Smallest Show on Earth

Smallest Show on Earth


Starring:Virginia McKenna, Bill Travers, Margaret Rutherford, Peter Sellers, Bernard Miles, Francis De Wolff, Leslie Phillips, June Cunningham, Sid James, George Cross, George Cormack, Stringer Davis, Michael Corcoran (II), Marian Collins, Liz Fraser
Director: Basil Dearden
Studio: Anchor Bay
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
An amiable knockoff of the Ealing comedy style, The Smallest Show on Earth (1957) starts with aspiring novelist Bill Travers and his "nice gel" wife Virginia McKenna inheriting a cinema from a hitherto unknown uncle and discovering that it isn't the sumptuous modern Grand, which specializes in those "smash 'em in the face, knock 'em over the waterfront" pictures, but the decrepit Bijou, known locally as "the fleapit." The initial plan, set up by lawyer Leslie Phillips, is to sell off the cinema to the owner of the Grand so he can knock it down to make a car park, but our heroes are put off by the arrogant bullying of the rival manager (Francis De Wolff) and succumb to the inept charms of the crazed, aged staff--drunken projectionist Peter Sellers, doddering commissionaire Bernard Miles, and dotty ticket lady Margaret Rutherford (who joined the team as a piano accompanist).

In the 1950s there was a run of gentle British comedies in which outmoded and broken-down local institutions (steam trains, tugboats, vintage cars) were saved by collections of committed eccentrics who despised the new-fangled bus services or soulless council bureaucracies and were willing to resort to a little larceny (in this case, arson). The Smallest Show slots in perfectly with the cycle, getting laughs from the Bijou's already outmoded program of scratchy Westerns and desert dramas (which increase ice cream sales) and sentiment over the staff's midnight screenings of silent movies that remind them of better days. It's likeable rather than hilarious, with Sellers and Miles buried under crepe hair and fake wrinkles competing to out-dodder each other and losing the picture to the inimitable Rutherford, who doesn't have to fake her eccentricity. Pinup June Cunningham is the glamorous usherette and Sid James plays her annoyed dad. --Kim Newman
Peter Sellers Collection (I'm All Right Jack/Heavens Above!/Hoffman/Two-Way Stretch/The Smallest Show on Earth/Carlton-Browne of the F.O.)
Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
  • Caveats
Peter Sellers Collection (I'm All Right Jack/Heavens Above!/Hoffman/Two-Way Stretch/The Smallest Show on Earth/Carlton-Browne of the F.O.)
Starring: Peter Sellers
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

GeneralGeneral | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
Peter SellersPeter Sellers | Comedy Stars | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
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Similar Items:
  1. The Alec Guinness Collection (Kind Hearts and Coronets / The Lavender Hill Mob / The Ladykillers / The Man in the White Suit / The Captain's Paradise)
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  3. The Wrong Arm of the Law
  4. The Naked Truth
  5. British War Collection (The Cruel Sea/The Ship That Died of Shame/Went the Day Well?/The Dam Busters/The Colditz Story)

ASIN: B00007AJEC
Release Date: 2003-01-21

Amazon.com

The Peter Sellers Collection includes six British comedies in which Sellers plays leading or supporting roles. The Smallest Show on Earth (1957) is among the run of gentle British comedies in the 1950s in which outmoded and broken-down local institutions were saved by collections of committed eccentrics. Aspiring novelist Bill Travers and his wife Virginia McKenna inherit a cinema from a hitherto unknown uncle and discover that it isn't the sumptuous modern Grand, but the decrepit Bijou, with a drunken projectionist played by Sellers.

In 1959's I'm All Right Jack, Sellers plays both Sir John Kennaway and, unforgettably, the trade union leader Fred Kite. The result is laugh-out-loud comedy with a satiric edge, lampooning the then-burning issue of industrial relations. The brothers John and Roy Boulting also directed and produced such British classics as Carlton-Browne of the F.O. (1959), in which Seller's unscrupulous prime minister is upstaged by Terry-Thomas as the idiot son of a great ambassador, and Heavens Above (1963), in which Sellers gives an unusually low-key performance as a young vicar whose tendencies to interpret Christian doctrines in his own individualistic way, rather than conform to church traditions, leads to all kinds of chaos.

