Hobson's Choice
Dir: David Lean
1954
*****
Hobson's Choice is David Lean's great comedy, sitting right in the middle of his amazing and infamous body of epic dramas. Harold Brighouse's beautifully witty script is preserved in its film adaptation and the terrific performances bring theatre to life with confident fluidity. A great script is one thing but without a great performer it's nothing and Lean's Hobson's Choice had the pick of the bunch. Charles Laughton is Hobson, the story could have been written for him. Brenda De Banzie's performance demands just as much attention as Laughton's Hobson and she succeeds with flying colours - it's a tragedy that she had such a short career in film in many ways, this being one of her finest performances. John Mills has a difficult character to play in my opinion but he brings the timid Will Mossop to life brilliantly, with subtlety and perfect timing. It's hard to say who steals the show, instead it's a rare example of three truly great comedy performances existing in the same film. The direction is exquisite as you'd expect from Lean, it's undeniably one of the 1950's greatest comedies.