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{{Short description|1956 British film by Ken Annakin}}{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}{{Use British English|date=June 2016}}

factoids

| runtime = 84 minutes| country = United Kingdom| language = English| budget = £247,137Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 359| gross = £212,723Vincent Porter, 'The Robert Clark Account', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 20 No 4, 2000 p.509| image = Three_Men_in_a_Boat_film_Theatrical_release_poster_(1956).png}}Three Men in a Boat is a 1956 British CinemaScope colour comedy film directed by Ken Annakin, starring Laurence Harvey, Jimmy Edwards, David Tomlinson and Shirley Eaton.WEB, Three Men in a Boat,weblink 24 February 2024, British Film Institute Collections Search, It was written by Hubert Gregg and Vernon Harris based on the 1889 novel of the same name by Jerome K. Jerome.

Plot

The film is set in the Edwardian era. Harris, J, and George want to get away from it all. They decide to go on holiday boating up the River Thames to Oxford, taking with them their dog Montmorency. George is happy to get away from his job at the bank. Harris is glad to get away from Mrs. Willis, who is pressing him to marry her daughter Clara. And 'J' is more than anxious to take a holiday from his wife, Ethelbertha. George meets three girls, Sophie Clutterbuck and sisters Bluebell and Primrose Porterhouse, who are also taking a ride up the river, and he hopes to see them again. The travellers get into various complications with the weather, the river, the boat, food, the Hampton Court Maze, tents, rain and locks. They connect with the girls again, and when things appear to be becoming interesting for the men, Mrs. Willis and her daughter and Ethelbertha show up, and things become even more interesting.

Cast

• Laurence Harvey as George
• Jimmy Edwards as Harris
• David Tomlinson as Jerome “J”
• Shirley Eaton as Sophie Clutterbuck
• Jill Ireland as Bluebell Porterhouse
• Lisa Gastoni as Primrose Porterhouse
• Martita Hunt as Mrs Willis
• Joan Haythorne as Mrs Porterhouse
• Campbell Cotts as Ambrose Porterhouse
• Adrienne Corri as Clara Willis
• Noelle Middleton as Ethelbertha
• Charles Lloyd-Pack as Mr Quilp
• Robertson Hare as photographer
• A. E. Matthews as 1st cricketer
• Miles Malleson as 2nd cricketer
• Ernest Thesiger as umpire
• Hal Osmond as cabbie

Reception

Box office

The film was the 12th most popular movie at the British box office in 1957.LINDSAY ANDERSON, and DAVID DENT. "Time For New Ideas." The Times [London, England] 8 Jan. 1958: 9. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 11 July 2012.According to Kinematograph Weekly the film was "in the money" at the British box office in 1957.MAGAZINE, Josh, Billings, Kinematograph Weekly, Others in the money, 12 December 1957, 7,

Critical

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Jimmy Edwards and David Tomlinson should have been ideally cast in Jerome's delightful comedy. Unfortunately, the curious adaptation and clumsy handling have effectively destroyed most of the charm and humour of the original book. The slapstick is crude and uninventive."JOURNAL, 1 January 1957, Three Men in a Boat,weblink The Monthly Film Bulletin, 24, 276, 21, ProQuest, The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 4/5 stars, writing: "The ensemble, including David Tomlinson, is amiability itself, while the parasol-toting girls are as radiant as the golden days of yesteryear."BOOK, Radio Times Guide to Films, Immediate Media Company, 2017, 9780992936440, 18th, London, 934, In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Colourful comedy lacks Jerome's original humour – just isn't funny."BOOK, Quinlan, David, British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959, Batsford Books, B.T. Batsford Ltd., 1984, 0-7134-1874-5, London, 387,

References

{{reflist}}

External links

• {{IMDb title|0049847}}
• Three Men in a Boat then-and-now location photographs at ReelStreets

{{Ken Annakin}}{{Jerome K. Jerome}}{{1950s-UK-comedy-film-stub}}{{historic-film-stub}}