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Hobson's Choice [VHS] [1954]

Audience Rating: Universal, suitable for all Binding: VHS Tape EAN: 5099990020322 Format: Black & White, HiFi Sound, PAL Label: Warner Home Video Languages: EnglishOriginal LanguageAnalog Manufacturer: Warner Home Video Number Of Discs: 1 Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Warner Home Video Release Date: July 03, 2000 Running Time: 102 minutes Studio: Warner Home Video Theatrical Release Date: December 17, 1954	Average Rating: Price: £12.95 Prices subject to change. Used Price: £2.23 Collectible Price: £4.99 Third Party New Price: £12.95
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Editorial Review:

Amazon.co.uk Review:
Britain's greatest ever film director David Lean wasn't feted for providing belly-laughs. His finest films, from Great Expectations (1946) to Lawrence of Arabia (1962) are resolutely sober, which is more than can be said of Henry Horatio Hobson in his wonderfully comic encounter with the moon in Hobson's Choice. Lean's only other comedy was Blithe Spirit (1945), but here he approaches matters of the heart with a surprising lightness of touch and wins a marvellous performance from Charles Laughton--himself soon to make his one and only film as a director, Night of the Hunter (1955). The setting is late-19th century Salford (the b/w location filming is exceptional), and widower Henry Hobson forbids his three daughters to marry to avoid paying their dowries. Romance will not be thwarted by economics, and much humorous conflict ensues, interspersed with some serious and even disturbing moments--the shaving scene when Laughton gets the DTs is a queasily unbalanced. Brenda De Banzie is splendidly spirited as the eldest daughter, Maggie, while her fiancie is played by the ever excellent John Mills, who would later win an Oscar for his part in Lean's much more serious love story, Ryan's Daughter (1970). --Gary S. Dalkin




Rating: - An amusing comedy.

An amusing comedy starring Charles Laughton and John Mills.

Charles Laughton plays a shop owner who's dominated by his three unmarried daughters - particularly by that of his elder, 'Maggie' - played with gusto by the great Brenda de Banzie. She forces herself into marriage to the somewhat 'simple' employee (Mills) with comic results and a change of character.

It's difficult to know who gives the best performance here; Laughton as the 'drunk' or de Banzie for her ... Read More

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Rating: - David Lean, Charles Laughton, John Mills and, especially, Brenda De Banzie, make a fine film
For those who didn't know, and I was one of them, a Hobson's choice is a free choice, but where only one option is really available. At the end of Hobson's Choice, a fine, vulgar, poignant and very funny film directed by David Lean, this is what Henry Horatio Hobson faces. Elements of the plot are discussed.

Hobson (Charles Laughton) is a prosperous shoe and boot merchant in the small town of Salford, England. The time is the 1880s. Hobson is a widower, a blusterer, a man accustomed ... Read More

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Rating: - British humor at its absolute best
Charles Laughton stars as Henry Hobson, a hard-drinking, self-opinionated, middle-class Victorian businessman. Henry is king of his own little world, a tyrant to his three daughters and ringleader of a clutch of bar-cronies. Finally, daughter Maggie (Brenda De Banzie) decides that she must move out from Henry’s shadow if she is to have a life of her own. Seizing on their simple, but talented boot-hand William Mossop (John Mills), she begins to scheme her way through to a life for herself and her ... Read More

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Rating: - Timeless and Politically incorrect
Hobson's Choice is also my all-time choice - released in 1953 about the 1800's in Salford and yet as modern in its comedy as anything made today. John Mills and Brenda de Banzie are superb in their charm and innocence. Laughton plays his best part as the ogre of a father (come father-in-law). The wonderful innocence of John Mills (Willie) on his wedding night with lines like: "Maggie's not the sort you get familiar with..." and followed in the morning with: "By Gum!" Watch it, you'll love it and ... Read More

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Rating: - A fine film version of a classic play.
Some of the finest talent in British cinema is combined in this comedy of social class and family pride. Brenda de Banzie provides a touching portrayal of strong willed Maggie, who takes charge of her own destiny, with comic and surprising results. John Mills shows his talent for comedy as the reluctant object of her affection and Charles Laughton excels as her stubborn and drunken father.

David Lean's gentle direction shows affection for the material and ensures the piece is both comic ... Read More

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