Main Cast: John Mills, Ralph Richardson, Michael Caine, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore
Release Year: 1966
Country: UK
Run Time: 105 minutes
Plot
Years before the story proper in The Wrong Box gets under way, a "tontine" is drawn up on behalf several young British boys. Each of the boys' parents had placed 1000 pounds in a pool, to be invested and expanded upon. The resultant fortune will go to the last surving member of the tontine. A series of montages depicts the various demises of the heirs (our favorite occurs when one of them is inadvertently beheaded while being knighted by Queen Victoria). Finally, only two of the tontine participants are left: aged brothers Ralph Richardson and John Mills. On his last legs, Mills is determined that Richardson will not outlive him, and to that end attempts to kill his brother; each attempt fails spectacularly, with the doddering Richardson none the wiser. Standing to benefit from the tontine are Mills' dimwitted med-student son Michael Caine and Richardson's greedy nephews Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. When Richardson is supposedly killed in a train wreck, Cook and Moore don't want the authorities to find out, so they appropriate what they think is their uncle's corpse and ship it home in a box. Thus it is that Caine finds the body of a perfect stranger on his doorstep. The farcical complications begin flying about thick and fast from this point onward. Among the participants in this wacky gigglefest are such formidable talents as Peter Sellers, Tony Hancock, Wilfred Lawson, Thorley Walters, Norman Rossington, Irene Handl and Cicely Courtenedge. Based on a novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Wrong Box is a delightful harkback to the glory days of Britain's Ealing comedies. We were so wrapped up in the story that we didn't even notice all those TV antennae sprouting up on the rooftops of Victorian London. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
A film which has developed a considerable cult following over the years, The Wrong Box is a black British comedy that combines Ealing Studio subtlety with a 1960’s era cynicism and detachment, all in the re-telling of a Victorian-era story from Robert Louis Stevenson. This curious mélange works remarkably well, although it comes with an odd sensibility, the appeal of which will escape some viewers. The excellent cast is a huge asset; in an ensemble in which all roles are well played, special kudos go to Ralph Richardson, Peter Cook, Michael Caine and Peter Sellers. Richardson, constantly spouting useless trivia, is hilarious, and Cook’s hypocritical, larcenous and venal nephew is a portrait to treasure. Some may find Caine too gentle and dim witted, but the film and the role call for a bit of exaggeration. And Sellers’ cameo is a priceless piece of comic acting. Director Bryan Forbes gives the film an appropriately quirky feel, and he handles the climactic chase with flair. By turns wacky and weird, Wrong Box is a welcome alternative to standard issue film comedies. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Nanette Newman - Julia Finsbury; Peter Sellers - Dr. Pratt; Tony Hancock - Detective; Wilfred Lawson - Peacock; Thorley Walters - Lawyer Patience; Dame Cicely Courtneidge - Maj. Martha; Irene Handl - Mrs. Hackett; Gerald Sim - 1st Undertaker; John Le Mesurier - Dr. Slattery; Norman Bird - Clergyman; Tutte Lemkow - Bournemouth Strangler; Vanda Godsell - Mrs. Goodge; Peter Graves - Military Officer on Train; Norman Rossington - 1st Rough; Nicholas Parsons - Alan Fraser Scrope; Avis Bunnage - Queen Victoria; Timothy Bateson - Clerk; Penny Brahms; Diane Clare - Mercy; Valentine Dyall - Oliver Pike Harmsworth; Hamilton Dyce - Derek Lloyd Peter Digby; Hilton Edwards - Lawyer; Lionel Gamlin - 2nd Engine Driver; Dick Gregory - Leicester Young Fielding; Maria Kazan - Twittering Female on Moors; Michael Lees - Young Digby; Reg Lye - 3rd Undertaker; Andre Morell - Club Butler; Leonard Rossiter - Vyvyan Alastair Montague; Frank Singuineau - Native Bearer; Graham Stark - Ian Scott Fife; Marianne Stone - Spinster on Train; Donald Tandy - Ticket Collector; Totti Truman Taylor - Lady at Launching; James Villiers - Sydney Whitcombe Sykes; Gwendolyn Watts - Maid; John Junkin - 1st Engine Driver; Jeremy Lloyd - Brian Allen Harvey; Willoughby Goddard - James White Wragg; John Fitch; Denis Cowles - Sotheby's Partner; Thomas Gallagher - 2nd Rough; George Selway - Railway Vanman; Tony Thawnton - 2nd Undertaker; Joseph Behrman - Vanman's Mate; Charlie Bird - Bonn's Vanman; Michael Bird - Countryman; George Spence - Workman in Road; Martin Terry - 2nd Stoker; John Morris; John Parker
Credit
Ray Simm - Art Director, Julie Harris - Costume Designer, Bryan Forbes - Director, Alan Osbigton - Editor, John Barry - Composer (Music Score), John Barry - Musical Direction/Supervision, Basil Newall - Makeup, Paul Rabiger - Makeup, Gerry Turpin - Cinematographer, Bryan Forbes - Producer, Peter James - Set Designer, Larry Gelbart - Screenwriter, Lloyd Osbourne - Book Author, Lloyd Osbourne - Short Story Author, Robert Louis Stevenson - Short Story Author
Two elderly brothers Masterman (John Mills) and Joseph Finsbury (Ralph Richardson) are the last surviving members of a tontine, an investment scheme set up many years before, in which the last surviving member stands to receive a fortune. Masterman is attended by his medical student grandson, Michael (Michael Caine), while his greedy cousins Morris (Peter Cook) and John (Dudley Moore) do their best to keep their annoying uncle Joseph alive. Masterman, who hasn't talked to his despised brother in many years, summons Joseph to his "deathbed", intending to kill him so that Michael can get the money.
On the train trip to London, Joseph escapes from his minders, entering a compartment and boring the sole occupant with a litany of trivial facts (something he does with everyone he encounters). The other man later turns out to be the "Bournemouth Strangler". Joseph later leaves to smoke a cigarette leaving his coat behind, which the strangler puts on. The train then crashes head-on into another one coming the other way. In the confusion, Morris and John find the strangler's mutilated body and mistakenly believe it is that of their uncle.
Morris decides to try to hide this long enough for Masterman to pass away. Morris and John put the body in a barrel and have it shipped to their London home, next door to Masterman's residence. However, it is delivered to the Masterman house. Joseph makes his way to London on his own and visits his brother; they quarrel.
Meanwhile, Michael meets and falls in love with Joseph's ward, Julia (Nanette Newman). Things become complicated when Michael discovers the contents of the barrel and, after learning of the dispute between Masterman and Joseph from family butler Peacock (Wilfrid Lawson), assumes that his grandfather has killed his brother. Various misunderstandings and antics result.
Pinewood Studios, Iver, Bucks was the main production base for the studio sets and many exteriors, with the Victorian London crescent exteriors being shot on Bath's historic Royal Crescent, complete with TV aerials on the roofs. A couple of years later, Oliver! was believed to have used the same location, but in fact the "Who Will Buy" sequence was shot on a specially built set at Shepperton Studios. The funeral coach and horse chase was filmed on Englefield Green, Surrey and surrounding lanes.
