The Smallest Show on Earth (1957)

Director:

Basil Dearden

Writers:

William Rose (screenplay)
John Eldridge (screenplay)

Release Date:

16 March 1962 (Finland)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

A young couple inherits a debt-ridden old movie theater, appropriately nicknamed "The Flea Pit," and the three eccentric senior citizens who work there.

Plot Keywords:

Movie Theater | Theater | Seniors | Rival Business | Abandoned Theater

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Virginia McKenna	...	Jean Spenser
Bill Travers	...	Matt Spenser
Margaret Rutherford	...	Mrs. Fazackalee
Peter Sellers	...	Percy Quill
Bernard Miles	...	Old Tom
Francis De Wolff	...	Albert Hardcastle
Leslie Phillips	...	Robin Carter
June Cunningham	...	Marlene Hogg
Sid James	...	Mr. Hogg (as Sidney James)
George Cross	...	Commissionaire
George Cormack	...	Bell
Stringer Davis	...	Emmett
Michael Corcoran	...	Taxi Driver

Also Known As:

Big Time Operators (USA)

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:U | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Christchurch Avenue, London, England, UK

Company:

Hallmark Productions

Trivia:

The films shown at the Bijou (all fictional and presumably filmed just for this movie) are: - Killer Riders of Wyoming - The Mystery of Hell Valley - Comin' Thro' the Rye (Silent Movie) - Devil Riders of Parched Point

Goofs:

Errors in geography: When the young couple arrive in "Sloughborough", in the north of England, they climb out of the taxi in front of Hammersmith underground station in London.

Quotes:

Jean: [Reacting to seeing the inside of the theater and its employees for the first time] Flea pit? More like "The Snake Pit!"

Movie Connections:

References There's No Business Like Show Business (1954)

Beware the inheritance from a long forgotten relative

This film starts off with a young couple inheriting from an uncle long forgotten. An old theatre named the "Bijou" but known to the locals as the "flea pit" starts the fun. Apart from a closed decaying building, the couple also inherit three old eccentric people who are the employees of the Bijou. Not to be left out is the nefarious owner of the town's other theatre house who wants the valuable land under the Bijou for expansion. The young couple reopen the old theatre to an array of problems. You actually begin to "root" for the employees and couple to keep the old theatre going. Ingenuity is upmost in "bringing" and "keeping" paying customers. These attempts are both amusing and creative and makes this film worth watching.