The Naked Truth (1957)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Mario Zampi

Writer:

Michael Pertwee (writer)

Release Date:

18 December 1957 (France)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

A very British comedy about a blackmailer and his victims.

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Journalism | Revenge | Farce

Cast

Terry-Thomas	...	Lord Henry Mayley
Peter Sellers	...	Sonny MacGregor
Peggy Mount	...	Flora Ransom
Shirley Eaton	...	Melissa Right
Dennis Price	...	Nigel Dennis
Georgina Cookson	...	Lady Lucy Mayley
Joan Sims	...	Ethel Ransom
Miles Malleson	...	Rev. Cedric Bastable
Kenneth Griffith	...	Porter
Moultrie Kelsall	...	Mactavish
Bill Edwards	...	Bill Murphy
Wally Patch	...	Fred - paunchy old man
Henry Hewitt	...	Gunsmith
John Stuart	...	Police Inspector
David Lodge	...	Constable Johnson

Also Known As:

Your Past Is Showing (USA)

Runtime:

USA:91 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G | UK:U | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Walton Studios, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Mario Zampi Productions

Quotes:

[first lines]
Minister: In reply to the honourable member's question, I can only say... Uhh...
[collapses]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Unknown Peter Sellers (2000) (TV)

Good fun

Apparently released both as "The Naked Truth" and "Your Past Is Showing" (the name on the title card and title I remember in the U.S. run), this bustling little comedy about tabloid blackmailer is still jolly good fun going on 50 years later. Credit an amusing script and some fine casting that captures a gaggle of top-flight '50s British comedy talent in top form. Terry-Thomas and a young Peter Sellers (filmed here just before he gained fame with "The Mouse That Roared") are at the pinnacle of their Brit-comedy game and are ably abetted by the redoubtable Peggy Mount, luscious Shirley Eaton (a few years before her turn as the "golden girl" in "Goldfinger"), a caddish Dennis Price (as the oily blackmailer) and assorted classic British comedy stars, a number of whom seem to have had recurring bits in the "Carry On" series. The humor here is not as low and juicy as the "Carry On"s or as high and dry as the classic Ealing Studio Ealing comedies of the period - a pleasing mix. By contemporary standards, the film is a little slow - especially the set-up through the opening reels - but it all pays off very nicely with an avalanche of chuckles and a few great belly laughs. Keep a close eye on Sellers: although he plays a single character (a cheesy TV variety show emcee), he dons multiple disguises through the film, warming up for future roles in "Mouse" and "Dr. Strangelove" (where he played three parts in each) and those later "Pink Panther" comedies.