Room in the House
{{use dmy dates|date=December 2014}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Room in the House
| image = Room_in_the_House_film_Theatrical_release_poster_(1955-2).jpg
| caption =
| director = Maurice Elvey
| writer = Alfred Shaughnessy
| based_on = play Bless This House by Eynon Evans
| producer = Alfred Shaughnessy
| starring = Patrick Barr
Hubert Gregg
Marjorie Rhodes
| cinematography = Gerald Gibbs
| editing = Robert Jordan Hill (as Robert Hill)
| music = Edwin Astley
| studio = Act Films Ltd
| distributor = Monarch Film Corporation (UK)
| released = {{Film date|1955|07||UK}}
| runtime = 74 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
Room in the House is a 1955 British second feature ('B'){{Cite book |last1=Chibnall |first1=Steve |title=The British 'B' Film |last2=McFarlane |first2=Brian |publisher=BFI/Bloomsbury |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-8445-7319-6 |location=London |pages=107}} comedy-drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Patrick Barr, Hubert Gregg and Marjorie Rhodes.{{Cite web |title=Room in the House |url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150050059 |access-date=23 April 2025 |website=British Film Institute Collections Search}}{{cite web|url=http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b6b49f94f|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724211619/http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b6b49f94f|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-07-24|title=Room in the House (1955)|work=BFI}} The film's screenplay, by Alfred Shaughnessy, is based on Eynon Evans's 1954 play Bless This House.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yyqc0Qa6b60C&q=Bless+this+house%2C+by+E.+Eynon+Evans&pg=PA532|title=The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film|isbn=9783110951943|last1=Goble|first1=Alan|date=8 September 2011}} The film was produced by Shaughnessy for Act Films Ltd.Action! Fifty Years in the Life of a Union. Published: 1983 (UK). Publisher: ACTT. {{ISBN|0 9508993 0 5}}. ACT Films Limited - Ralph Bond p81 (producer listed as Alfred Shaughnessy)
Plot
Ageing widow Betsy Richards stays with each of her three sons in turn, to find out who she'd prefer to spend the rest of her days with. When her favorite, Hugh, leaves for America, she becomes distressed. Finally, the sons rally round and buy Betsy her own cottage in the village.
Cast
- Patrick Barr as Jack Richards
- Hubert Greggas Hugh Richards
- Marjorie Rhodes as Betsy Richards
- Leslie Dwyer as Benji Pugh
- Rachel Gurney as Mary
- Margaret Anderson as Christine
- Josephine Griffin as Julia
- Helen Shingler as Ethel
- Anthony Marlowe as David Richards
Reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Screen version of an unsophisticated, often naive play of a kind which appears to be a speciality of E. Eynon Evans. Although there are a few lively moments in the last of the story's three episodes, the entertainment generally is very tame. Performances range, somewhat disconcertingly, from eminently presentable to extremely indifferent."{{Cite journal |date=1 January 1955 |title=Room in the House |volume=22 |issue=252 |pages=125 |id={{ProQuest|1305826138}} |magazine=The Monthly Film Bulletin}}
Kine Weekly wrote: "The picture, which tells three closely related stories, neatly gathers up its threads at the finish. Marjorie Rhodes never ceases to make her presence felt and typifies most homely, well-meaning mothers-in-law as Betsy, and the supporting cast is popular. Here and there both the acting and the direction are exaggerated, but more is gained than lost by the bold dotting of i's and crossing of t's."{{Cite journal |date=7 July 1955 |title=Room in the House |volume=460 |issue=2506 |pages=17 |id={{ProQuest|2826277633}} |magazine=Kine Weekly}}
Picture Show wrote: "Pleasant and bright family comedy ... Well directed and acted."{{Cite journal |date=3 September 1955 |title=Room in the House |volume=65 |issue=1692 |pages=10 |id={{ProQuest|1879646478}} |magazine=Picture Show}}
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Rhodes is good, but makeshift comedy isn't much."{{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=367}}
References
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