A Girl in a Million

A Girl in a Million is a 1946 British comedy film.[2] It is notable for featuring Joan Greenwood in an early starring role;[3] and Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne in their comedy double act as two cricket-obsessed Englishmen, this time called Fotheringham and Prendergast.[4]

A Girl in a Million
Original trade ad
Directed byFrancis Searle
Produced bySydney Box
Written byMuriel Box
Sydney Box
StarringHugh Williams
Joan Greenwood
Basil Radford
Naunton Wayne
Music byBenjamin Frankel
CinematographyReginald H. Wyer
Production
company
Distributed byAssociated British-Pathé
Release date
28 October 1946 (UK)
Running time
90 minutes
Country United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office£138,510[1]

Plot

Tony is an inventor who divorces a shrewish, nagging wife, and desiring to avoid all women, finds employment in a remote all-male department of the War Office. However, a woman soon arrives in the form of U.S. colonel's daughter, Gay, who is shell-shocked, and has lost the power of speech. Charmed by her and by the contrast with his former talkative wife, Tony soon falls in love and marries her. However, once wed, Gay suffers a further shock and recovers her speech, proving quite the match for Tony's first wife.

Cast

Reception

Box Office

It was the 24th most popular film at the British box office in 1946 after The Wicked Lady, The Bells of St Marys, Piccadilly Incident, The Captive Heart, Road to Utopia, Caravan, Anchors Away, The Corn is Green, Gilda, The House on 92nd Street, The Overlanders, Appointment with Crime, The Bandit of Sherwood Forest, Kitty, Spellbound, Scarlet Street, Men of Two Worlds, Courage of Lassie, Mildred Pierce, The Spiral Staircase' and Brief Encounter, The Years Between and The Dolly Sisters.[5]

Critical reception

Sandra Brennan wrote in Allmovie, "feminists beware! This blatantly sexist comedy may definitely raise a few hackles" ;[6] while David Parkinson in the Radio Times called it "an object lesson in how tastes change, this chauvinistic comedy was co-scripted (with producer-husband Sydney) by Muriel Box, who was one of the few female creatives with clout in postwar British cinema. Moreover, it made a star of Joan Greenwood in a role that basically dismisses women as blethering nuisances who should be seen and not heard...Talk about not standing the test of time." [7]

References
  1. Vincent Porter, 'The Robert Clark Account', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 20 No 4, 2000
  2. "A Girl in a Million (1946)". BFI. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012.
  3. "A Girl In A Million". TVGuide.com.
  4. "Other Films". Charters and Caldicott. Archived from the original on 19 May 2015.
  5. "Hollywood Sneaks In 15 Films on '25 Best' List of Arty Britain". The Washington Post. 15 January 1947. p. 2.
  6. Sandra Brennan. "A Girl in a Million (1946) - Francis Searle - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  7. David Parkinson. "A Girl in a Million". RadioTimes.
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