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DVD Description
Special Features: Original Theatrical Trailer
Synopsis
Years before the story proper in The Wrong Box gets under way, a 'tontine' is drawn up on behalf several young British boys. Each of the boys' parents had placed £1,000 in a pool, to be invested and expanded upon. The resultant fortune will go to the last surviving member of the tontine. A series of montages depicts the various demises of the heirs (in one instance, one of them is inadvertently beheaded while being knighted by Queen Victoria). Finally, only two of the tontine participants are left: aged brothers Ralph Richardson and John Mills. On his last legs, Mills is determined that Richardson will not outlive him, and to that end attempts to kill his brother; each attempt fails spectacularly, with the doddering Richardson none the wiser. Standing to benefit from the tontine are Mills' dim-witted med-student son Michael Caine and Richardson's greedy nephews Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. When Richardson is supposedly killed in a train wreck, Cook and Moore don't want the authorities to find out, so they appropriate what they think is their uncle's corpse and ship it home in a box. Thus it is that Caine finds the body of a perfect stranger on his doorstep. The farcical complications begin flying about thick and fast from this point onward. Among the participants in this wacky gigglefest are such formidable talents as Peter Sellers, Tony Hancock, Wilfred Lawson, Thorley Walters, Norman Rossington, Irene Handl, and Cicely Courtenedge. Based on a novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Wrong Box is a delightful hark back to the glory days of Britain's Ealing comedies.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This little gem of a film from 1966 is just hilarious. I first came across a "tontine line" myself when researching my family ancestry and one or two of my ancestors had been named in a Tontine line. The very nature of it with the last surviving person getting the whole investment leaves its self open the sort of comedy situation we find in this film. And the Brits show again they know how to do comedy better than anyone else. It is no less funny 44 years on with just the right cast to carry it off superbly. It is great to see Peter Cook & Dudley Moore who were at the beginning of their very sucessful career together, a young Michael Caine & everyone else has mentioned how Peter Sellars stole this show. This is one of those comedies that could take a lot of repeat viewings. I believe that the "houses" we see these two families rushing in and out of were at The Circus, Bath, in England. Don't miss this one.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I previously had this on a video taped from BBC2 years ago, and thought it was forgotten. But, hooray!, it's now out on DVD for all to see. Well up to the standard of Ealing comedies, with Michael Caine in one of his early films. The cast is brilliant with Ralph Richardson, John Mills, Nanette Newman (swooningly beautiful), Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, even Tony Hancock. But Wilfred Lawson as the senile (and drunk) butler steals the show. A treat for the eye and ear!
34 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Base on a story by Robert Louis Stevenson, one of the most eclectic casts of English comedy actors are brought together in a farce that revolves around an inheritance from a Tontine, a Victorian device for ensuring a lump sum award to the survivor of a selected group.
Sadly, there are few survivors from the cast, but Peter Sellars puts in a cameo appearance which cannot be faulted. One of my favourite films.
Sadly, there are few survivors from the cast, but Peter Sellars puts in a cameo appearance which cannot be faulted. One of my favourite films.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Oh Dear!
Given the cast of actors in this film (amongst others Michael Caine, Peter Sellers, Tony Hancock, Peter Cooke, Dudley Moore and John Mills) it is easy to believe this film will be... Read more
Published 18 days ago by Eileen Emberlin
The Wrong Box
Wildly implausible, but totally hilarious in a dark and macabre fashion. The feeling of watching an impossible plot succeed against the odds has one daring the cast to perform... Read more
Published 2 months ago by LizzieB
fall about laughing
With a high class cast, there was little to do but sit back and wait to be entertained. Set in victorian England, the members of a tontine wait for the death of each other. Read more
Published 3 months ago by librarylinda
A Collectors' Piece.....
Connoisseurs of bad film should certainly give "The Wrong Box" careful consideration.
The fundamental difficulty lies in the facile and humour-free script, but... Read more
The fundamental difficulty lies in the facile and humour-free script, but... Read more
Published 4 months ago by oxymoron48
The wrong Box
This was very slow to start and I personally did not agree that it was funny.OK for a rainy afternoon if you have nothing to do.My copy ! Gave to a friend
Published 6 months ago by K. Bruce
entertaining
A bit daft but entertaining on a wet Sunday afternoon. It is better than old re-runs of Mid Summer Murders. Not a
classic though.
classic though.
Published 8 months ago by 0113snakehips
An amazing cast, but ultimately disappointing
This film's cast list reads like a who's who of British cinema. It opens with a series of deaths that are slightly reminiscent of the classic Kind Hearts and Coronets. Read more
Published 9 months ago by S. Day
Farce at it's best
All too often we Brits spend too much time ignoring what we do well. Military pageantry, musical theatre and in this instance theatrical farce. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Royal Docks Andy
Unbelievable
With a cast of so many good actors. I expected so much more. It could have been a good film had it been better handled. Another reviewer said they have not seen it on TV. Read more
Published 10 months ago by thewatcher
charming comedy with occasionally hilarious moments
It has been many years since I first saw this movie. It was a great pleasure seeing it again, and I am glad to say that for the most part it holds up really well. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Giancarlo Stampalia
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