L'impareggiabile Richard

This was the most popular movie in Great Britain the year it was released and still holds the record for most tickets sold in Britain by an all-British production. It was so popular that a poll the following year had Miss Neagle the most popular movie star in Britain: the first time in more than a decade the title went to a British subject.

The story, as well as Miss Neagle were crowd-pleasers. It offered to its audience the happy thought that in the post-War era, Park Lane contains rich young ladies who would gladly marry their footmen -- assuming, of course, they look like Michael Wilding and are actually down-on-their-luck aristocrats.

Miss Neagle's wealth comes from her diamond-dealing uncle, Tom Walls, in a fine performance. The rather tepid plot is eked out by two good dance sequences, one song by Miss Neagle, and a subplot about stolen paintings. The mildly titillating main plot is supported by a rather arch air and the charms of the stars: Mr. Wilding is arch and Miss Neagle by the manner in which every scene with her in it is shot to spotlight her. It's clear, as always that the director, Herbert Wilcox loves Miss Neagle; they had been married five years. I suspect cinematographer Mutz Greenbaum felt the same.