Left, Right and Centre (1959) Movie Review Movie Review

Left, Right and Centre (1959)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Patricia Bredin and Ian Carmichael in Left, Right and Centre (1959)

The Politics of Romance

TV personality, Robert Wilcot (Ian Carmichael - I'm All Right Jack) finds himself selected as the Conservative representative in the upcoming Earndale election, some thing he boasts about on the train journey there unaware that the pretty young woman he is boasting to is Stella Stoker (Patricia Bredin), the fishmonger's daughter who is the Labour representative he is up against. When they arrive in Earndale not only is Robert red faced when he discovers who she is but discovers his eccentric uncle, Lord Wilcot (Alastair Sim - Blue Murder at St. Trinian's), only secured his selection to boost the tourist trade to his country home. But whilst they are meant to be opposition, Robert and Stella end up becoming romantically involved, causing their campaign managers to try and come between them.

As someone who likes to watch TV movies I didn't need to read a full synopsis for "Left, Right and Centre" to work out what the main thrux of this 1950's British comedy was going to be. As such "Left, Right and Centre" comes under that category of romantic comedies which could be called "fraternising with the enemy" as we have the Conservative and Labour representatives getting liberal with their feelings for each other. Fortunately there is more to "Left, Right and Centre" than just that and we not only have Robert's eccentric uncle trying profit off of his nephew's selection but we also have the campaign managers trying to keep Robert and Stella apart with some dirty tricks. But in truth there is little in the way of surprises in "Left, Right and Centre" when it comes to the storyline or the humour.

But that is actually where "Left, Right and Centre" is going to work best, especially with those who are fans of late 50s British comedies, as this has a lot of familiar faces with Alastair Sim especially amusing as the eccentric uncle who has turned his home in to a money making, tourist attraction. Again there is a certain familiarity to all of this from Ian Carmichael playing a naive toff to Irene Handl showing up as a housewife on the steps of her home but each deliver the sort of characters and comedy which 50s British comedies were built upon which is still entertaining in small doses.

What this all boils down to is that "Left, Right and Centre" is comparable to many of Ian Carmichael's comedies back in the 50s and 60s with several familiar faces from that era also appearing in it. But there is nothing to make this stand out from the crowd despite the fun and the various actors involved.


LATEST REVIEWS