The great crime comedy Two Way Stretch (1960) is about imprisoned crooks who hatch a scheme to pull off a heist with a perfect alibi by breaking out, doing the job, and then breaking back in to serve out their sentences. Sellers, usually an eccentric support in these things, takes a rare lead as cocky mastermind Dodger Lane.

Hoffman (1970) gives Sellers a lot of funny business, acid lines, and whimsical turns. Secretary Miss Smith (Sinéad Cusack) is blackmailed by meek, middle-aged Mr. Hoffman (Sellers) into spending a week of domesticity with him in his flat. At first, the tone is creepy, but it becomes more poignant as both characters learn to see each other as people.

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars Caveats.......2003-11-12

Peter Sellers, often written off as a talented mimic, was actually a superb actor, if he found his character's "voice". He's been unfortunately typecast (I have a friend who thought he was French!) as Clouseau, and he may actually be the finest slapstick comedian after the end of the silent era. This collection is a treasure trove for anyone who wants to see him in early or obscure work, but the movies are ineven in quality and tone. Also of interest in that all these movies he plays a single character (even in the early, unincluded, "Only Two Can Play" he lapsed into multiple accents. CARLTON-BROWNE OF THE F.O. is really a Terry-Thomas vehicle with Sellers in support. Like all Cold War comedies its plot (such as it is, about the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. all trying to discover the secrets of a small island under British protection) is quaint and hardly funny, but there are enough bright spots to recommend the movie as a whole (the scenes between Terry-Thomas and Thorley Walters are invariably delightful). THE SMALLEST SHOW ON EARTH has a young Sellers, again in a supporting role, playing the aged projectionist in a run-down theatre; again, the bright spots are scattered but for anyone who likes old movies and quiet humor will find enough not to have wasted his time with it. HEAVENS ABOVE, a satire on Communism, using the Church as a vehicle for its representation, has Sellers in the lead as a mis-appointed Anglican clergyman who turns his parish on its head; but the movie eventually plays against itself with its serious undertones. TWO-WAY STRETCH is an out-and-out farce with Peter Sellers as a prisoner who plots a crime that will give him a perfect alibi -- he's in jail; but a martinet new guard (Lionel Jeffries, the grandfather "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang") may ruin his plans. "I'M ALL RIGHT, JACK" has Sellers in support again, in a star-studded farce about labor vs management, with Selelrs as Hitleresque shop steward and labor leader Fred Kite (a breakthrough role for Sellers). HOFFMAN is the odd man out in this box, as it comes later in Sellers' career, and the character he plays isn't comic, just unpleasant. Why "Hoffman" was included -- why it's even on DVD -- I can't even pretend to speculate. A more fitting addition to the collection would have been "The Wrong Arm of the Law", another crime caper. The poignant comedy-drama "The Dock Brief", with Richard Attenborough as the confessed wife murderer and Sellers as the barrister determined to get him off despite his own protests, would have rounded the box off nicely. The perfect addition would have been the hilarious "The Naked Truth", where Sellers and Terry-Thomas (again) plot to do away with a scandal-sheet publisher (Dennis Price) who threatens to expose their secrets (Sellers' jolly television host character is actually a slumlord). Even the much less funny "Only Two Can Play" would've been an improvement. Why they stuck on "Hoffman" -- unless it was simply dirt cheap to add -- boggles the mind. If you don't mind paying the freight for five comedies that range from middling to pretty-good-for-its-time, just to see early Sellers in some forgotten roles, this is the set for you. Just bring along a shovel to bury "Hoffman" and you'll be fine.
The Smallest Show On Earth
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Pleasant Surprise
  • Great Peter Sellers Movie!!!
The Smallest Show On Earth
Starring: Stringer Davis , Francis de Wolff , Sidney James , Sam Kydd , and Virginia McKenna
Director: Basil Dearden
Manufacturer: Miracle Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

