Folly to Be Wise

Folly to Be Wise - 1952 | 92 mins | Comedy | B&W

The Production Team

Director: Frank Launder.
Producer: Sidney Gilliat.
Script: John Dighton, Frank Launder and James Bridie. (from the James Birdie play It Depends What You Mean)
Cinematography: Jack Hildyard.
Art Direction: Arthur Lawson.
Editing: Thelma Connell.
Costume Design: Anna Duse.
Makeup Department: Ann Fordyce and Michael Morris.
Sound: Peter Handford and Red Law.
Original Music: Temple Abady.

The Cast

Alastair Sim - Captain Paris
Elizabeth Allan - Angela Prout
Roland Culver - George Prout
Colin Gordon - Professor Mutch
Martita Hunt - Lady Dodds
Janet Brown - Jessie Killegrew
Peter Martyn - Walter
Miles Malleson - Doctor McAdam
Edward Chapman - Joseph Byres M.P.

Plot Synopsis

Master farceur James Bridies’ popular play It Depends What You Mean provides the source material for Frank Launders whimsical comedy. Sim had earlier produced the play at Westminster Theatre in 1944 and was a driving force in bringing it to the screen.

Comedy maestro Alastair Sim stars as Captain Paris, an exasperated army chaplain and entertainments officer of a conscripted battalion. Attempting to put on a show for his battalion, it's hardly surprising his big idea for fun and games is a Brains Trust. Amazingly the punters flood in but his effort falls apart when he enlists the help of others, very soon brows are furrowed over issues of marriage and the interlocking private lives of three panellists.