A Home of Your Own (1965) User Reviews

Very funny 'silent style' comedy

[BJJManchester · 7/10 · 17 August 2006]

A HOME OF YOUR OWN,released in the mid 1960's,started a trend of wordless featurette comedies in Britain(SAN FERRY ANN,THE PLANK,OUCH!,RHUBARB,etc.),and this,the first in such a style is arguably the best of them all.Jam-packed with familiar British comedy actors like Peter Butterworth,Bill Fraser,Bernard Cribbins and Richard Briers,it is sometimes a trifle repetitive and over-stretched,but has enough well-timed and genuinely amusing incident to linger in the mind long afterwards.Some of the situations and slapstick are perhaps rather obvious,but it is performed and directed with such vigour and panache that such minor quibbles are quickly forgotten.The undoubted highlight is a superbly done bit of comic business with the late,great Ronnie Barker as an increasingly enraged cement mixer.At this stage,Barker was still a relatively minor comic performer,but his work in this film helped his career further on to bigger things.His is probably the best performance out of many fine comic bits in the film.

It was originally released as a support feature to A SHOT IN THE DARK,the second 'Pink Panther' film featuring Peter Sellers and George Sanders.During the premiere,Sanders apparently told the film's producer Bob Kellett:''This film's bloody better that ours!.....''.An assessment that is perhaps a trifle unfair as A SHOT IN THE DARK undoubtedly has it's share of very funny scenes,but A HOME OF YOUR OWN is shorter and arguably a little sweeter.

A good vintage

[keygrippa · 8/10 · 31 December 2001]

This little 'B' movie is worth seeing if only for the entertainment value of seeing famous comedians such as Ronnie Barker as young men. I saw it in a theatre in Dublin and there were amused gasps as the familiar faces appeared.

Also nice if you like seeing see 1960's Britain in context.

Silent - apart from the music.

[karl-a-hughes · 8/10 · 25 June 2013]

The existing reviews of this film identify many of the points which make this a really enjoyable way to spend 45 minutes. The film is a wonderful time capsule, showing how houses were built in the UK in the 1960s. The film has a lovely collection of familiar faces from the world of British comedy.

What has not been mentioned is the sound track. This is one of the iconic "silent" comedy films of the 1960s, two of the others include San Ferry Ann and The Plank, but this is probably the original and best. The score for this film was by the accomplished Ron Goodwin, who found most fame for composing for war films (633 Squadron and Battle of Britain) and Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines. The music adds greatly to this film, with various themes being used for each of the characters. The music is well arranged to fit in with what is happening on the screen, and adds to the humour. Ron would later go on to conduct the music for San Ferry Ann and to compose the music for The Early Bird (a Norman Wisdom comedy which has a near 15 minute 'silent' introduction).

This is a great little film and highly recommended.

Hilarious spoof on the Building Industry in the UK at the time

[stuartnich · 21 April 2002]

I recall going to see this when it came out as I took a girl I had been trying to date for some time along with me. Sadly I laughed so much she never went out with me again. I was a Carpenter at the time working on a building site in Ruislip which looked very much like the one in the movie so it was even more amusing. It is full of hilarious moments some of which take some time to pan out. An example is when the Gas board come along and dig up the trenches to load gas piping. Some time later the Electricity board come along and dig in the same hole. Even though you know what is going to happen ( a big bang) it is even funnier when it does. I would love to get this on Video. It ranks along side films such as The Plank as one of those low budget gems that only the Brits seems to make. Sadly now some of the so called comedies that we are supposed to laugh at probably have a bigger budget for the opening credits than this little gem cost to make.

It All Makes Work For The Working Man To Do

[boblipton · 6/10 · 18 August 2021]

He signs the contract for the architect-designed home to be built. He slips the ring on her finger. By the time they move into the house with their four children and another on the way, the workmen have come and gone -- well almost gone. We get to watch them at work, in between the frequent tea breaks.

There are a lot of polished comic actors on wordless view here. Bernard Cribbins gets a running gag as a stone mason with a good payoff. Ronnie Barker is driven mad as a perfectionist cement mixer whose work is tromped on before it can set. Ronnie Stevens takes a lot of physical abuse as the architect who best laid plans gang agley. Best, for my taste, is Peter Butterworth as an inept carpenter who looks like he was sketched by John Tenniel. Over ll, a funny gag and satire on the current state of the building trades in 1960s Britain.

Nothing Funnier In 40 Years

[BigIdeasMolitz · 10/10 · 1 July 2005]

I saw this movie first run at the Guild Theater on 50th Street in New York, around the corner of Radio City Music Hall. It was the bottom half of a forgettable double bill with an Aldo Ray movie entitled Johnny Nobody.

My father, mother, sister and I wanted to go to the show at the Music Hall but it was sold out. So, we went to the Guild. We used to see the best comedies there...all of the Ealing comedies would play there...Carry On, I'm Alright, Jack...Kill or Cure, Two-Way Stretch, etc.

So we endure the first Aldo Ray movie and then A Home of Your Own begins and seriously, on my word of honor, we laughed so hard and so loud, that the Guild's usher threatened to throw us out of the theater. It rocked us so hard that we still...40 years later...consider it the funniest motion picture we have ever seen.

I recently contacted Gannet Films and they are considering a general video and DVD release possibly late 2005.