GeneralGeneral | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
Nothing Goes RightNothing Goes Right | By Theme | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
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James, SidneyJames, Sidney | ( J ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
McKenna, VirginiaMcKenna, Virginia | ( M ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Miles, BernardMiles, Bernard | ( M ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Phillips, LesliePhillips, Leslie | ( P ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Rutherford, MargaretRutherford, Margaret | ( R ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Sellers, PeterSellers, Peter | ( S ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Travers, BillTravers, Bill | ( T ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Wolff, Francis DeWolff, Francis De | ( W ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
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  3. Wallace & Gromit in Three Amazing Adventures

ASIN: B00029JZXC
Release Date: 2002-02-02

Product Description

From back cover - Some great laugh-out-loud scenes make this a great film. The delightful story revolves around a couple that inherits a broken down movie theater-the Bijou, and attempts to make a go of it. But once the struggling couple are forced to renovate and operate it, they learn some uproarius lessons about life, love, big business and the enduing magic of the movies.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Pleasant Surprise.......2007-06-02

I was pleasantly surprised by two features of this discount DVD title. First, the quality of the print...sharp,clear, no scratches,and properly formatted to original theatre screen dimensions. second, the very entertaining and warm comedy....Note this is selling for as little as 1 cent by some Amazon resellers(used)

5 out of 5 stars Great Peter Sellers Movie!!!.......2005-06-01

This is a great 50's Peter Sellers movie about life in a smalltown crumbling movie theatre.It's a must see that's now on DVD!!!!!!!!!!!!
Smallest Show On Earth, The
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Smallest Show On Earth, The
    Starring: Stringer Davis , Francis de Wolff , Sidney James , Sam Kydd , and Virginia McKenna
    Director: Basil Dearden
    Manufacturer: Alpha Home Entertainment
    ProductGroup: DVD
    Binding: DVD

    GeneralGeneral | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
    Peter SellersPeter Sellers | Comedy Stars | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
    ComedyComedy | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video
    Davis, StringerDavis, Stringer | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    James, SidneyJames, Sidney | ( J ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    McKenna, VirginiaMcKenna, Virginia | ( M ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Miles, BernardMiles, Bernard | ( M ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Phillips, LesliePhillips, Leslie | ( P ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Rutherford, MargaretRutherford, Margaret | ( R ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Sellers, PeterSellers, Peter | ( S ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
    Travers, BillTravers, Bill | ( T ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
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    ASIN: B000P6R9GW
    Release Date: 2007-05-29

    Product Description

    A poverty stricken couple inherit a broken-down movie theatre and its comically incompetent staff.
    Comedy: Happy Go Lovely/The Smallest Show on Earth
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      Comedy: Happy Go Lovely/The Smallest Show on Earth
      Starring: Happy Go Lovely , and Smallest Show on Earth
      Manufacturer: Digital 1 Stop
      ProductGroup: DVD
      Binding: DVD

      GeneralGeneral | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
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      ASIN: B000BBOV08
      Release Date: 2005-08-30
      Smallest Show on Earth
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        Smallest Show on Earth

        Manufacturer: Synergy Ent
        ProductGroup: DVD
        Binding: DVD

        GenresGenres | DVD | Video | Action & Adventure | African American Cinema | Animation | Anime & Manga | Art House & International | Classics | Comedy | Cult Movies | Documentary | Drama | Educational | Fitness & Yoga | Gay & Lesbian | Horror | Kids & Family | Military & War | Music Video & Concerts | Musicals & Performing Arts | Mystery & Suspense | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Special Interests | Sports | Television | Westerns
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        ASIN: B000REWYYO
        Release Date: 2007-05-29

