Upstairs and Downstairs
Upstairs and Downstairs is a 1959 British comedy drama film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Michael Craig, Anne Heywood, Mylène Demongeot, Claudia Cardinale, James Robertson Justice, Joan Sims, Joan Hickson and Sid James. It features the first English-language performance of Claudia Cardinale.
| Upstairs and Downstairs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Ralph Thomas |
| Produced by | Betty E. Box |
| Written by | Frank Harvey |
| Based on | novel by Ronald Scott Thorn |
| Starring | Michael Craig Anne Heywood Mylène Demongeot Claudia Cardinale |
| Music by | Philip Green |
| Cinematography | Ernest Steward |
| Edited by | Alfred Roome |
Production company | Ralph Thomas-Betty E Box Productions |
| Distributed by | The Rank Organisation |
Release date | 27 August 1959 |
Running time | 101 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
[This film is not to be confused with Upstairs, Downstairs, the popular British BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning television series.]
Plot
Richard Barry marries Kate, daughter of his boss, Mansfield. Mansfield tells Richard he needs to take over the entertaining for their firm so Richard decides to hire a servant.
Cast
- Michael Craig – Richard Barry
- Anne Heywood – Kate Barry
- Mylène Demongeot – Ingrid
- James Robertson Justice – Mansfield
- Claudia Cardinale – Maria
- Sid James – P.C. Edwards
- Joan Hickson – Rosemary
- Joan Sims – Blodwen
- Joseph Tomelty – Arthur Farringdon
- Nora Nicholson – Edith Farringdon
- Daniel Massey – Weslet Cotes
- Austin Willis – McGuffey
- Margalo Gillmore – Mrs McGuffey
- Reginald Beckwith – Parson
- Cyril Chamberlain – Guard
- Dilys Laye – Agency girl
- Irene Handl – Large woman
- William Mervyn – Kingsley
- Eric Pohlmann – Mario
- Jean Cadell – 1st Old Lady
- Barbara Everest – 2nd Old Lady
- Stephen Gregson – Paul
- Nicholas Phipps – Harry
- Jeremy Burnham – Frank
- Nicholas Parsons – Brian
- Madge Ryan – Policewoman
- Betty Henderson – Bridget
- Barbara Steele – Mary
- Susan Hampshire – Minor role
- Oliver Reed – Minor role
- Shirley Anne Field – Minor role
- Sam Kydd – Driver
Production
Ralph Thomas and Betty Box made the film after a series of more expensive adventure films. "I'm glad we're back in comedy", said Box. "I like to make people laugh. I think they get enough crying in daily life. Also the results in comedy are more tangible. You hear where you succeed."[1]
Ralph Thomas later called the film "a light comedy which I liked very much... I had a great cast in that one... For its period it was a very effective, very small little comedy, which I think was really very funny."[2]
Michael Craig said "the jokes and the situations were pretty much the same as in all the other Box/Thomas comedies. That's not surprising as they were mostly written by the same person and had the same casts."[3]
Release
Upstairs and Downstairs was one of seven Rank films bought for release in the US by 20th Century Fox.[4]
References
- Melita Knowles (19 May 1959). "Producer Betty Box Prefers Comedies: Good Collaboration". The Christian Science Monitor. p. 4.
- Collected Interviews: Voices from Twentieth-century Cinema by Wheeler W. Dixon, SIU Press, 2001 p112
- Craig, Michael (2005). The Smallest Giant: An Actor's Life. Allen and Unwin. p. 89.
- "Of Local Origin". New York Times. 7 January 1960. p. 25.