Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1941


Charley's Aunt (1941 film)

Buy Charley's Aunt (1941 film) now from Amazon

First, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.

Wikipedia article




'Charley's Aunt' is a 1941 American historical comedy film directed by Archie Mayo. It stars Jack Benny and Kay Francis. It was the third filmed version of the 1892 stage farce of the same name by Brandon Thomas. It remained one of Benny's personal favourites among his own films.

Plot



In 1890, two students at Oxford force their rascally friend and fellow student to pose as an aunt from Brazilwhere the nuts come from.

Cast



*Jack Benny as Babbs Babberly

*Kay Francis as Donna Lucia d'Alvadorez

*James Ellison as Jack Chesney

*Anne Baxter as Amy Spettigue

*Edmund Gwenn as Stephen Spettigue

*Laird Cregar as Sir Francis Chesney

*Reginald Owen as Redcliff

*Arleen Whelan as Kitty Verdun

*Richard Haydn as Charley Wyckham

*Ernest Cossart as Brasset

*Morton Lowry as Harley Stafford

*Will Stanton as Messenger

*Lionel Pape as Hilary Babberly

*C. Montague Shaw as Elderly Professor

*Maurice Cass as Octogenarian Professor

*Claud Allister as Cricket Match Spectator

*William Austin as Cricket Match Spectator

*Brandon Hurst as Coach (uncredited)

Reception



Box office

The film was the 8th most popular movie at the US box office in 1941.

It earned a profit of $772,800.

Critical

*In a review contemporary with the film's original release, a critic in 'The New York Times' wrote "when the Benny physiognomy peered impishly from behind a lacy fan, the audience held its sides, and when in the final scene his wig vanished to leave his masculine coiffure stark naked, there was a roar of laughter that must have shaken the Roxy's rococo ceiling".

*According to 'TV Guide', "Jack Benny was never better (with the possible exception of his classic 'To Be or Not to Be') and carries the film with a top-flight performance. This was his first role of any consequence other than his previous tailor-made parts with radio jokes flying thick and fast around his well-known persona."

The film was promoted on 'The Jell-o Program', the name for Benny's radio show at the time. The plot of the 18 May 1941 episode sees the cast visit Jack "on-set". One gag sees Benny's contract require him to feed Darryl F. Zanuck's horse.

References




Buy Charley's Aunt (1941 film) now from Amazon

<-- Return to movies from 1941



This work is released under CC-BY-SA. Some or all of this content attributed to http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1106336459.