        amazon.com

        Struggling writer Matt Spenser (Bill Travers) and his wife Jean (Virginia McKenna) find themselves the owners of a cinema in a small town through an inheritance. Hoping to sell the theater for the money, they arrive to find it run-down and operated by an eccentric staff, including ticket-taker Percy Quill (Peter Sellers). Hoping to make the best of a bad situation, the couple attempts to run the cinema with comic results. Just as they are about to write off the theater as a loss, a plan is hatched by the doorman/handyman to save the business.
        Smallest Show on Earth
        Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
        • A MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE.
        • An Entertaining Show
        • "He died in a pub."
        • A sweet era recalled in humor.
        • lesson in what acting is all about
        Smallest Show on Earth
        Starring: Virginia McKenna , Bill Travers , Margaret Rutherford , Peter Sellers , and Bernard Miles
        Director: Basil Dearden
        Manufacturer: Anchor Bay
        ProductGroup: DVD
        Binding: DVD

        GeneralGeneral | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
        Classic ComediesClassic Comedies | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
        Peter SellersPeter Sellers | Comedy Stars | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
        GeneralGeneral | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
        Davis, StringerDavis, Stringer | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
        Fraser, LizFraser, Liz | ( F ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
        James, SidJames, Sid | ( J ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
        McKenna, VirginiaMcKenna, Virginia | ( M ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
        Miles, BernardMiles, Bernard | ( M ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
        Phillips, LesliePhillips, Leslie | ( P ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
        Rutherford, MargaretRutherford, Margaret | ( R ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
        Sellers, PeterSellers, Peter | ( S ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
        Travers, BillTravers, Bill | ( T ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
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        ASIN: B00007AJE9
        Release Date: 2003-01-21

        Amazon.com

        An amiable knockoff of the Ealing comedy style, The Smallest Show on Earth (1957) starts with aspiring novelist Bill Travers and his "nice gel" wife Virginia McKenna inheriting a cinema from a hitherto unknown uncle and discovering that it isn't the sumptuous modern Grand, which specializes in those "smash 'em in the face, knock 'em over the waterfront" pictures, but the decrepit Bijou, known locally as "the fleapit." The initial plan, set up by lawyer Leslie Phillips, is to sell off the cinema to the owner of the Grand so he can knock it down to make a car park, but our heroes are put off by the arrogant bullying of the rival manager (Francis De Wolff) and succumb to the inept charms of the crazed, aged staff--drunken projectionist Peter Sellers, doddering commissionaire Bernard Miles, and dotty ticket lady Margaret Rutherford (who joined the team as a piano accompanist).

        In the 1950s there was a run of gentle British comedies in which outmoded and broken-down local institutions (steam trains, tugboats, vintage cars) were saved by collections of committed eccentrics who despised the new-fangled bus services or soulless council bureaucracies and were willing to resort to a little larceny (in this case, arson). The Smallest Show slots in perfectly with the cycle, getting laughs from the Bijou's already outmoded program of scratchy Westerns and desert dramas (which increase ice cream sales) and sentiment over the staff's midnight screenings of silent movies that remind them of better days. It's likeable rather than hilarious, with Sellers and Miles buried under crepe hair and fake wrinkles competing to out-dodder each other and losing the picture to the inimitable Rutherford, who doesn't have to fake her eccentricity. Pinup June Cunningham is the glamorous usherette and Sid James plays her annoyed dad. --Kim Newman

        Customer Reviews:

        5 out of 5 stars A MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE........2007-06-12

        I REALLY ENJOYED THIS DVD. THE ENTIRE CAST WAS SPLENDID. MARGARET RUTHERFORD IS IN A CLASS ALL HER OWN. I WAS SURPRISED WHEN READING THE CREDITS THAT THE USHER WAS BERNARD MILES. PETER SELLERS WAS GREAT IN HIS ROLE AS WELL.

