The Wrong Box (1966)

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

People are voting emotionally.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

This delicious black comedy starts off with some delightfully funny views of bizarre deaths, all men who were part of an "tontine" (insurance bequest) where only the last surviving will receive any cash. Decades go by (as this was given to each of them when they were young boys) and now only two of the men, ironically brothers, survive. With one (John Mills) on his deathbed, the other (Ralph Richardson), a delightfully senile old codger, is out of town, chewing the ear off of anyone he can revel with his plethora of useless knowledge. Mill's son (Michael Caine) is a decent chap, a promising doctor, while Redgrave's wards, nephews Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, come up with a scheme to get their hands on the money when Richardson goes missing. Visiting his uncle (whom he hasn't seen in years), Caine falls in love with his cousin (Nanette Newman), while Cook and Moore try to pass off another corpse as their uncle, assuming that Mills has already croaked. This leads to a hysterical chase at the end, sort of a British early 1900's version of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", with a bit of Monty Python and Benny Hill thrown in.You'll delight at the ensemble cast here, which also includes Peter Sellers in one of his zanier roles as the quack doctor utilized to sign a death certificate for Redgrave, who gets the best lines in the film and is extremely funny. A delightful chase of horse-drawn funeral home carriages includes a ride through a band playing ragtime which has to change to somber funeral music every time these carriages go through the park they are playing in. There's also a Boston Strangler like serial killer and a senile butler, so those who like their comedy's eccentric will enjoy this one to the fullest.

Firstly let me say that I'm a big "Pete & Dud" fan. The right film I like. I have nothing against the right film. The trouble is... This is a hum-drum affair. Yes, it's worth watching but only to see a bit of Pete & Dud if you know and love them. If you want a funny, flowing film with a good plot and lots of laughs then forget it. This film, like Mr. Spigot, hops about on one leg and doesn't entirely stand up for itself. It's farce without the funny "mistaken identity" bedroom scenes and interaction between anyone other than Pete, Dud, and a drunkard servant (well played that man), ooh... and one dippy woman. On the plus side if you like coffin-based farce (a sort of maxi-episode of 'Allo, 'Allo - the one with the coffin), then this is for you. They did marginally better with their "Hound of the Baskervilles". Dave Allen's coffin sketch was better than this. The overall impression is "in through one ear and out the other". Worth watching from a "Pete & Dud" history POV but not much else going for it as a film in its own right.

At some point the brothers Finsbury must have had some second thoughts about entering that lottery for life which is what the Tontine is. And it's true as Ralph Richardson reminds us in the film that the concept is named after the 17th century Italian banker who came up with the idea.Essentially a Tontine is a life's lottery, several folks put up an initial investment and we of course presume it is in the hands of some really conservative bankers who don't go into something wildly speculative. If that's done the winner of the Tontine is the last survivor among the initial investors.Wouldn't you know it, but the last survivors as it turns out are a pair of feuding brothers, the Finsburys played by John Mills and Ralph Richardson. These two guys don't speak on general principles to start with, but with over 100,000 in pound sterling up for grabs, these two old coots are at each other and if not them, their respective heirs.Worst of course is Dudley Moore and Peter Cook who are Richardson's nephews, presumably on his wife's side. They hear Mills is dying and Mills is one of those characters who's been dying for a couple of generations and buries everybody around him. But in order for them to inherit Mills has to go first and then Richardson and it's all their'sThus the black comedy begins with the two schemers trying to work out a pair of deaths in the correct order. It may be black comedy, but it's also Murphy's law comedy, but Murphy never dealt with some of the situations thrown at the cast.Best in the film in my opinion is Ralph Richardson. He's one of those pedantic scholarly types who has learned a lot on just about everything and who doesn't hesitate to show off his knowledge and bore everyone around him to tears. It's no wonder Mills rises from what is thought to be his deathbed to strangle him, just to shut him up. It's the best scene in the film, marvelously played by two of the best from the British cinema. So if you think your family has problems just think about the Finsbury brothers and what they and their relations go through in The Wrong Box.

somehow i missed the wrong box. in college i showed the on campus current films as well as classic films. but for years i have heard about wrong box or read about it. For the last few years, esp since i ran across IMDb, GREAT SITE, i looked for it in film houses & still could not find it. A few months ago i found a place that printed public domain films & bought a copy. ugh. Maybe its the years or too much anticipation but i was very disiappointed in the film. It had its funny moments but i felt the plot plodded along until the search for the box. Peter Sellers was wasted.Caine , Mills & Richardson, Cooke & Moore all did a good job of acting but there did not seem to be enough coherence in the plot to interest me. I will not say DON'T SEE IT because it may be someone else's cup of tea. I'd rather watch Peter Sellers in The Party. IF you would like to purchase my copy(seen once-DVD, reg. view I think), contact me at [email protected]