I've worked for the NHS for over 30 years. I have grown up twins (one of each) but I became a widow...
I've worked for the NHS for over 30 years. I have grown up twins (one of each) but I became a widower in March 2008
Member since:20.11.2005
Reviews:43
Members who trust:3
The late 1940's until the early 60's was a golden era for British comedy. You know the sort I'm talking about,. the ones that now often get shown on Sunday afternoons on (usually) the commercial channels and seem to feature a cast of well known British character actors of that period. I'm primarily thinking here not just of the superior Ealing comedies and the ones by the Bouting brothers but also the ones that are more obscure. The Naked Truth falls into this latter category.
Made in the year I was born (1957), it features Dennis Price as a caddish, blackmailing, scandal magazine (the 'Naked Truth' of the title) editor, earning loadsamoney by blackmailing hundreds of prominent and/or well placed people, of which Terry-Thomas, Peter Sellers, Shirley Eaton and Peggy Mount are but four. He has damaging information on all four that for Sellers, Mounts and Thomas's characters could end their careers, them being well-known public figures. In Eaton's character's case, it could kill her upcoming marriage to a Texan oil millionaire.
In their own individual ways, Sellers, Mount and Thomas all decide to kill the blackmailer to keep him quiet and of course, this being a 50's British comedy, they don't quite succeed, all failing in spectacular manner (bomb, poison, etc). Bungle after bungle ensure that they all keep failing and they all eventually realise that they should cooperate to dispose of him. At this point, Price is arrested by the police and our collection of bungling would-be killers decide that rather than have him testify in court, he should be sprung from jail and shipped out of the country. So with the help of the other well-placed blackmail victims, he is sprung from jail and gotten out of the country.
It is very much a film of it's time in that we only really know what one of the blackmaillee "crimes" are and that is Sellers character as Wee Sonny McGregor, a highly popular and much-loved faux-Scottish TV personality who is also a slum landlord on the quiet, unknown to his fans. It's heavily hinted but not said outright, that Thomas's character (a well know peer) has been found engaging in homosexual activities, though this being the era when it was still illegal, this is not stated explicitly. Mount is also implied to have engaged in prostitution at a younger age, though the mind boggles at the thought of this. Other delights are looking out for other well-known British character actors playing minor or cameo roles (Joan Simms, David Lodge, Kennth Griffiths, Miles Malleson, etc)
It's a good film without being exceptional. The storyline is basically very good until it loses it's way a little towards the end, But Peter Sellers gets to play multiple roles, something he always did well and Terry-Thomas gets to play his usual gap-toothed posho. Shirley Eaton looks atttractive but doesn't really do too much. The real star out of the four is Peggy Mount as a romatic novelist forced to do things she would normally have never even considered. Watch out for the superb scene in a rough pub when she is trying to buy some "Mickey Finns". Dennis Price as always, come across as suavely menacing and is well cast as the villain.
The transfer to DVD it has been very well handled. The picture is sharp and bright, with few film artifacts getting through and the though the sound is mono, it is clear and audible. There are no extras on here, other than the original cinema trailer
So overall, a good ensemble effort, but without being exceptional. If those Brit films from this era were in a football league type thing, the Ealing comedies would be Premiership, films like I'm Alright Jack and School For Scoundrels would at the top of Div 1 and The Naked Truth would be top of Div 2. Worth a punt if you find a cheap copy and I almost forgot, watch out for the suprise twist at the end...
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Production Year: 1956 - Comedy - Director: Joshua Logan - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Marilyn Monroe, Don Murray, Betty Field, Hope Lange, Eileen Heckart, Arthur O'Connell, Casey Adams, Hans Conried, Robert Bray
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
In 1957'sThe Naked TruthTerry Thomas plays a dodgy peer of the realm being blackmailed in ... more
the company of Peter Sellers, Peggy Mount and Shirley Eaton by a gutter press journalist, Dennis Price ("Don't try to appeal to my better nature, because I haven'...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Terry-Thomas is a shifty peer of the realm. Peter Sellers is a TV celebrity. Peggy Mount ... more
is a best-selling novelist Shirley Eaton is a gorgeous model.They are all being blackmailed by the sleazy editor of a scandal rag (Dennis Price), who'd rather take...
In 1957'sThe Naked TruthTerry Thomas plays a dodgy peer of the realm being blackmailed in ... more
the company of Peter Sellers, Peggy Mount and Shirley Eaton by a gutter press journalist, Dennis Price ("Don't try to appeal to my better nature, because I haven'...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
![The Naked Truth [DVD] [1957]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78544661.jpg "The Naked Truth [DVD] [1957]")
Sep 7th, 2008
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