        I RECOMEND THIS DVD FOR ANYONE WANTING A PEACEFUL AND PLEASANT EVENING

        4 out of 5 stars An Entertaining Show.......2004-08-05

        First off, anybody purchasing this film expecting a Peter Sellers vehicle will be slightly disappointed. This is an ensemble piece with Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna as the nominal stars. Sellers has a smallish role as an ancient projectionist. That said, this is a movie that champions the movie-going experience even if you experience it at a fleabag establishment and the viewing fare are old cornball cowboy movies whose prints are scratched, faded, and out of focus. Since this movie came out in the fifties, I can relate this experience to my own youth viewing genre movies (kung-fu, slasher,etc.) at soon to be demolished downtown Philadelphia movie palaces in the late seventies and early eighties. Anybody who remembers the neighborhood movie going experience before the rise of multiplexes will love this movie.

        5 out of 5 stars "He died in a pub.".......2003-12-31

        In the British comedy, "The Smallest Show on Earth" Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna are teamed together as newlyweds Matt and Jill Spencer. Matt receives news that he's inherited a cinema from his uncle Simon, so the Spencers head off to Sloughborough (the home of a pungent glue factory) to claim the inheritance. The Bijou cinema is a dilapidated place known locally as the fleapit. The Bijou cannot rival Sloughborough's only other cinema--the palatial Grand--in fact the owner of the Grand wants to buy the Bijou and tear it down in order to build a parking lot.

        Along with the Bijou, the Spencers also inherit the Bijou's staff--there's old Tom--the janitor and doorman--Mrs. Fazazkalee (Margaret Rutherford), and Percy Quill--the projectionist (Peter Sellers). At first the Spencers hope to sell the Bijou, but when Hardcastle, the owner of the Grand, tries to drive a hard bargain, the Spencers decide to open the Bijou once again.

        "The Smallest Show on Earth" is a charming film. The superior cast really makes the film sparkle. Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers were a successful screen team and starred together in "Born Free". Peter Sellers is at his quirky best in the role as the projectionist, and the three elderly Bijou employees enjoy a lively rivalry that they abandon to save the Bijou. Sid James appears in a tiny role, and Leslie Phillips plays local solicitor, Mr. Carter. The Bijou cinema really steals the film. When the Spencers see the cinema, Matt says "my uncle actually charged people to go in there?" Viewers are supposed to see the Bijou as a terrible dump, but the beauty of the crumbling old cinema cannot be diminished. The best scenes occur as films play in the Bijou, and the audiences participate in some quite unique and rather alarming ways. If you are a fan of early British comedy, you will enjoy this film. The quality of the film was excellent--displacedhuman.

        5 out of 5 stars A sweet era recalled in humor........2002-12-19

        'THE SMALLEST SHOW ON EARTH' may not have been exactly that since there were certainly smaller, but it was a case of a fictional small "electric theatre" (the British way of differentiating a movie theatre from a legitimate theatre or 'music hall,' as they designated their version of the American vaudeville). This delightful British film is as heart warming and sometimes hilarious as the other reviewers here describe, but it is the wonderful interaction between the story, the sets, and the actors that balance the film and make it a classic. This 19th century 'kinema' was styled in the manner of the traditional British 'music hall' of live performers, but held the earliest of projection equipment (hence the double entendre about projectionist Peter Sellers' 'equipment.') Such asides will be over the heads of the kiddies, but the pleasant pacing and careful dialogue of the actors will please the adults for whom this comedy is intended.

        The story of a young couple inheriting a cinema and finding that it is not quite the money-maker they imagined would have been prosaic were it not for the clever settings and the three fossils who maintained the old "Bijou" (French for 'jewel'). If it were ever a jewel, it had lost its luster as the years passed and patrons flocked to the newer nearby movie palace, the 'Grand.' Desperate to keep their jobs, the 'fossils' (veteran scene-stealers: Peter Sellers, Margaret Rutherford, and Bernard Miles) took pains to refresh the old place to please new owner Bill Travers, a too seldom used actor of mild presence but uniquely suited to this role. The character of the Bijou's "commissioner" (doorman, janitor, and boiler keeper) Miles in the end tries too hard and creates the only jarring note in the film, which is otherwise tender and memorable. The device of having latter day elevated trains roar past the cinema was inspired and created some memorable scenes, as when the building sways to the slow start up of the train, or when Bill Travers' character is almost rattled off the ladder as he attempts to relight the old roof sign. There are many wonderful sight gags and other fine bits that one will long remember.

