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Britain's greatest-ever film director David Lean wasn't feted for providing belly-laughs. His finest films, from Great Expectations (1946) to Lawrence of Arabia (1962) are resolutely sober, which is more than can be said of Henry Horatio Hobson in his wonderfully comic encounter with the moon in Hobson's Choice. Lean's only other comedy was Blithe Spirit (1945), but here he approaches matters of the heart with a surprising lightness of touch and wins a marvellous performance from Charles Laughton--himself soon to make his one and only film as a director, Night of the Hunter (1955). The setting is late-19th century Salford (the b/w location filming is exceptional), and widower Henry Hobson forbids his three daughters to marry to avoid paying their dowries. Romance will not be thwarted by economics, and much humorous conflict ensues, interspersed with some serious and even disturbing moments--the shaving scene when Laughton gets the DTs is a queasily unbalanced. Brenda De Banzie is splendidly spirited as the eldest daughter, Maggie, while her fiance is played by the ever excellent John Mills, who would later win an Oscar for his part in Lean's much more serious love story, Ryan's Daughter (1970). --Gary S. Dalkin
Stills from Hobson's Choice (Click for larger image)
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Product Description
An unsung comic triumph from David Lean, Hobson's Choice stars the legendary Charles Laughton as the harrumphing Henry Hobson, the owner of a boot shop in late-Victorian Northern England. With his haughty, independent daughter Maggie (Brenda De Banzie) decides to forge her own path, romantically and professionally, with the help of none other than Henry's prized bootsmith Will (a splendid John Mills), father and daughter find themselves head-to-head in a fiery match of wills. Equally charming and caustic, Hobson's Choice, adapted from Harold Brighouse's famous play, is filled to the brim with great performances and elegant, inventive camera work.
SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:
New high-definition digital transfer--restoration by the BFI National Archive, funded by the David Lean Foundation and StudioCanal
Audio commentary featuring film scholars Alain Silver and James Ursini, co-authors of David Lean and His Films
The Hollywood Greats: Charles Laughton, a 1978 BBC documentary about the actor s life and career, featuring interviews with his friends and colleagues
Theatrical trailer
PLUS: A new essay by critic Armond White
SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:
New high-definition digital transfer--restoration by the BFI National Archive, funded by the David Lean Foundation and StudioCanal
Audio commentary featuring film scholars Alain Silver and James Ursini, co-authors of David Lean and His Films
The Hollywood Greats: Charles Laughton, a 1978 BBC documentary about the actor s life and career, featuring interviews with his friends and colleagues
Theatrical trailer
PLUS: A new essay by critic Armond White
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
67 of 71 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
David Lean, Charles Laughton, John Mills and, especially, Brenda De Banzie, make a film worth every penny of Criterion's price
December 1, 2008
Format:DVD
For those who didn't know, and I was one of them, a Hobson's choice is a free choice, but where only one option is really available. At the end of Hobson's Choice, a fine, vulgar, poignant and very funny film directed by David Lean, this is what Henry Horatio Hobson faces. Please note that elements of the plot are discussed.
Hobson (Charles Laughton) is a prosperous shoe and boot merchant in the small town of Salford, England. The time is the 1880s. Hobson is a widower, a blusterer, a man accustomed to his comforts, his drink and his ease. He is, thanks to Laughton, larger than life, a man we can laugh at but not a man we'd probably want as a neighbor. He has three daughters. Maggie (Brenda De Banzie) is 30. She is, says her father, "a bit ripe" for marriage at her age, and he plans to keep it that way. Maggie runs the store, keeps the books, sees to dinner and keeps the home above the store neat. Henry Hobson, or course, doesn't pay her wages because she is, after all, his daughter. His two younger daughters both have suitors, and that's just fine with him until he realizes he must give them dowries if they are to marry. There'll be no dowries from Henry Hobson.
And now we watch Maggie come into her own. She is a plain woman with an iron will, a determination that recognizes no barriers, and a very shrewd mind. If she is ever to get away from her father, she will have to find a man to marry her. And now we meet Willie Mossop (John Mills), the shoe worker who makes the shoes in the dingy basement under the store. Willie is just about illiterate, shy to a fault, naive, slow, honest and with very dirty hands. He is quite satisfied to stay in the basement making shoes. In Willie Mossop, however, Maggie sees not just escape from her father, but a man who makes marvelous shoes, and a man she could make into a success with his own...their own...shop. She knows she can do this, and she'll find a way to secure dowries from their father for her two sisters while she's at it. It should come as no surprise that Maggie accomplishes all she sets out to do; that Willie becomes William Mossop whose shoes sell, who is endearing and honest and who has a far better haircut after Maggie takes charge. While Henry Hobson roars about, deep in the drink, full of self-pity and bluster (and as entertaining as only Charles Laughton could make him), we settle back and enjoy the sight of Maggie using her head, with energy and determination, to get the better of her old rogue of a father. Maggie not only finds Willie, but love, too. By the end of the movie, we've come to know a contented and successful couple. William and Maggie have given Henry Hobson a choice he would be foolish to refuse.
