Sir Seymour Hicks is best known for a B version of "Scrooge", released the same year as this rambunctious comedy about a 65 year old man who passes as 45 (and looks younger than his stuffy two sons), hiding the secret that he's married to a pretty blonde 20 something who has even fathered a baby. That secret is about to be exposed causing the wife (Claire Luce) to punish him by pretending to be considering separating from him when the older members of his family show up to expose him and try to gain control of his fortune.
"You're the first of my family who is ever dare to attack me. I love you for it", says Eva Moore, the 85 year old matriarch of the family (and Hicks' mother) who can sing to be a great great grandmother. Best known for her repeated declaration of "No beds! They can't have beds!" in "The Old Dark House", Moore steals every moment that she is on screen. The one time mother-in-law of Laurence Olivier, she's up there with Jessie Ralph, May Robson, Ethel Griffies, Edna May Oliver and much later Judith Lowry for playing octegenarian senior women who evoke fear and command respect with their acidic tongues.
This is delightfully funny even if the story is totally ridiculous. As the audience meets each member of the family which includes two lovely women Luce's age) and a feisty teenager who keeps trying to get her great grandfather involved in her games, it gets funnier and funnier, especially when Hicks makes his entrance. The art direction is superb, and the film flows by without a dull moment. Hicks and Moore are certainly award-worthy for their timelessly hysterical performances.
"You're the first of my family who is ever dare to attack me. I love you for it", says Eva Moore, the 85 year old matriarch of the family (and Hicks' mother) who can sing to be a great great grandmother. Best known for her repeated declaration of "No beds! They can't have beds!" in "The Old Dark House", Moore steals every moment that she is on screen. The one time mother-in-law of Laurence Olivier, she's up there with Jessie Ralph, May Robson, Ethel Griffies, Edna May Oliver and much later Judith Lowry for playing octegenarian senior women who evoke fear and command respect with their acidic tongues.
This is delightfully funny even if the story is totally ridiculous. As the audience meets each member of the family which includes two lovely women Luce's age) and a feisty teenager who keeps trying to get her great grandfather involved in her games, it gets funnier and funnier, especially when Hicks makes his entrance. The art direction is superb, and the film flows by without a dull moment. Hicks and Moore are certainly award-worthy for their timelessly hysterical performances.