Touches You

Just perfect...

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Forget about American or English accents in this film. The attempts themselves even add to the humor – almost as though they were contrived to have that effect. Forget that this was a stage play first, and that much of this movie seems as though it were filmed on stage. Forget about critiquing the qualities of the production. All of those things are OK here, but they're of little substance. Rather, the content, the plot and the characters and actors are what make "Charley's Aunt" a truly great film. It's one of the funniest, most outlandish comedies ever made into a move.Every scene in this film has some humor. Most are hilarious. Each character contributes deliciously to the plot. All of the cast are excellent in their roles. And what a marvelous cast 20th Century Fox assembled for this romp around Oxford. Jack Benny is the quintessential actor to play the lead double role of Lord Babbs Babberley and the stand-in Donna Lucia d'Alvadorez. His scenes as Donna Lucia with Stephen Spettigue are over the top hilarious. Spettigue is a money-grubbing, gold-digger who only wants to marry Donna Lucia for her money. And, he won't let his niece or her friend and his ward, Amy and Kitty, out of his clutches until he finds a replacement or better income for his stewardship. The talented Edmund Gwenn plays Spettigue, a role so out of character from his 1947 Kris Kringle that won him an Oscar for "Miracle on 34th Street." It's hard to believe this is the same actor, but he's a riot in every scene here. Reginald Owen is very funny as Dean Redcliff. The number of physical clashes he has with Babbs and Babbs as Donna Lucia are hilarious. Richard Haydn and James Ellison play schoolmates of Babbs (who is now in his tenth year at Oxford), Charley Wyckham and Jack Chesney. They have their eyes on Amy and Kitty, played by Anne Baxter and Arleen Whelan. The girls have some wonderfully funny lines in helping the boys propose to them. Laird Cregar plays Jack's dad, Sir Francis Chesney. He has a riotously funny scene with Babbs as Donna Lucia, before he learns the truth. They play grab the whiskey bottle until it finally falls off the table and spills. Finally, Kay Francis lends some charm to the whole affair, with knowing approval after she recognizes Babbs as her pretender. She's the real Donna Lucia, and she has gone undercover to visit Oxford and check on the girl whom her nephew, Charley, wants to marry. She had heard from the Babberley law firm – headed by Babbs' uncle, that there are gold diggers on the prowl to marry young men who are wealthy or who may come into riches one day. The beautiful Donna Lucia had married a wealthy Brazilian, and he had died a while back. A frequent line occurs in the film about Brazil that brings a laugh every time. Charley, Babbs and others say it – "Brazil … where the nuts come from." This movie has many comedic twists. Donna Lucia is attracted to Babbs, and the hilarious film has laughs at every turn. Babbs holds all the parts together in his frantic changes between characters. Watching this marvelous comedy is a sure bet for an evening of laughter.

Thanks to the enthusiasm and capable acting by the entire cast, as well as the opulently mounted art direction by Richard Day and Nathan Juran, this venerable stage vehicle comes across rather well. True, Archie Mayo's direction is not particularly distinguished. Nor could George Seaton's screenplay be described as a model of cinematic adaptation. But the film was made in a workmanlike fashion and its gains kudos for its lavish production values. Jack Benny plays "Babs" with an endearing enthusiasm, and receives excellent support from Kay Francis, James Ellison, Anne Baxter, Edmund Gwenn, Laird Cregar, Reginald Owen, Arleen Whelan, Ernest Cossart and company. It's still very much a filmed stage play, despite its cinematic opening sequence which includes some particularly well-timed slapstick. But then it goes straight into the play which has been filmed mostly in long takes – though they are skillfully disguised by fluid camera movements and smooth inter-cutting. Sad to say, the play itself has now lost its position as the most successful (in monetary terms) comedy ever written. Its author, Brandon Thomas was not a professional writer. The son of a Liverpool shoemaker, he was born on Christmas Day, 1848. At the age of twelve, he became a shipwright's apprentice in order to support his mother who took in lodgers – mostly actors who were always behind with their rent money! Eventually, Brandon took up acting himself and started to write plays – both with the same lack of success. One day, W.S. Penley, a highly successful London comedian, happened to cast his eye over one of Brandon's manuscripts. "This isn't bad!" he told the young author. "Why don't you write a comedy for me?" Young Thomas scratched his head. "What sort of a comedy?" he asked. "You've played every character under the sun! Wait a minute! Have you ever thought of playing a woman?" The play's record-breaking London run of 1,466 performances was only outclassed – until Agatha Christie came along – by "Chu Chin Chow" (a play so popular that its author, Oscar Asche, became such a household word that in rhyming slang, "Oscar Asche" became a synonym for "cash". "Got any Oscar Asche?" my grand-dad would often ask.)

My wife and I tried to watch this thing last night and we didn't get any further than 40 minutes into it. This thing was painfully unfunny. I have been listening to mp3s of the old Jack Benny radio program during my daily commute for the past few months and the man was brilliant on the radio. That show is classic and the man was great on it. So, that's why I rented Charly's Aunt--to see some of that brilliance on the screen. Well, I think Benny was trying, but there was just nothing working right in this slow, stagy, talky, stiff, loud attempt at farce. The distractingly bad English accents from the mainly American cast aside, there simply wasn't a single laugh in the 40 minutes I was able to get through. And I usually LOVE the old classic B&W comedies. I could see where they were trying to go with a few of the jokes, but the timing of the performances were so off that even those weak attempts were crushed. And the director never seemed to know when to stop a scene or where to put the camera either. The movie was so lamely incoherent that I spent most of my time trying to figure out what the people who made it even thought was supposed to be funny. Rent one of the classic farces like Arsenic and Old Lace, or one of Howard Hawk's screwball comedies, or even one of the Old Bob Hope comedies from the 40s and you'll see how it's supposed to be done. The people who gave this more than one star saw a different film than I did!

what a riot this film is,once it gets going.the first 30 minutes are just the setup.from that point on,it's gas.Benny is hysterical in drag.i laughed my but off at his hi-jinks.i even had tears in my eyes at times.this is surely a classic.if not,it should be.Jack Benny of course takes centre stage here,but the supporting performances are very good,as well.it's based on a very successful stage play,but it translates well to the screen.it's also been made into a movie at least once before.if you're a Jack Benny fan,you can't afford to miss this gem.even if you're not a fan of Jack Benny,or don't even know who he is,you should catch this film for the great writing and the slapstick.and it's a good introduction to Benny.for me,Charley's Aunt is a 9/10