The Man Who Liked Funerals
| The Man Who Liked Funerals | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | David Eady |
| Produced by | Jon Penington |
| Written by |
Margot Bennett Cecily Finn Joan O'Connor |
| Starring |
Leslie Phillips Susan Beaumont Bill Fraser |
| Music by | Edwin Astley |
| Cinematography | Eric Cross |
| Edited by | John Seabourne |
Release date |
|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Man Who Liked Funerals is a 1959 British comedy film starring Leslie Phillips, Susan Beaumont and Bill Fraser. It was directed by David Eady and written by Margot Bennett, Cecily Finn and Joan O'Connor. The film was released in the United Kingdom in January 1959.
Synopsis
In order to help a youth club which is under threat of closure, a man begins attending funerals where he blackmails the relatives of the recently deceased, threatening to publish incriminating stories about them. However, his plans encounter problems when he tries to blackmail the family of a prominent villain.
Cast
- Leslie Phillips as Simon Hurd
- Susan Beaumont as Stella
- Bill Fraser as Jeremy Bentham
- Thelma Ruby as Junior Mistress
- Mary Mackenzie as Hester Waring
- Paul Stassino as Nick Morelli
- Jimmy Thompson as Lieutenant Hunter
- Charles Clay as Colonel Hunter
- Anita Sharp-Bolster as Lady Hunter
- Shaun O'Riordan as Reverend Pitt
- Marianne Stone as Bentham's secretary
Critical reception
It was one of 15 films selected by Steve Chibnall and Brian McFarlane in The British 'B' Film, their survey of British B films, as among the most meritorious of the B films made in Britain between World War II and 1970. They describe it as "fresh and gently funny", "consistently amusing, its plot worked out with some wit" and add that "its cast, amiably led by Phillips at the start of his starring career, enters into the spirit of the joke".[1]
References
- ↑ Steve Chibnall & Brian McFarlane, The British 'B' Film, Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2009, pp. 273–74.