Produced by Peter Rogers and directed by Gerald Thomas, the legendary duo responsible for the Carry On series, this comedy is as mildly racy and as funny, but of greater subtlety. It concerns Jo Halliday, a seventeen year-old girl from a commonplace English suburban background who writes a scandalous novel that seems to depict the Halliday family -- and not in a favorable light. In it her accountant father becomes an embezzler and a sugar daddy to his secretary, her mother is having an affair with a retired military officer who is a family friend, and her lovelorn aunt is pining for her employer, a doctor who carries on with all his women patients. The book, of course, is a best seller and the whole town is gossiping about the girl's poor family and creating considerable problems for each member. The comedic complications unwind deftly, with an hilarious sequence depicting the characters as they appear in the way over-the-top book. The acting is superb, but we expect that with British films from the '50's. Ted Ray anchors the family and the film as the father. Jean Kent, an outstanding dramatic actress who had starred in such films as The Browning Version and The Woman in Question, shines as well in comedy and is wonderful as the slightly daffy mother. Joan Sims, of Carry On fame, is a riot as the maid. Also featured are familiar comedic actors Leslie Phillips as the doctor, Dilys Laye as the secretary, June Jago as the aunt. Lionel Jeffries as the family friend (whose efforts to teach the Jean Kent character to drive a car are simply hilarious), and Colin Gordon, Charles Hawtrey, Ronald Adam, and Joan Hickson. Best of all, though, is the leading actress who plays Jo, Julia "Toots" Lockwood, the young daughter of film great Margaret Lockwood. She is thoroughly charming and immensely appealing and at the same time plays her part with great sensitivity and conviction. Unfortunately, Toots didn't have a big film career, although she worked on the stage and on TV until she retired in the mid '70s. But she's a standout in this film, which is a must see for those who like British comedy of the period.
