The Wrong Box (1966) Review

Featuring an impressive group of actors, this dark farce manages to be both satirical and whimsical at the same time. Set in the Victorian era, it is a classic comedy of errors involving a corpse, a box, and an eccentric family by the name of Finsbury. Expect bizarre situations, innocent romance, scheming relatives,  bird eggs, and the best butler ever in this very amusing movie resurrected through Warner Bros. Archive’s made on demand DVD service.

Every family has at least one film that somehow becomes a tradition to watch. In my family’s case, one of those films is The Wrong Box, an unfairly obscure comedy from the 1960’s. Long before I ever had a chance to see the movie, I had heard all about it and memorized quotes from it. It would not be until the 1980’s before I got to see it on cable TV. Thankfully, it lived up to the hype from the family!

For years I had looked for it on DVD to no avail. But thanks to Warner Bros., I now have the movie and it is worth the premium price I paid for it. It was a pittance to bring back some cherished family memories. Popping the DVD into the Blu-ray player, I wondered what the quality of the picture would be. To my delight, the very 60’s animated opening credits looked great as John Barry’s whimsical score started and so I settled in to watch this deeply, wrongly funny movie.

The opening sequence goes from quietly sly humor to the blackest possible even before we get a chance to meet the main cast. Being very English to its core, the film starts us with a pompous lawyer explaining what a “tontine” is to a group of bored schoolboys and their fathers. In short, a tontine is a lottery to win a bundle of money put together by the bettors, in this case the princely sum of 1,000 pounds sterling put in for each child. But what makes this particular pot interesting is the fact that it goes to the last survivor. You lose by dying and win by being the last man standing.

As the years go by, the cream of the upper class of Great Britain succumb to death in varied ways. Most of those ways are avoidable and would place the deceased in the finals of the Upper Class Twit of the Year contest. All of them are funny and some are outright hilarious -- with the knighting ceremony being the best of all. In the aftermath of that particular incident, Queen Victoria (Avis Bunnage in a perfectly performance) is left to say, “Oh… We are frightfully sorry, Sir Robert.” One of many quotes I was taught as a child.

As the deaths rack up impressively, it narrows down to two survivors who happen to be brothers and the film really begins.

First, we are introduced to Michael Finsbury played by Michael Caine who was fresh off of having a hit spy movie, The Ipcress File.  He is a kindly and none too bright lad studying medicine, which is a good thing given the health of his grandfather, Masterman Finsbury (John Mills). Cranky, condescending, and on his death bed, Masterman wishes to see his brother after many years of not speaking to each other. Forty years to be precise.

Meanwhile, a pretty lass walks by the window and catches the eye of Michael. Seeing her is enough to fog his glasses in one of many subtle sight gags strewn about the movie. Adding to the peculiar flavor of the film is the use of ornate placards reminiscent of silent movies. In this manner the audience is informed that said girl is worshipped by the medical student.

As it turns out, she lives next door. You see, she is also his cousin for Masterman’s brother lives there. Yes, they have not spoken or seen each other in forty years despite living mere feet apart. Having been dispatched to deliver the message, Michael finds it difficult to get into the door at first, since the girl is very paranoid and none too bright herself. But succeed he does and that presents us with my favorite placard of the flick:

I think there can be no doubt that I have a British sense of humor, can there?

Heavily repressed sparks fly between the two once the door is opened and the beginnings of a sweet, but entirely daft, romance are evident. Also evident is that The Wrong Box is out to skewer and parody every Victorian more it can. When is the last time you saw a movie that built romantic tension between a couple with a simple handshake? The lovely Nannette Newman’s performance as the airy Julia is simply wonderful and lights up the screen every time she appears.

It turns out Uncle Joseph (Ralph Richardson) is away in Bournemouth with her other cousins, Morris and John. These two stalwart examples of the upper crust are portrayed by the comedy team of Dudley Moore and Peter Cook. Always funny, the two settle into their roles effortlessly, with Moore chasing the ladies (any he lays eyes on, in fact) and Cook being an extreme prude obsessed with eggs. The telegram about Masterman being near death delights the two far too much. The prospect of obtaining 100,000 pounds can do that to a person. Not that I have ever had the experience.

Uncle Joseph makes his appearance, sneaking a smoke while his nephews are not looking. That does not last long as the cynically doting Morris and John bundle him off to the train for London. There the pedantic lover of trivia  escapes his charges and ends up in a car with a serial killer/compulsive knitter. It is not clear who is in greater danger, for Uncle Joseph could talk the ear off of a yak while believing he was entertaining the poor creature.

Sneaking off for another smoke launches a series of errors, ranging from a train wreck to a very bad case of mistaken identity. There is also skirt chasing during and after all this madness, since John cannot restrain himself. But trouble arises when Morris mistakes the body of the Bournemouth Strangler for his uncle. It will not do to lose the tontine, so extreme measures must be taken.

Also, there must be nose touching for no reason at all. And walking in circles.

Some of the comedy is truly absurd and must be witnessed to be appreciated. Peter Cook always excelled at this, bless him. He was perfectly cast as the one Finsbury with at least a semi-functioning brain.

Leaving his dimwitted brother to handle shipping the body to London, Morris decides to personally reconnoiter the Finsbury residence. No, not his Finsbury residence, the other one. There he is the epitome of insincerity as he attempts to ingratiate himself with his cousin and Peacock, the butler. Actually, Morris thinks the doddering old man is Masterman in another case of mistaken identity.

I have to say Wilfrid Lawson’s performance as Peacock is my favorite in the movie. Often the best lines are given him, or perhaps it is his delivery that  makes them stand out so. My favorite out of them is his response to Michael’s query about a statue they sold to a wealthy woman being a fraud. “Life is a fraud, Master Michael,” he sadly states in a voice dripping with weariness and sadness. Delivery is everything and deliver he does.

