Inn for Trouble
Directed byC. M. Pennington-Richards
Written byFred Robinson
Produced byTed Lloyd
StarringPeggy Mount
David Kossoff
Leslie Phillips
Charles Hawtrey
CinematographyEric Cross
Edited byTom Simpson
Music byPhilip Green
Production
companies
Hyams and Lloyd Productions (as Film Locations)
Distributed byEros Films (UK)
Release date
February 1960
Running time
90 min
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Inn for Trouble is a 1960 black and white British comedy film directed by C.M. Pennington-Richards and starring Peggy Mount, David Kossoff and Leslie Phillips.[1] It was a spin-off of the 1950s ITV sitcom The Larkins. The title alludes to the real Trouble House Inn in Gloucestershire near Tetbury. The film is notable for the final credited appearances of Graham Moffatt and A. E. Matthews.

Plot

The Larkin family takes over a run-down country public house, "The Earl Osbourne". The pub has a resident young French artist, Yvette. Meanwhile a property developer wants to buy the pub to knock it down to build a brand new "roadhouse" instead. He sends his nephew Percy to investigate.

The family's efforts to rejuvenate business are impeded by the long-standing tradition of free beer being distributed by the local Earl. They try to trick people in with the same promise of free beer. Meanwhile Percy Pirbright continually tries to catch the pub out by dragging the local policeman along to observe alleged breaches of the law, without success.

A natural spring erupts in the cellar causing a flooding problem. However, they are finally offered a generous £20,000 for the pub and they also sell the formula for their own beer, the secret ingredient being the spring water.

Cast

Critical reception

Kine Weekly called Inn for Trouble and The Same to You the most popular British double bill at the British box office in 1960.[2]

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Peggy Mount inevitably dominates this episodic and protracted farce, despite extremely variable material and the slenderest of story lines. Though the general standard of humour is feeble, the film may still prove acceptable to the TV series' doubtless loyal public. A. E. Matthews and Irene Handl have little to do, and Graham Moffatt reappears after what seems like years in order to play a moronic Boy Scout. "[3]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", calling it a: "home-made farce, broad in humour."[4]

Leslie Halliwell said: "Amiable extension of a popular TV series."[5]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "This movie spin-off from The Larkins, the popular sitcom of the late 1950s, moved the family away from 66 Sycamore Street and into a country pub, and that's where the problems begin. One of the series' great strengths was its portrait of a typical urban neighbourhood, populated by familiar characters. A whole new world had to be created here, however, with only Pa and Ma (David Kossoff and Peggy Mount) and Eddie (Shaun O'Riordan) providing continuity. Even the presence of Leslie Phillips and Charles Hawtrey can't make up for the general lifelessness."[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Inn for Trouble". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  2. ↑ Billings, Josh (15 December 1960). "It's Britain 1, 2, 3 again in the 1960 box office stakes". Kine Weekly. p. 8.
  3. ↑ "Inn for Trouble". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 27 (312): 53. 1 January 1960 – via ProQuest.
  4. ↑ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 327. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.
  5. ↑ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 514. ISBN 0586088946.
  6. ↑ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 465. ISBN 9780992936440.


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