Laughter In Paradise (1951)

LAUGHTER IN PARADISE  (1951)  ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢
    D: Mario Zampi
    Alistair Sim, Joyce Grenfell, Hugh Griffith,
    Fay Compton, John Laurie, Ernest Thesiger
An eccentric old man expires while playing what should be his final practical joke, but it's not. The ultimate trick up his sleeve is his will, in which he bequeaths £50,000 to four different relatives, on the condition that they each perform an assigned task. One, a timid bank clerk, must rob his place of employment. Another, the pseudonymous author of vulgar pulp mysteries, has to get himself arrested and serve a 28-day jail sentence. An imperious, condescending woman is required to find employment as a domestic servant and stay on the job for a month without quitting or being fired. And a carefree rake must persuade the first woman he talks to after the will is read to marry him. It's one of those smart, batty comedies that the Brits seem to do better than anybody, worth watching just for the way Alistair Sim cringes when one of his schemes goes awry. And keep an eye on the cigarette girl. She's Audrey Hepburn.