The Lighter Side of Laughton: "Hobson's Choice" (1954)

Charles Laughton was known for his imperious portrayals of such figures as Captain Bligh in 1935's "Mutiny on the Bounty" and Henry VIII in 1933's "The Private Life of Henry VIII", for which he won a Best Actor Academy Award, but in 1954's "Hobson's Choice", he seems to be channeling his inner W.C. Fields as a tippling, tight-fisted tyrant of a father who is frustrated at every turn by his assertive, efficient eldest daughter.

Directed by David Lean in the years when he was still making smaller, personal films rather than epics like "The Bridge on the River Kwai' and "Lawrence of Arabia", "Hobson's Choice" is a humorous look at family life, and the efforts of one young woman to see to it that her father and younger sisters all get what's best for them (whether they realize it or not).

Laughton plays Henry Hobson, who runs a modestly successful business selling boots, but would rather spend his time with his drinking buddies at the local pub.  Most of the success of his business is due to the brains of his elder daughter Maggie (a sharp, smart performance by Brenda de Banzie) and the talents of boot maker Willie Mossop (John Mills, charming, in a shaggy dog sort of way).  Henry is determined to marry off his younger daughters to get them off his hands, but the problem is the gentlemen the girls have their eyes on are not favored by the father, and he refuses to pay a dowry for either one.  Additionally, Henry considers the 30 year old Maggie past marrying age, but she has a plan of her own, and a spirit that won't take no for an answer.

Strong performances by the always reliable Laughton, and the no-nonsense de Banzie are topped only by Mills' transformation from uneducated cobbler to a prosperous business owner (due in no part to de Banzie's urgings and proddings), and aided by Lean's sensitive direction.  If Laughton's work tends to cross the line into caricature at times, it is fitting for the arc of the picture's story, and makes his eventual comeuppance all the more deserved.  Definitely one of the more pleasant mid-century British films I've seen.