Back at the Finsbury residence, the other other Finsbury residence, Julia is having something of a repressed awakening after having met Michael. Here the Victorian culture is mocked rather savagely and it is most amusing. Well, not to Morris, he finds anything even remotely suggestive horrifying.

Did I mention the statue was being returned? So now we have two shipments, one to each Finsbury residence, which happen to be next to each other, in the process of coming to London. Now the title begins to make sense…

A touching family reunion occurs when Uncle Joseph sneaks back into town to see his brother. Or it would be touching if Masterman could just wrap his fingers around the boring old man’s throat. Harsh words are exchanged and objects fly as murder is attempted fruitlessly.

While familial bonds are renewed and re-severed, Morris pays a visit to a seedy doctor to obtain a faked death certificate. Much to his frustration, Doctor Pratt (Peter Sellers) is a barely functioning shell of a man. Surrounded by cats, the pickled fallen physician is fascinating to watch as he attempts to comprehend what is said to him. Sellers gives a memorable performance in this small role, so memorable that many people remember the movie because of him.

I grew up hearing my mother often repeating Pratt’s best line, “…I was not always as you see me now.” What makes the line so sublime is the hint of tragedy to the not so good doctor’s plight, with just enough to make the humor bite. He radiates sad resignation which makes him a perfect foil for Cook’s oily and impatient Morris.

With all plot points now in motion, the movie charges ahead at full steam, but fortunately does not wreck like the trains. More mistakes are made, romance hesitatingly blooms, and a final battle for the tontine is fought by the Finsbury’s against the Finsbury’s. Personally, I rooted for the Finsbury’s to win and you should too.

Thoughts

The Wrong Box is extremely silly and that is a good thing in my book, for I believe silliness is a virtue. The 60’s were filled with many loopy comedies, so it took something special to stand apart from the pack. In this case, it is the solid acting by the vast cast. Even the smallest of parts is played to the utmost, lending a vibrancy to the production.

The main cast shines even more, which should not be a surprise given they came from the best of several generations of actors in Britain. Mills and Richardson represented the old guard, with Caine, Moore, and Cook being the young up and comers. Bridging the gap was Peter Sellers, famous for The Goon Show radio comedy and Pink Panther films.

Having not read the original Robert Louis Stevenson novel it was based on, I cannot comment on how faithful the story is. What I can say is that the script is witty and wry while using every comedy weapon in the arsenal to great success. Managing to be both mean spirited and charming at the same time is a nifty trick, to say the least.

John Barry’s soundtrack merits more comment, for it is lovely and filled with whimsy. It is the perfect compliment to the images flashing by on screen and a bit of a departure from most of his soundtracks. Light and comedic, it never sounds a wrong note.

There is no rating given for the movie, but I would put it in the mild PG area, for much of the innuendo will go completely over the heads of children. Said children will find the slapstick and ludicrous situations funny, while adults will catch all the sly jabs.

I recommend The Wrong Box to everyone who likes a good farce, appreciates British humor, and finds repressed romances entertaining.

Technical

Warner Bros. Archives made this rarity available starting in April 2011 and thankfully it is one that they remastered. Due to that, the picture is excellent and only has a few blemishes here and there. Colors are vibrant and not the least bit muddy, despite the DVD only being a single layer. Helping is the fact there are no menus, chapters, or extras on the disc. That left all the space used for the movie itself.

The aspect ratio of the movie is advertised as being 1.66:1, but the actual ratio is 1.84:1 (1.85:1 is normal). I do not know if this is a mistake on the website or if the movie was letter boxed when remastered. It does not look cropped or stretched when looking at the placards and credits. Whatever the case may be, it still looked great on my 40” HDTV.

Sound is nice and clear. It is in Dolby Digital with the original mono being duplexed to a stereo signal, but not true stereo. Nary a complaint can be made about it as all dialogue is easily heard.

The made on demand disc itself is very generic looking. By generic, I mean1980’s generic packaging, with it being white with black lettering. The DVD case is plastic with a custom printed cover with the title and a shrunken movie poster for the front. The back has a cropped shot of Moore and Cook, plus a description of the movie along with the normal industry symbols and copyrights. Nothing fancy, but better than I expected.

I am very pleased with this made on demand DVD and plan to get at least a couple more films from Warner Bros. Archive in the future.

BEWARE! HERE BE SPOILERS!!!

 

 

 

I found the entire scene revolving around Julia’s seeing Michael’s exposed arm hilarious. It took the Victorian prudishness to an insane level and led to one of the better exchanges of dialogue. When Michael voiced the concern that their children would be idiots, it turned out they are both adopted, so he should have figured out it wasn’t a problem in the first place. It’s hilarious.

Sorry Michael, but your children will still be idiots and it has nothing to do with blood relation issues.

When the body is discovered, the argument over who should take the fall for the murder is actually quite sweet. Both Peacock and Michael show themselves to be good eggs, the kind Morris would never collect. I love Peacock in this scene.

A staple of 1960’s comedies was ending the movies with a wacky chase. Here we are treated to something of a spoof of that involving horse drawn hearses. It is very Pink Panther like. Another hallmark of the era was closing a film with all the cast fighting with each other and we get something similar when the police try to sort things out at the funeral.

The mayhem continues as the credits roll and with a widescreen version finally available, I noticed Michael Finsbury and Julia Finsbury (soon to be Julia Finsbury) walking off hand in hand. They may be idiots, but they are nice idiots so I enjoyed that.

But the movie does leave one burning question unresolved. Why does Hitler have a cameo in the movie?