        For those who also like old theatres, it may be of interest to know that the exterior of the Bijou was actually a set created at the meeting of two existing elevated train bridges on Christchurch Ave. at the Kilburn LT station in London. The interior was a also a set, but so well done that you would swear that you were in a real 19th century 'opera house.' The design is thought to be derived from the real Palace of Varieties at Camberwell. The movie palace with the pipe organ - the Grand -- was actually the Gaumont Palace (later the Odeon, now Apollo) in Hammersmith, London. And the use of the fictional name of "Sloughborough" for the town is another little joke since it means 'low place or mire.' These details can be confirmed in the journal of the British "Cinema Theatre Association's" magazine "PICTURE HOUSE," No. 19, Winter 93-94, pages 37 and 38, (where there are photos in this and the previous issue) furnished to this reviewer courtesy of Mr. Brian J. Hall of England.

        One reviewer said that the only flaw was that the story was too short and I must concur in that, and that is the only real flaw I can find in the film as well. There is a difficulty, however, in appreciating the quality of the film from the most common versions of the VHS-NTSC format videos now available. Amazon lists two ASIN numbers of versions made by the same French Canadian firm, Madacy, which produced them in EP speed, rather than the usual SP speed that allows for quality. Since Amazon never indicates the speed of a tape, I cannot tell if their third variation produced by 'VCI Classics (American Prudential)' is also in this slow speed of poor quality. Not only is the image poor, but the sound is downright difficult to understand! Amazon's sister company, The Internet Movie Data Base (www.IMDB.com), now lists two CD versions about to be released, and we can but hope that they were made from restored masters and are the pleasure that the original film is.

        P.S.: Two years before the movie "Majestic" (starring Jim Carrey) debuted, the director wrote on the THEATRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY'S web site that he was searching for information about historic theatres for his forthcoming unnamed movie. This reviewer responded with information and said that the description of it he gave sounded something like "The Smallest Show on Earth." He responded that he was amazed that anyone remembered the 1956 British film, but that it was an inspiration for his movie. Look closely at the lobby in "Majestic" and you will see it clearly resembles that in the 'Bijou,' even if the facades were much different. These films turned out very differently, but at least the architecture rewards lovers of theatres.

        5 out of 5 stars lesson in what acting is all about.......2001-09-24

        THE SMALLEST SHOW ON EARTH, the Bijou movie house, is well worth watching for its'lesson in what acting is all about. The enigmatic title is the only puzzlement of the movie. Otherwise, you get entertainment the British plain acting way that only the British seem to know how to do it. "Smallest" is a simple, delightful plot of what might go wrong with the best laid plans of inheritance when the legatees need to put an over-the-hill movie house back in business to compete with an up-to-date rival. You are tenderly entertained, then, by the actors Rutherford, Sellers, and Bernard Miles who were former employees and a threesome tossed into the plot as part of the inheritance. Margaret Rutherford was the deceased's "courtesan" ticket-seller bookkeeper who found a way to keep the old theater operating by taking in, as admission ticket "money," chickens, eggs, and such bookkeeping entries. She also is wise to the dipsy sot up there in the projection booth, Peter Sellers. Despite his penchant for booze he manages to make the ancient projectionist equipment function; equipment manufactured and carried over from Tudor times I would guess. Sellers did not cotton well to Margaret Rutherford. His major complaint was her bad behavior, suggesting thus that the new owner ought to not sack her, but could " . . . say something rude and nasty to her." Bernard Miles,urban relative of the village idiot, janitor and doorman aspired to continue working, but only if he could have a u-nee-form; one like the doorman in the competing movie house [with white gloves tucked under the left shouler epaulette, you see]. A good story also includes something inanimate object that actually plays a role. In this production, that "actor" is the thundering Britrail locomotive driven train that rattles the Bijou movie house, projection equipment and moviegoers, hilariously shaken--not stirred. The Bijou itself is a vestigial of Britain's lust for theater complete with organ that played musical strains for the silent movies, and a section in the back where young couples learned some of the facts of life. Theaters like this, originally opera houses and music halls, still exist in the Notting Hill section of London. Besides all of this location nostalgia, the characters are funny . . . gove'ner.
        Down Among the Z Men/Smallest Show on Earth
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          Down Among the Z Men/Smallest Show on Earth

