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Hobson's Choice

7.3

1,740

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Original title

Hobson's Choice

Year

1954

Running time

107 min.

Country

United Kingdom

Director

David Lean

Screenwriter

David Lean, Norman Spencer, Wynyard Browne. Play: Harold Brighouse

Cast

Music

Malcolm Arnold

Cinematography

Jack Hildyard (B&W)

Producer

British Lion Film Corporation, London Films

Genre

Comedy. Drama | 19th Century

Synopsis

David Lean backs up vicious wit with tender romance in this thrilling adaptation of Harold Brighouse's play. As Henry Hobson, a tyrannical bootshop owner, Charles Laughton (Mutiny on the Bounty) is a comical drunk of Falstaffian proportions. When Hobson forbids his daughters to marry (their unpaid labor supports his pub visits!), his eldest daughter defiantly sets her cap for Willie, the shop's best bootmaker. Brenda de Banzie (The Man Who Knew Too Much), as the eldest daughter, hounds the flabbergasted Willie into marriage, resulting in a thriving new shop of their own. As Willie, John Mills (Great Expectations, The Big Sleep) performs a gradual metamorphoses from painfully awkward to gently confident. Together, the sweet couple turn a crafty business deal into a loving partnership.

Rankings Position

#88 Best British Movies

Awards: 1954: Berlin Film Festival: Golden Bear

1954: BAFTA Awards : Best British Film. 5 nom. including Actor (Mills) and Actress (Banzie)

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Critics' reviews

"Delightful and rewarding (...) Laughton's characterization something more than a big bombastic bump. He has made it Falstaffian"

Bosley Crowther: The New York Times

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User history

Hobson's Choice

1954

David Lean

7.3

(1,740)