman says she has fond memories of making the film and provides some useful insight into Bryan Forbes’ approach to specific elements and filming certain scenes, as well as sharing a couple of anecdotes about working with Sir Michael Caine and Peter Sellers. Another reason why Nanette Newman enjoyed being in the film because of the amazing British cast, like Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, and Tony Hancock, Peter Sellers, Sir Ralph Richardson, Sir John Mills, and of courses Sir Michael Caine and again says it was a totally amazing cast and also says that is what appealed to director Bryan Forbes. Nanette Newman also thought comedian Tony Hancock was really funny and wanted to appear in the film and also thoroughly enjoyed working with Sir Michael Caine, and also enjoyed playing the uptight lady Victorian character, and felt her character was very off the wall character. Nanette Newman also says, most of all it was a marvellous fun film to do and especially in the famous The Royal Crescent, one of Bath's most iconic landmarks, was built between 1767 and 1775 and designed by John Wood the Younger. But most of all it was like a school party, having lots of laughs while filming and then when filming had finished for the day, they all went to stay in a rented house in The Royal Crescent. But equally wonderful is that there were two wonderful women who did all the catering and who cooked wonderful English food like Jam roly-poly pudding and Bread Pudding which everyone was mad about, but unfortunately we all put on too much weight. Nanette Newman talks very fondly about the actor Peter Sellers and his character Doctor Pratt and that he only played a small scene in the film, whose character was totally hopeless disastrous doctor and says that Peter Sellers loved playing that character in the film, and of course in that scene in the film there were loads of cats all over the room and there were in total 60 cats, and when Doctor Pratt signs the death certificate and he uses a small kitten as an ink blotter that was ad-libbed by Peter Sellers. At the time of the interview Nanette Newman says she has not yet watched ‘THE WRONG BOX,’ but despite this still have very happy memories of making the film and especially working with a lot of talented British actors and especially altogether in one film and Nanette Newman also says it is very sad so many of those actors have now passed away, and again despite that it is still great to have had them all in the one film. On top of all that, Nanette Newman now talks about the film score composer John Barry and says that Bryan Forbes discovered John Barry and composed the film score for Bryan Forbes first major film entitled ‘Séance On A Wet Afternoon’ and wrote the wonderful haunting music for that film and Bryan Forbes always tried to get John Barry to compose the films that he directed and Nanette Newman felt John Barry did a great composed film score for the film ‘THE WRONG BOX’ and felt it was a lovely and also thinks John Barry is a very talented composer of film scores. Nanette Newman says that Bryan Forbes decided to film the end sequence in ‘THE WRONG BOX’ with all the actors running about like madcap lunatics trying to pick up all the paper money that was flying about and also the police trying to arrest Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. At that point the wonderful informative interview with Nanette Newman ends and of course throughout the Nanette Newman interview we get to view lots of clips from the film ‘THE WRONG BOX.’
Special Feature: Box Cutting [2018] [1080p] [1.78:1] [9:24] With this featurette, we get to view a new interview with Assistant Editor Willy Kemplen talking in-depth about the film ‘THE WRONG BOX,’ and of course he says that it was mainly filmed in The Royal Crescent in Bath and really enjoyed filming in the location very much and also talks about the story about the consequences of lighting on the roofs of The Royal Crescent with huge lights known as Brutes and where one of them caught fire on one of the roofs, but despite this really enjoyed filming in Bath and recalls first meeting Bryan Forbes as a young boy at the age of 14 years on the set of John Huston's ‘Moulin Rouge.’ Of course when filming ‘THE WRONG BOX,’ and actually reminded Bryan Forbes how Willy Kemplen first met the director and Bryan Forbes suddenly remembered the incident after all this time and had a good laugh remembering the incident, and of course helped Willy Kemplen have a very happy time involved with the film ‘THE WRONG BOX.’ Willy Kemplen also comments about the actress Nannette Newman and felt she was a very fine actress. Willy Kemplen talks about the actor Tony Hancock and recalls spending his time between takes looking totally glum and dejected on his own, and only came to life when performing for his scene in the film. Willy Kemplen thought Sir Ralph Richardson was super in his scenes in the film, and he thought Peter Cook and Dudley Moore was very funny and also very jolly and nice in their scenes in the film, but most of all he felt Bryan Forbes was a very nice genuine man, and all of the British actors were very keen to be in the film because of the director Bryan Forbes. With all the residents in The Royal Crescent were all asked if they could remove all of the television aerials because they were making a period drama comedy film that is set in and the residents all agreed they would remove all of television aerials just for the period of filming. Willy Kemplen says he had to work alongside the composer John Barry and found to be a very nice person to work with. Willy Kemplen was informed by Bryan Forbes that two very special guests and very good friends of Bryan Forbes were going to be turning up to visit Willy Kemplen where he worked to view some scenes of the film on his Moviola which is a device that allows a film editor to view a film while editing, and then Bryan Forbes eventually says that the two guests turning up was the one and only Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong Jones and Bryan Forbes says all you to do is just say “Good Morning” to them both and is all you need to say, and when they both arrived and viewed some of the scenes on the Moviola, had a good laugh after only about 10 minutes and left. At that point the very nice and informative interview with Willy Kemplen ends. On top of all that, again we get to view a few clips from the film ‘THE WRONG BOX.’