          Manufacturer: Genius Entertainment
          ProductGroup: DVD
          Binding: DVD

          GeneralGeneral | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
          DVDs Under $7.49DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
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          ASIN: B0006GANZA
          Release Date: 2004-01-01
          [19 Comedy Flicks] Love Laughs At Andy Hardy, My Dear Secretary, Never Wave At a WAC, Nothing Sacred, the Nasty Rabbit, New Fave, One Week, Parlor Bedroom and Bath, Smallest Show on Earth, Two Weeks to Live, Bashful Bachelor, so This Iswashington, Dreaming Out Loud, Clancy Street Boys, East Side Kids, Little Tough Guy, Spooks Run Wild, Flying Deuces, Stolen Tools
          Average customer rating: Not rated
            [19 Comedy Flicks] Love Laughs At Andy Hardy, My Dear Secretary, Never Wave At a WAC, Nothing Sacred, the Nasty Rabbit, New Fave, One Week, Parlor Bedroom and Bath, Smallest Show on Earth, Two Weeks to Live, Bashful Bachelor, so This Iswashington, Dreaming Out Loud, Clancy Street Boys, East Side Kids, Little Tough Guy, Spooks Run Wild, Flying Deuces, Stolen Tools

            ProductGroup: DVD
            Binding: DVD

            GeneralGeneral | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
            Used DVDsUsed DVDs | Stores | DVD | Video | Action & Adventure | African American Cinema | Animation | Anime & Manga | Art House & International | Classics | Comedy | Cult Movies | Documentary | Drama | Educational | Fitness & Yoga | Gay & Lesbian | Horror | Kids & Family | Military & War | Music Video & Concerts | Musicals & Performing Arts | Mystery & Suspense | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Special Interests | Sports | Television | Westerns
            ASIN: B000E3AW7O

            Product Description

            DVD FEATURES: DIGITALLY MASTERED, INTERACTIVE MENUS, CHAPTER SELECTIONS, ENHANCED AUDIO 5.1
            The Smallest Show on Earth
            Average customer rating: Not rated
              The Smallest Show on Earth
              Starring: Stringer Davis , Francis de Wolff , Sidney James , Sam Kydd , and Virginia McKenna
              Director: Basil Dearden
              Manufacturer: Genius Entertainment
              ProductGroup: DVD
              Binding: DVD

              GeneralGeneral | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
              Nothing Goes RightNothing Goes Right | By Theme | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
              Down on Their LuckDown on Their Luck | By Theme | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
              Peter SellersPeter Sellers | Comedy Stars | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
              ComedyComedy | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video
              GeneralGeneral | British Cinema | By Country | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video
              Davis, StringerDavis, Stringer | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
              James, SidneyJames, Sidney | ( J ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
              McKenna, VirginiaMcKenna, Virginia | ( M ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
              Miles, BernardMiles, Bernard | ( M ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
              Phillips, LesliePhillips, Leslie | ( P ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
              Rutherford, MargaretRutherford, Margaret | ( R ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
              Sellers, PeterSellers, Peter | ( S ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
              Travers, BillTravers, Bill | ( T ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
              Wolff, Francis DeWolff, Francis De | ( W ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
              Dearden, BasilDearden, Basil | ( D ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
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              4-for-3 All DVDs4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video
              GeneralGeneral | British Cinema | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
              ComedyComedy | By Theme | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
              ( S )( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
              ASIN: B0006GAON6
              Release Date: 2004-01-01

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