This is a vastly entertaining and satisfying movie, thanks to Lean, Laughton, Mills and, especially De Banzie. Laughton came to loath De Banzie during the filming, and the reason is as plain as De Banzie's plain but attractive face. The movie ostensibly is a showcase for Laughton. He plays Hobson bolder than life, vulgar, squinting, staggering drunk, too smart for his own good...a man full of faults and foibles we can laugh at more readily than laugh with. He has two major bits playing the drunk or hungover Hobson and he's very good. There are two major sly and finagling scenes with him which are even better. But Brenda De Banzie, a marvelous actor, steals the show. Just as Maggie carries the day, it is De Banzie who carries the movie. Laughton must have realized this would happen during their first scenes together. De Banzie starts by giving us a no-nonsense woman who knows how to get things done. Her decision to make Willie Mossop her man, to marry him, slowly lets us see just a little vulnerability. She's not going to take "no" from Willie, she will make him a success, but we begin to realize without her saying a word that she wants Willie to not find her unattractive. Their wedding night and the morning after is played for smiles, but they're tender smiles. We realize that Maggie made a good choice in Willie and that Willie realizes just how lucky he was. Henry Hobson may continue to bluster, enjoy his drink, expect his comforts and make us appreciate Laughton's bits of over-acting, but it is Maggie and William we feel good about. Together, they're going to be running things...and successfully, too.
The movie was released long ago on VHS tape and can still be tracked down. Criterion's DVD release, due in a couple of months, will undoubtedly give the movie the attention it deserves. I plan to buy it as soon as it's out and will add here my opinion of the extras. This is one of David Lean's finest films. Hopefully, the Criterion release also will bring more attention to what a fine actor Brenda De Banzie was.
Hobson (Charles Laughton) is a prosperous shoe and boot merchant in the small town of Salford, England. The time is the 1880s. Hobson is a widower, a blusterer, a man accustomed to his comforts, his drink and his ease. He is, thanks to Laughton, larger than life, a man we can laugh at but not a man we'd probably want as a neighbor. He has three daughters. Maggie (Brenda De Banzie) is 30. She is, says her father, "a bit ripe" for marriage at her age, and he plans to keep it that way. Maggie runs the store, keeps the books, sees to dinner and keeps the home above the store neat. Henry Hobson, or course, doesn't pay her wages because she is, after all, his daughter. His two younger daughters both have suitors, and that's just fine with him until he realizes he must give them dowries if they are to marry. There'll be no dowries from Henry Hobson.
And now we watch Maggie come into her own. She is a plain woman with an iron will, a determination that recognizes no barriers, and a very shrewd mind. If she is ever to get away from her father, she will have to find a man to marry her. And now we meet Willie Mossop (John Mills), the shoe worker who makes the shoes in the dingy basement under the store. Willie is just about illiterate, shy to a fault, naive, slow, honest and with very dirty hands. He is quite satisfied to stay in the basement making shoes. In Willie Mossop, however, Maggie sees not just escape from her father, but a man who makes marvelous shoes, and a man she could make into a success with his own...their own...shop. She knows she can do this, and she'll find a way to secure dowries from their father for her two sisters while she's at it. It should come as no surprise that Maggie accomplishes all she sets out to do; that Willie becomes William Mossop whose shoes sell, who is endearing and honest and who has a far better haircut after Maggie takes charge. While Henry Hobson roars about, deep in the drink, full of self-pity and bluster (and as entertaining as only Charles Laughton could make him), we settle back and enjoy the sight of Maggie using her head, with energy and determination, to get the better of her old rogue of a father. Maggie not only finds Willie, but love, too. By the end of the movie, we've come to know a contented and successful couple. William and Maggie have given Henry Hobson a choice he would be foolish to refuse.
This is a vastly entertaining and satisfying movie, thanks to Lean, Laughton, Mills and, especially De Banzie. Laughton came to loath De Banzie during the filming, and the reason is as plain as De Banzie's plain but attractive face. The movie ostensibly is a showcase for Laughton. He plays Hobson bolder than life, vulgar, squinting, staggering drunk, too smart for his own good...a man full of faults and foibles we can laugh at more readily than laugh with. He has two major bits playing the drunk or hungover Hobson and he's very good. There are two major sly and finagling scenes with him which are even better. But Brenda De Banzie, a marvelous actor, steals the show. Just as Maggie carries the day, it is De Banzie who carries the movie. Laughton must have realized this would happen during their first scenes together. De Banzie starts by giving us a no-nonsense woman who knows how to get things done. Her decision to make Willie Mossop her man, to marry him, slowly lets us see just a little vulnerability. She's not going to take "no" from Willie, she will make him a success, but we begin to realize without her saying a word that she wants Willie to not find her unattractive. Their wedding night and the morning after is played for smiles, but they're tender smiles. We realize that Maggie made a good choice in Willie and that Willie realizes just how lucky he was. Henry Hobson may continue to bluster, enjoy his drink, expect his comforts and make us appreciate Laughton's bits of over-acting, but it is Maggie and William we feel good about. Together, they're going to be running things...and successfully, too.