Special Feature: Chasing the Cast [2018] [1080p] [1.78:1] [10:15] With this featurette, we get to view another interview, this time with Second Assistant Director Hugh Harlow and recalls his experiences on set of ‘THE WRONG BOX.’ Hugh Harlow informs us that he had worked with director Bryan Forbes on two films and the first one was the film ‘THE WRONG BOX,’ and remembers feeling that the film had a very relaxed schedule after years of fast turnarounds working on the Hammer movies that a very rapid turnaround schedule and had to be filmed in eight to ten hours and five days a week, but despite the pressure, the results were very good for the Hammer style of filming and that was what Hugh Harlow was used to, but found working with Bryan Forbes on a 16 week schedule a very enjoyable relaxed experience and in doing so made a very happy film, with a lovely script and some wonderful British actors. Hugh Harlow says there was a really lovely British actor called Wilfred Lawson who played the Butler for Sir John Mills and the actor Wilfred Lawson was well known for enjoying his tipple very regularly of “Juice” and at the same time was becoming very elderly as filming progressed, and at the same time was a very forgetful person and tells of the very engaging story about losing track of actor Wilfred Lawson, and was put on a train for Bath, but surprise surprise never arrived or appeared at the Bath station, but found he had fallen asleep on the train, so Hugh Harlow had to hire a car and go and look for Wilfred Lawson and visited as many pubs as he could and eventually found Wilfred Lawson in a pub slightly inebriated. Hugh Harlow really liked Peter Cook and Dudley Moore and got on with them both very well and also found them to be very interesting people to know, and especially found Dudley Moore extremely funny person off screen. Hugh Harlow got on really well with Peter Sellers as Doctor Pratt, and also fellow actor Tony Hancock, but found him very sad off camera and was always rehearsing his lines whilst walking around outside on his own, especially in car parks, but says this was his last film and after filming his scenes for the film, then flew off to Australia, where they found him dead in his hotel room where he had committed suicide, and felt very sad for Tony Hancock. Hugh Harlow talks fondly about the actor Sir Ralph Richardson who always turned up on time for filming on his trusted motorcycle which he also used to travel around when not acting in any film and says they had a slight problem with the insurance for Sir Ralph Richardson related to appearing in the film, but eventually they got the insurance problem sorted out for Sir Ralph Richardson. At that point the interesting Hugh Harlow interview ends, but some of the information about working on the film and we hear some of the same information which is mentioned in the other two previous special feature video interviews and on top of all that, we again get to view a few scenes from the film ‘THE WRONG BOX.’
Special Feature: Theatrical Trailer [1966] [1080i] [1.78:1] [3:34] With this featurette, we get to view the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘THE WRONG BOX’ and “It's a downright darned good laugh” we are assured by a narrator in the sort of voice I tend to associate with the filler material that accompanied the main feature of the film. This is a standard trailer, though in an interesting barometer of the times, it includes a credit for Sir Michael Caine and describes Peter Cook and Dudley Moore as “those two brilliant satirists of the theatre.”
Special Feature: Image Gallery: With this featurette, we get to view 17 images of 1080p Promotional Photography and some International and UK film posters all related to the film ‘THE WRONG BOX.’
Finally, as to the film ‘THE WRONG BOX’ [1966] without question, I would put ‘THE WRONG BOX’ on any list of the ten best British films ever made. Certainly to my mind, it is the most perfectly conceived and realized madcap British comedy caper to appear in a lifetime. All the of British actors performances are flawless, but Peter Sellers as Doctor Pratt is I believe, the best work the actor has ever performed on screen and his characterization is hilariously funny and, at the same time, heart-wrenchingly poignant. It is worth the price of the film itself and simply to see what he does with the kitten and what he does with a thermometer (No, not what you think). I have always suspected that Peter Sellers and Peter Cook improvised their dialogue and these two brilliant satirists displays give-and-take of such high wit and subtlety that it is probably unique in British cinema history. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
