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34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
WHEN is this going to be on DVD???, November 18, 2003
This review is from: The Wrong Box [VHS] (VHS Tape)
I thought this was supposed to be released on DVD, but have yet to find a copy. Own a copy on VHS, but I am sure the troop of Finsbury will be much more enjoyable on DVD!! This is one overlooked gem, with a cast that won't quit. The Finsbury are gentle Victorian Brits down on their luck. Where to start with the Finsbury Clan...well Michael Caine plays struggling student doctor Michael Finsbury. He and his uncle, John Mills (Masterman Finsbury) live next door to Masterman's brother Joseph Finsbury (Ralph Richardson), but they don't speak because of long standing feud and the fact they are the last two survivors of a tontine - a trust where all the families of children put in a certain amount of money with the "winner" being the last kid standing. Sort of an exclusive lottery. With all their classmates dead - and both Masterman and Joseph needing the money desperately, they are eager to see the other with one foot in the grave. Since the feud has gone on, Julia Finsbury and John and Morris Finsbury (wards of Joseph) do not speak with Michael Finsbury. Though Julia pines for Michael from the mail slot in her door. Michael and his riotous butler, Peacock (Wilfred Lawson) are reduced to selling off every piece of china and furniture they can just to make ends meet. When Masterman has a seizure a.k.a. tizzy fit from trying to kill...um, seeing Joseph, everyone presumes he is dead. John and Morris see this as their opportunity to finally gain the pounds they so richly desire. Only they believe Joseph was killing a train wreck. They have to keep Joseph "alive" to win the tontine, so they visit Dr. Pratt who loves cats (Peter Sellers) to get a forged death certificate. Meanwhile Julia and Michael have falling in love, meaning they can get married and live happily ever after with Julie being Julie Finsbury Finsbury....but wait...what happened to the Bournemouth Strangler??? Well, you will just have to watch The Wrong Box to find out!! Mad cap from beginning to end and Caine putting in a wonderful performance showing his comedic skill. Utterly Brilliant
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Victorial hi-jinks, May 11, 2001
This review is from: The Wrong Box [VHS] (VHS Tape)
THE WRONG BOX defines humorlous Victorian Age in a humorous way with a wit worthy of its' blue ribbon cast including Michael Caine and Peter Sellers. It was a Victorian time when cousin Caine is turned on by a turned ankle at the hem of cousin Nanette Newman's skirt during the strains of "If you were the only girl in the world." Their destiny was love and resounding relief when each learned that both were orphans in fact: "Father was a missionary, eaten by his Bible class." Peacock, the butler, is a vestigial up-and-up English retainer servant. "Beggin your pardon, Sir. I haven't been paid in seven years." His scenes put you on notice that the next thing you'll hear is yourself chuckling. Sellers is unbelievably funny as the back-alley abortionist,Dr. Pratt, hired by one of the cousins to provide a blank, signed death certificate. He practices from a cat-infested office. His bedside manner hinges on cats which he uses to wipe his hands and blot his signature [on the phony death certificate]. Hearing Sellers cough, Peter Cook asks if the doctor is okay. Sellers answers, "I'm okay. It's only a hair ball." I don't know of an equal to this British laugh convention. THE WRONG BOX proves out that greed is great breeding ground for good comedy.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An unsung British comedy classic., December 15, 2000
This review is from: The Wrong Box [VHS] (VHS Tape)
In a previous review, I said that only Bedazzled captured the comic brilliance of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore on screen. I take that back. Cook and Moore have a delightful outing in The Wrong Box, which also provides delightful outings for John Mills, Ralph Richardson, Michael Caine, Peter Sellers and many other great British comic actors. Based on a short story by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Wrong Box tells of two warring, elderly brothers who are the last surviving members of a tontine--a lottery whose proceeds go to the last surviving participant--and the machinations of their various family members to try and get their hands on the money. The family members vary between the naive (Richardson, Caine, Nanette Newman), the crooked (Mills, Cook) and those falling somewhere in-between (Moore), and there are schemes, corpses and misunderstandings galore. Add a serial killer, a train wreck, a doddering butler, two hearses chasing each other and Sellers as a drunken, cat-loving doctor, and you have a smashing entertainment which provides constant chuckles and frequent belly-laughs. The Victorian sets are opulent, the music by John Barry supremely hummable. For fans of British humor, it's a treasure.
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