It would make my parents very happy as they are now well into their upper 80s! We've been looking for it for 40 years.

I can only imagine reading the script and laughing out loud.

Groundbreaking comedy with satirical overtone.

[sfm-events · 10/10 · 6 December 2002]

I'm biased! I worked on this film and therefore know all the ins and outs. It was made for very little money and qualified for 'Double Eady' and that helped make it one of the most successful pics of all times, (returns as % of production cost).

It premiered at London's Odeon (Leicester Sq) as second feature to 'A Shot in the Dark'. It is the only time I have seen a cinema audience give a standing ovation to any picture - let alone a 4 reeler.

For about two years afterwards it was featured on cinema billboards as support film, a testament to its popularity.

This film started out as a sponsored comedy short for the Construction company Tersons but such was Jay Lewis's and Johnny Whytes's expertise that it soon became clear from the rushes that a masterpiece was in the making and it was finished with the cinema in mind.

The pic is still seen from time to time on UK TV and it is well worth setting the VCR.

Of course the joke is that 40 years on, the same comedy is still to be seen on our building sites and men digging up the same hole in the roads.

Great nostalgia trip and some subtle satire!

[dodhowie-1 · 10/10 · 27 June 2005]

I first saw this classic film about 1965. The second time I saw it was in the Queen's Cinema, Union Street, Aberdeen (now unfortunately a nightclub). I had intended to take my then girlfriend (now my ex-wife) to see Carry On Cleo at the Cinema House (unfortunately now also a nightclub). However, I got the cinemas mixed up and we entered the Queen's Cinema. As soon as we sat down I was in raptures, saying, 'I've seen this before'. It's a predecessor of Eric Sykes 'The Plank' and is very amusing. The scenes where the Electricity, Gas and Water companies dig up the same piece of road, install what they are putting in and repair the surface, watched over by the same policeman with his trusty bicycle is a comment on the lack of co-ordination of utility companies which I assume still continues to this day. The water divining scene where it is discovered that the hazel twig is twitching to Bill Fraser doing what was natural in a trench before portable toilets is a joy. Also Ronnie Barker laying the cement only for the tea boy playing his transistor radio loudly to leave tyre tracks from his dumper truck as he distributes the tea. Eventually this happens so often that Barker eventually throws a wobbly and dances over and throws himself all over the cemented surface. I think it's Bernard Cribbins who is the stone mason producing the plaque as when he is nearly finished he gives it one last chip and, of course, it shatters. Eventually when Fred Emney (as the Mayor) unveils the finished plaque there is a slight spelling mistake (Pubic Subscription instead of Public) which leads to shocked gasps from the various dignitaries assembled for the ceremony. I have not seen this movie for decades and would love it to be issued on a DVD as I could watch it over and over again. By the way, the main feature was Mr Moses with Robert Mitchum and Carrol Baker which my girlfriend had seen before but I hadn't. Perhaps our different tastes in movies had something to do with our eventual marriage breakdown - but I suspect there may have been other factors!!

A brilliant comedy which I wish would come on TV again

[helen-jackson44 · 10/10 · 26 February 2005]

This film is so underrated which is such a shame because it is a classic comedy! I first saw it about 20 years ago and I thought it was absolutely hilarious but it has not been on TV since as far as I know. It seems to be classed as a B movie which is a fair point as it is only about 50 minutes long but it is so cleverly done that it really deserves more credit. I have been trying to get hold of a copy but nowhere seems to sell it. I hope it has not become one of the "forgotten" films of the 60's because it really is so funny. One of the best bits in the film is Ronnie Barker dancing across his ruined wet cement like a ballerina!!! If anyone, anywhere knows where I can get a hold of a copy please let me know.

Funniest film I've ever seen!

[SueCansd · 7 February 1999]

Essential viewing for everyone involved in building houses. Although this was only a B film, it had me rolling in the isle of the cinema with laughter. A very clever film with all our favorite comedians when they were young men.

Utterly Delightful

[steve-butten · 9/10 · 13 January 2024]

This masterful study of comic invention and timing is a must see for lovers of a good belly laugh and a remarkable observation of the "British workman" at his worst. Ronnie Barker as a frustrated concrete layer, Bernard Cribbins as a hapless stone mason, Bill Fraser as an, always peeing, ground worker and many more recognisable stars and bit players, all with their little comic moments. Satirical commentary on disorganisation and incompetence abounds, all watched over by a copper leaning on his bicycle. Of course this all predates health and safety rules and regulations, providing ample opportunity to indulge in shoddy workmanship and wild comic invention. The "burble" dialogue adds to the comedy and all the actors contribute to the merriment. Enjoy it in its entirety on YouTube and, occasionally, on TV.

A vintage gem

[taywalsh-655-244056 · 10/10 · 27 March 2010]

I am fortunate to have this little gem on video, so can watch it whenever I feel like a little nostalgia - which is quite often as British films (specially the old ones) are my favourite

We should have made more of these "silent" film - we were very good at it. They were probably quite inexpensive to make and I suspect the actors received a pittance. This film shows life on a building site in the 1960's before the days of "Health & Safety"; and when older men outnumbered the younger labourers. The Clerk of Works (now Site Agent) was always a senior figure in those days

I remember it well, though I didn't experience my first site visit professionally until 1980. By the way, whatever happened to those 4wd cement/brick carriers, you rarely see them nowadays