MOVIE REVIEWS

Review by barrymost

A young American goes to London to sell the ancestral family home, and he spends the night listening to the Germans dropping bombs on the city while the current tenant tells him the entire history of the old mansion. Turns out, "this old house" has quite a backstory! Almost every famous British performer took part in this well-done wartime tribute. Kent Smith and Ruth Warrick are the two leads. Just a small sample of the rich cast includes Herbert Marshall, Charles Laughton, Ray Milland, Dame May Whitty, Ida Lupino, Claude Rains, Elsa Lanchester, Roland Young, and Robert Cummings. I repeat, that was a small sample. It was really a brilliant touch having top names stars playing bit parts. It's fun, but nearly impossible, to try to spot everyone. Very engaging tale takes you back to a very different time, giving you a pleasant escape from life on a dreary afternoon. Told almost an anthology form, the script is thoughtful and well-written. This production was apparently the brainchild of Sir Cedric Hardwicke. The cast and crew donated their time and talent, and were not paid for their services. The project took a long time to get off the ground, and by the time filming began, several potential contributors had to pull out due to scheduling conflicts, including Cary Grant, Ronald Colman, and Alfred Hitchcock.