A Man About the House

This article is about the 1947 film. For the sitcom, see Man About the House. For other uses, see A Man About the House (disambiguation).

A Man About the House
UK release poster
Directed byLeslie Arliss
Written byJ.B. Williams
Leslie Arliss
Based onA Man About the House
by Francis Brett Young
Produced byEdward Black
StarringDulcie Gray
Margaret Johnston
Kieron Moore
Guy Middleton
CinematographyGeorges Périnal
Edited byRussell Lloyd
Music byNicholas Brodszky
Color processBlack and white
Production
company
Distributed byBritish Lion Films
Release date
  • 3 October 1947 (1947-10-03)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£304,521[1]
Box office£187,115 (UK)[2]

A Man About the House is a British drama film directed by Leslie Arliss and released in 1947. The film is a melodrama adapted for the screen by J. B. Williams from the 1942 novel of the same name by Francis Brett Young.[3] A theatrical adaptation also titled A Man About the House by John Perry had been staged in London's West End in 1946, with Flora Robson as Agnes, Kieron Moore as Salvatore and Ernest Thesiger as Sanctuary.[4] The film was produced by Edward Black and edited by Russell Lloyd, with cinematography by Georges Périnal and music by Nicholas Brodszky. Shot at Shepperton Studios and on location around Naples, the film's sets were designed by the art director Andrej Andrejew.

Plot

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English sisters Ellen and Agnes Isit inherit a Neapolitan villa from a dead uncle and move to Italy to view and sell their property. A local man, Salvatore, has been employed by the uncle his entire life and manages the villa and its vineyard. Exploring her late uncle's studio, Ellen uncovers a painting of a nude Salvatore as Bacchus.

Ellen becomes drawn to the carefree life of the locals and Salvatore's romantic charisma, while the prudish Agnes resists. Agnes and Salvatore are married, making Salvatore the master of the estate.

Ellen becomes aware of a change in Salvatore's behaviour toward Agnes. Not long after the marriage, Agnes's health begins to deteriorate and Ellen's suspicions are aroused. She expresses her concerns to visiting English doctor Benjamin Dench, who is Agnes's former fiancé. Ellen enlists Dench's help in trying to prove that Salvatore is slowly murdering Agnes with arsenic. The villa had once belonged to Salvatore's family, and he has long been determined to regain ownership. He had poisoned the sisters' uncle to inherit the estate.

Salvatore and Dench struggle on a clifftop, and Dench warns Salvatore to leave the country. Ellen and Dench return to the villa to tend the sick and weak Agnes. They learn that Salvatore is dead, as he threw himself from the clifftop in despair rather than losing the property. Ellen and Dench, who have fallen in love, depart to England and leave Agnes, now recovered and determined to remain at the villa and to fulfil her dead husband's wishes, tending the vineyard.

Cast

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Reception

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As of 30 June 1949, the film earned £166,075 in the UK, of which £111,820 went to the producer.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 354
  2. ^ Vincent Porter, 'The Robert Clark Account', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 20 No 4, 2000
  3. ^ "A Man about the House (1947)". BFI. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019.
  4. ^ Wearing, J. P. (22 August 2014). The London Stage 1940-1949: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780810893061 – via Google Books.
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