The movie was released long ago on VHS tape and can still be tracked down. Criterion's DVD release, due in a couple of months, will undoubtedly give the movie the attention it deserves. I plan to buy it as soon as it's out and will add here my opinion of the extras. This is one of David Lean's finest films. Hopefully, the Criterion release also will bring more attention to what a fine actor Brenda De Banzie was.
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful
By Lili
Format:DVD
I cannot even begin to descibe the tenderness, humor, and subtle life lessons in this movie. It cannot help but be entertaining and uplifting in the truest sense. I have this on vhs...it is so worn from watching...I have loaned it to many friends who have said that in the first few minutes they are wondering why I love it so much, and then they are gradually brought to the point where they are enchanted with the sweet lessons of self-determination, true love, and the beautiful transformation of Willie as Maggie sees in him what even he cannot see. A man well treated by a woman does so much for his confidence....And as for maggie...How lovely to see the message that we make our own happiness in life.
There are so many favorite moments, but i agree with the earlier review that Maggie(DeBanzie) steals the show. Nearly every scene with her in it contains my favorite moments A random bit...but one of my favorite moments is right at the wedding supper...True love is seeing the good in our spouse and helping them believe it. I also really like the snip of a scene earlier in the film when Willie realizes that he will never be going back to his old life and his sheer disbelief and joy.
This is a sure winner with the quality of Miracle on 34th street, a movie that will be watched over and over. Treat yourself and buy on for your mother!
There are so many favorite moments, but i agree with the earlier review that Maggie(DeBanzie) steals the show. Nearly every scene with her in it contains my favorite moments A random bit...but one of my favorite moments is right at the wedding supper...True love is seeing the good in our spouse and helping them believe it. I also really like the snip of a scene earlier in the film when Willie realizes that he will never be going back to his old life and his sheer disbelief and joy.
This is a sure winner with the quality of Miracle on 34th street, a movie that will be watched over and over. Treat yourself and buy on for your mother!
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By dr_shred
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a great comedy from the golden age of British film in the '50s
by one of the all time great directors, dealing with the issue of
sexism and the British class system with a marvelous performance by
Charles Laughton as the self-satisfied, pompous boot shop owner (boots
are what they call shoes in England). If you liked The Man In A White
Suit, Kind Hearts And Coronets, et al, you'll love this film.
With the release of this film and John Schlesinger's Far From The
Madding Crowd on DVD I'm two films closer to having all my wishes
fulfilled. I hope the transfer is O.K., but I'll buy it anyway. Now
if we could just get The Jokers with Oliver Reed and Michael Crawford,
and all the other great overlooked British films on DVD.
by one of the all time great directors, dealing with the issue of
sexism and the British class system with a marvelous performance by
Charles Laughton as the self-satisfied, pompous boot shop owner (boots
are what they call shoes in England). If you liked The Man In A White
Suit, Kind Hearts And Coronets, et al, you'll love this film.
With the release of this film and John Schlesinger's Far From The
Madding Crowd on DVD I'm two films closer to having all my wishes
fulfilled. I hope the transfer is O.K., but I'll buy it anyway. Now
if we could just get The Jokers with Oliver Reed and Michael Crawford,
and all the other great overlooked British films on DVD.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Laughton comes through
I morn the passing of Chas. Laughton. This is another fine example done in fine B&W by Criterion Collection.
Fine special edition with enjoyable extras. Read more
Fine special edition with enjoyable extras. Read more
Published 19 days ago by R. Peet
5.0 out of 5 stars
A classic finally in DVD
Brenda de Banzies, John Mills, and Charles Laughton at their peak! The acting is superb, the story a tribute to perserverance and belief in one's abilities.
Published 29 days ago by Martin Choy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great movie
My wife loves this movie, shipped fast and quality of the film was awesome. I would recommend this to anyone who likes old movies!
Published 3 months ago by Barry Harting
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hobson's Choice video
This is a great classic. We saw this movie back in 1954 and never forgot it. We were so happy to find it available on DVD. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Joan Newman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hobson's Choice
I had this on Beta Max, sigh, so of course had to have it again. Tried to copy the Beta tape to a DVD but the music was wowing making it quite distracting. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mykle Moys
5.0 out of 5 stars
A MUST SEE
I saw this movie once and I couldn't get it out of my head. Found it in Amazon and am happy to have it. The actors are great and the storyline wonderful.
Published 4 months ago by Classic Lady
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of my favorites
I love movies from the 30s and 40s and this is one of the best. Hobson is a tyrant to his three unmarried daughters and hired hands in his boot shop.
Published 5 months ago by Linda L. Birge
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Laughton movie
This is a very entertaining movie starring Charles Laughton and John Mills, enirely appropriate for all audiences. they don't make movies like this any more, sadly.
Published 5 months ago by Raphael A. Riccio
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful Movie With A Wonderful Message
While this isn't classified as a holiday film, it conveys a beautiful message about the power of love and how it can transform the most unlikely people and rise above the standard... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Crabigail Cassidy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Laughton At His Best
I love the acting ability of Charles Laughton and greatly enjoy most of his movies.. This DVD is one of the Criterrion Collection- which means the picture and sound reproduction... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Tony Marquise Jr.
