Lucky Jade

LUCKY JADE is an interesting little British crime film with plenty of comedy to see it through. The unusual storyline sees a group of characters mingling in a posh house after the obnoxious owner has an accident and is laid up in hospital. The servants decide to stay on and one of them has the idea of throwing a party.

The party is the set piece of the film and is especially watchable in that it features pretty much every character duping each other. The servants pretend that they're allowed to be in the house and the lead character (played by the lovely Betty Ann Davies) is masquerading as an actress. There are a couple of suitors from Australia who seemingly fall for her lies, but the main emphasis is on some crooks posing as agents who in reality are planning to steal all of the precious jade ornaments kept in the house.

It's a mixed bag indeed, with the crime elements coming across as rather predictable and 'ordinary', but the comedy elements are better handled. Davies is a real find in this film and shows off a natural flair for physical humour. She's also very attractive and I was sorry to read that she died at the age of 44 due to complications following routine surgery. She may not have been a big starlet, but on the strength of her performance here she had a real verve and vigour.