It's a film I have wanted to see for a while so it was good to finally get it under my belt. Based on H.G. Wells' novel of the same name, it tells the gently humorous story of an unremarkable draper whose life is changed when he inherits a sizeable inheritance from an unknown relative.It's the sort of film I suspect couldn't be made now as it bobbed along in no particular hurry with a diffident hero who does nothing out of the ordinary, reacting to events that happen to him rather than actively doing things that further the plot.
Arthur Kipps is a bit of a dreamer, an amiable soul who likes to help others and who seizes the opportunity to better himself through evening class while blind to the slights of those who consider him to be below them. These same people are happy to take advantage of him when he becomes wealthy but a possibly disastrous marriage is averted when he realises happiness lies with his childhood sweetheart.Any possible tweeness was banished by Reed's elegant direction, a loving eye for detail and a deftness of touch and yet another marvellous performance by Michael Redgrave as the eponymous hero.
His gentle performance is totally winning and his deft comic touch is a joy to watch, he carries off the tricky task of playing a 'good' man by never condescending to 'cuteness' and with a conviction that makes Kipps a quietly heroic character. The final scene which could so easily tip the film into treacle is directed and played with a delightful restraint.The supporting cast are all fine - Phyllis Calvert is a delight as Ann, Kipps' childhood sweetheart who he nearly loses to the more upper-class Diana Wynyard who also gives a finely judged performance. Max Adrien does a delightfully snidey turn as the socially superior Chester Coote and there is a scene-stealing performance from Arthur Riscoe as a boozy touring actor who changes Kipps' life.
It would be nice to have this on dvd if anyone from 20th Century Fox is reading.
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