Those People Next Door

Those People Next Door
Australian daybill poster
Directed by	John Harlow
Produced by	Tom Blakeley
Based on	the play Wearing the Pants by Zelda Davees
Starring	Jack Warner Charles Victor Marjorie Rhodes
Music by	Billy Butler (musical director)
Cinematography	Roy Fogwell
Edited by	Dorothy Stimson
Production company	Mancunian Film Corporation
Distributed by	Eros Films (UK)
Release date	February 1953 (UK)
Running time	78 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Those People Next Door is a 1953 British second feature comedy film directed by John Harlow and starring Jack Warner, Charles Victor and Marjorie Rhodes.

In WW II era Britain, working-class Sam Twigg (Jack Warner) and his wife Mary (Marjorie Rhodes) are raising their family in the shadow of the Blitz. Their next door neighbours Joe (Charles Victor) and Emma (Gladys Henson) practically live in the Twigg's house, borrowing cups of sugar or using their Anderson shelter. Controversy arises when Sam's pretty daughter Anne (Patricia Cutts) becomes romantically involved with RAF officer Victor Stevens (Peter Forbes-Robertson). There is disapproval from Victor's wealthy parents, Sir Andrew and Lady Diana Stevens (Garry Marsh and Grace Arnold), who object to the match on grounds of class. Lady Diana even offers money to the Twigg family to call off the relationship, which enrages father Sam. However, when RAF man Victor is reportedly shot down in action, parental attitudes soften.

Sky Movies gave the film three out of five stars, and wrote, "The Rank Organisation had unexpectedly boosted its bank balance with comedies about the cockney Hugget family (starring Jack Warner and Kathleen Harrison) in post-war years, but decided to end the series after four films. Unconvinced that this vein of comedy had been mined out, producer Tom Blakeley's Manchester-based film unit, which had made Frank Randle comedies in the war years, took an old play set in 1941, hired Jack Warner and a good cast and let rip. Unfortunately, the characters were too unsympathetic and the piece still ran like a play, but the same distributors had better luck a couple of years later when they reunited Warner with Kathleen Harrison in Home and Away."