A delight from start to finish, this film is about an annual car club's trip from London to Brighton. The cars in question are vintage. Alan and Wendy (John Gregson and Dinah Sheridan) travel in their 1904 model, affectionately named Genevieve. Ambrose and Rosilund (Kenneth More and Kay Kendall) have their own vehicle and it soon becomes a rivalry about which car is better. It eventually turns into a race on the way home, in which they have to outsmart each other to win 100 pounds. This is a great film because it relies on the richness of its characters and is filled with scenes that are both amusing and relevant. There is a great scene in which a drunken Rosilund plays trumpet with the band and another when Wendy and Alan have to check into a down market hotel next to a train and a giant clock (watch what happens when the clock strikes nine). In a brief but fun role, the always engaging Joyce Grenfell plays a hotel concierge, but this film is all about Alan, Wendy, Ambrose & Rosilund. The acting is superb. Buy or rent the DVD, since it has an interview with Dinah Sheridan, biographies of the main characters and location shoots. This film is from 1953, but it is completely fresh today and even makes you a bit sad to know this world doesn't exist anymore. Oh well, at least you have this completely wonderful film to watch.
Review of Genevieve
