Risate in paradiso

One would be hard-pressed not to laugh along with the Russell family in the final scene of this, my most favorite of British post-war comedies. It is a comedy in every sense, albeit one which points up several life lessons as it unfolds. Alistair Sim - whose roles have run the gamut from Headmistress of a girls' public school (the St. Trinian's series)to benign assassin (The Green Man) to the dramatic (the quintessential Scrooge in A Christmas Carol) once again proves here that he is without doubt the best of many comic actors in the English cinema. Surrounded by a cast of equal talents (Fay Compton, George Cole, Guy Middleton, A.E. Matthews, John Laurie, and the irrepressible Joyce Grenfell) Sim leads a Light Cavalry charge through a wonderfully woven plot. There are wonderful morals to be learned here also. If you haven't seen this gem, by all means get the video and fill that gaping void in your filmic experiences.