Carlton-Browne of the F.O.

United Kingdom

1959

88 Min

Black and White

1.66:1

English

Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
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DIR Roy Boulting, Jeffrey Dell

SCR Roy Boulting, Jeffrey Dell

CAST Terry-Thomas, Peter Sellers, Luciana Paluzzi, Ian Bannen, Thorley Walters, Raymond Huntley, Miles Malleson, John Le Mesurier, Marie Lohr, Kynaston Reeves, Ronald Adam, John Van Eyssen, Nicholas Parsons, Irene Handl, Harry Locke

Terry-Thomas and Peter Sellers star in this 1950s comedy. When the king of a small Pacific island dies, the island’s evil and greedy prime minister (Sellers) looks to profit from the monarch’s death. But the British quickly send a diplomat, the bumbling Carlton-Browne (Thomas), to establish friendly ties with the heir to the throne — and, more importantly, to prevent other powers from tapping into the island’s potentially rich mineral deposits.

Director

Roy Boulting

The twin brother of John Boulting, producer/director Roy Boulting spent the bulk of his film career in partnership with his sibling. Both men attended Toronto’s McGill University, both entered the British film industry in the early 1930s, and both teamed to form Charter Films in 1937. In most of their subsequent film projects including Thunder Rock (1942), Desert Victory (1943), Single-Handed (1953), Brothers in Law (1957) and Twisted Nerve (1968), John produced and Roy directed. Their positions were reversed in films like Brighton Rock (1947) and Heavens Above! (1963). In 1963, the Boultings joined the board of the directors of the flagging British Lion Film Corporation, and have been credited with bringing that sleeping giant back to life. While both brothers evinced a preoccupation with droll wit and satire, they were adept at virtually any film genre. Evidently, it was Roy Boulting who enjoyed the most active social life; among his six wives was actress Hayley Mills. —britmovie… read more