No Smoking (1955 film)
{{Short description|1955 British film by Henry Cass}}
{{italic title}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name = No Smoking
| image = File:No Smoking (1955 film).jpg
| caption =
| director = Henry Cass
| producer = Robert S. Baker
Monty Berman
| screenplay = Kenneth Hayles
Phil Park
| based_on = No Smoking by George Moresby-White and Rex Rienits{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yyqc0Qa6b60C&q=no+smoking+1955+literary+sources+in+film&pg=PA390|title=The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film|first=Alan|last=Goble|date=8 September 2011|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=9783110951943|via=Google Books}}
| starring = Reg Dixon
Peter Martyn
Belinda Lee
Lionel Jeffries
| music = Ivor Slaney
| cinematography = Monty Berman
| editing = Jack Slade
| color_process =
| studio = Tempean Films
| distributor = Eros Films
| released = {{Film date|1955|11}}
| runtime = 66 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget =
}}
No Smoking is a 1955 British second feature ('B'){{Cite book |last=Chibnall |first=Steve |title=The British 'B' Film |last2=McFarlane |first2=Brian |publisher=BFI/Bloomsbury |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-8445-7319-6 |location=London |pages=88}} comedy film directed by Henry Cass and starring Reg Dixon, Peter Martyn, Belinda Lee and Lionel Jeffries.{{Cite web |title=No Smoking |url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150035536 |access-date=21 November 2024 |website=British Film Institute Collections Search}}{{cite web |url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/film/no_smoking/ |website=British Comedy Guide |accessdate=16 May 2019|title=No Smoking - Film }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b1b4a2f|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006214013/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b1b4a2f|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 October 2019|title=No Smoking (1955)|website=BFI}} The screenplay was by Kenneth Hayles and Phil Park, based on the 1952 TV play of same title by George Moresby-White and Rex Rienits. It was produced by Tempean Films. Shortly after the production Lee was signed up for a contract with the Rank Organisation.
Plot
Reg Bates is a scientist who invents a pill that can cure smokers of their nicotine addiction. This is revealed by a visiting American, Hal Hurst. Bates faces strong opposition from both the tobacco industry and the government.
Cast
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
- Reg Dixon as Reg Bates
- Peter Martyn as Hal Hurst
- Belinda Lee as Miss Tonkins
- Ruth Trouncer as Joyce
- Alexander Gauge as Wellington-Simpson
- Lionel Jeffries as George Pogson
- Myrtle Rowe as Milly
- Arthur Young as Joe Dawson
- Hal Osmond as yokel
- Tom Gill as Foreign Office official
- Ronnie Stevens as BBC man
- Alan Robinson as Thackery
- Bill Lowe as civil servant
- Doris Hare as customer
- Ian Fleming as Doctor Moxom
- Patrick Jordan as reporter
- Alan Gifford as American Ambassador
- Roger Maxwell as Major
- Scott Harrold as man in surgery
- Jan Holden as receptionist
- Phil Park as vicar
- James Raglan as chancellor
{{div col end}}
Production
The TV play on which the film was based[https://imdb-webservice.amazon.com/title/tt1291745/ 1952 TV play] at IMDb{{Cite web |title=No Smoking |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/7835c21864b4409896f9b3a18add3815 |access-date=21 November 2024 |website=BBC Programme Index}} was described by the Daily Mail as "plenty of good family fun."Specially Written TV Play is Effective
Author: J. Stubbs Walker Date: Monday, Mar. 17, 1952
Publication: Daily Mail (London, England) Issue: 17415 p2
The film was shot at Southall Studios with sets designed by the art director Wilfred Arnold.
It was one of only a few movies starring Reg Dixon.BACKBEAT: 1950: Confidentially - it's our Reg; BECAUSE THEY DON'T MAKE MUSIC LIKE THEY USED TO!: [First Edition]
Chambers, Peter. Coventry Evening Telegraph; Coventry [Coventry]25 Jan 2005: 16, 17. It was one of several comedies featuring Belinda Lee.{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|title=A Tale of Two Blondes: Diana Dors and Belinda Lee|date=September 7, 2020|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/a-tale-of-two-blondes-diana-dors-and-belinda-lee/}}
Reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Unfortunately the action does not fizz; the bubbles never quite come to the surface; and there is the inevitable song and dance dream sequence, which might be dispensed with. Reg Dixon, as the inventor, and Lionel Jeffries, as the village tobacconist, play quite amiably"{{Cite journal |date=1 January 1955 |title=No Smoking |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1305823800 |journal=The Monthly Film Bulletin |volume=22 |issue=252 |pages=181 |url-access=subscription |via=ProQuest}}
Kine Weekly wrote: "The picture, a queer mixture of the amateurish and the slick, has its moments, but they barely outweigh its flat spots. Reg Dixon works tirelessly and sings occasionally, yet finds the going rough as Reg, but Lionel Jeffries draws amusing character as Pogson, Myrtle Rowe effectively plays hard to get as Milly, and Belinda Lee introduces a touch of sex as a sweater girl sccretary. The rest are so-so. The second half is infinitely brighter than the first and luckily enables it to end on a lively note. In all, a harmless, typically English romp."{{Cite journal |date=3 November 1955 |title=No Smoking |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2738580510 |journal=Kine Weekly |volume=464 |issue=2523 |pages=24 |url-access=subscription |via=ProQuest}}
Picture Show wrote: "Reg Dixon makes one of his rare film appearances in this bright comedy as a chemist who invents an anti-smoking pill. Amusing performances also come from Lionel Jeffries, Myrtle Rowe and Belinda Lee. There are pleasant tunes."{{Cite journal |date=17 December 1955 |title=No Smoking |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1879636352 |journal=Picture Show |volume=61 |issue=1707 |pages=10 |url-access=subscription |via=ProQuest}}
The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Notable only for its anti-smoking theme in a period where no one bothered about puffing away on a cigarette, this gentle comedy ends up a wasted opportunity, though the cast give their all."{{Cite book |title=Radio Times Guide to Films |publisher=Immediate Media Company |year=2017 |isbn=9780992936440 |edition=18th |location=London |pages=667}}
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Potty comedy doesn't catch fire."{{Cite book |last=Quinlan |first=David |title=British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 |publisher=B.T. Batsford Ltd. |year=1984 |isbn=0-7134-1874-5 |location=London |pages=354}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0048427}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20191006214013/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b1b4a2f No Smoking] at BFI
- [https://www.reelstreets.com/films/no-smoking/ No Smoking] at Reel Streets
- [https://letterboxd.com/film/no-smoking-1955/ No Smoking] at Letterbox DVD
Category:Films directed by Henry Cass
Category:Films shot at Southall Studios
Category:1950s English-language films