No Funny Business
No Funny Business is a 1933 British comedy film directed by Victor Hanbury and starring Laurence Olivier, Gertrude Lawrence, Jill Esmond and Edmund Breon.[1] It was written by Hanbury and Frank Vosper based on a story by Dorothy Hope. The film is a comedy of errors set in a divorce case.[2] Cast
ProductionIt was made at Ealing Studios[3] with sets designed by the art director Duncan Sutherland. Olivier had returned to Britain after his career, following an initial move to Hollywood, had faltered.[4] ReceptionPicturegoer wrote: "The story is complicated and slow, and the humour generally forced; so that one relies almost solely on the famous stage star for entertainment, There are touches of sex and sophistication which help to liven matters up, and the technical qualities generally are good."[5] The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote in 1951: "Originally seen in 1933, this comedy, with its stagey plot and sets, slowly developed situations, and badly dated dialogue, has a certain fascination simply as a period piece. Gertrude Lawrence conveys a good deal of vitality and assurance, although playing in a manner long outmoded; Laurence Olivier, however, looks somewhat unhappy as the conventional juvenile lead of the period."[6] References
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