THE WRONG BOX begins with a sort of prologue. A group of wealthy men have entered their young sons in a tontine--a lottery, of sorts, where the one who dies last receives the entry fee paid by everyone--plus, years and years of interest on this principal. I read a set of novels by Thomas Costain about such a contest but always wondered who would bother with such an arrangement? After all, the surviving member would almost certainly be too old and infirm to enjoy it.
The next portion of the film is the most humorous, as one by one you see the crazy ways that many in the tontine die. It's all done with a black sort of humor that I really enjoyed--and felt this was, by far, the best portion of the movie.
Eventually, there are only two members of the tontine still alive--two brothers who can't stand each other. One brother (Ralph Richardson) is the single most boring man on the planet. How he survived this long without someone killing him is beyond me, as the guy just talks and talks and talks--boring the daylights out of anyone unfortunate enough to come near him. His two nephews (Peter Cook and Dudley Moore) also can't stand him and begin scheming how they can get their hands on the money. There also is a niece and she's an oddball--part ultra-prude and part seething cauldron of passion. The other surviving brother (John Mills) seems to be in the worst health, but he, too, hates his brother and, if possible, he'd like to kill him--and he tries repeatedly. His grandson is played by Michael Caine--and he really, really likes his prudish (but hot) female cousin.
While I noticed some of the the reviewers absolutely adored this film (one declared it among the 10 best films ever made), my praise is much more muted. While I like dark comedies, this one seemed very uneven. Apart from showing all the funny deaths at the beginning, I really liked Richardson's character. He was so awful he was pretty funny. Likewise, I really liked the big part played by Peter Sellers as the demented doctor. The less than stellar portions were Cook and Moore (yes, I know they are a bit of an institution in the UK due to their TV work together) and the unnecessary and distracting intertitle cards. Also, some times the humor just seemed a bit flat here and there. Plus, in the end, there really wasn't any real resolution! Overall, a good comedy but not a great one in my estimation.
The next portion of the film is the most humorous, as one by one you see the crazy ways that many in the tontine die. It's all done with a black sort of humor that I really enjoyed--and felt this was, by far, the best portion of the movie.
Eventually, there are only two members of the tontine still alive--two brothers who can't stand each other. One brother (Ralph Richardson) is the single most boring man on the planet. How he survived this long without someone killing him is beyond me, as the guy just talks and talks and talks--boring the daylights out of anyone unfortunate enough to come near him. His two nephews (Peter Cook and Dudley Moore) also can't stand him and begin scheming how they can get their hands on the money. There also is a niece and she's an oddball--part ultra-prude and part seething cauldron of passion. The other surviving brother (John Mills) seems to be in the worst health, but he, too, hates his brother and, if possible, he'd like to kill him--and he tries repeatedly. His grandson is played by Michael Caine--and he really, really likes his prudish (but hot) female cousin.
While I noticed some of the the reviewers absolutely adored this film (one declared it among the 10 best films ever made), my praise is much more muted. While I like dark comedies, this one seemed very uneven. Apart from showing all the funny deaths at the beginning, I really liked Richardson's character. He was so awful he was pretty funny. Likewise, I really liked the big part played by Peter Sellers as the demented doctor. The less than stellar portions were Cook and Moore (yes, I know they are a bit of an institution in the UK due to their TV work together) and the unnecessary and distracting intertitle cards. Also, some times the humor just seemed a bit flat here and there. Plus, in the end, there really wasn't any real resolution! Overall, a good comedy but not a great one in my estimation.