The Big Money

Ian Carmichael - Willie Frith
Belinda Lee - Gloria
Kathleen Harrison - Mrs. Frith
Robert Helpmann - The Reverend
James Hayter - Mr. Frith
George Coulouris - The Colonel
Renee Houston - Bobbie
Michael Brennan - Bluey
Jill Ireland - Doreen Firth
Leslie Phillips - Receptionist

Director John Paddy Carstairs leads the superb cast of Ian Carmichael, Kathleen Harrison, James Hayter and Leslie Phillips in this British farce that is sadly let-down by a weak script.

The Frith’s are a family of crack crooks, Father (James Hayter) is a pickpocket, mother and daughter (Kathleen Harrison, Jill Ireland) run a successful shoplifting swindle, the only problem is their eldest son Willie (Ian Carmichael), who couldn't pass a counterfeit note in a game of Monopoly. Willie pledges that one day he will land ‘The Big Money’, and woo the girl of his dreams, Gloria (Belinda Lee), a barmaid at his local inn. When Willie finally manages to swipe a suitcase full of banknotes, he discovers they’re as phoney as the clergyman (Robert Helpmann) he stole them from. His father demands the dodgy bills be destroyed, but Willie refuses, and is cast out of the family home and has to move into a swanky hotel with an increasingly mystified receptionist (Leslie Phillips).

Further complications ensue when the crooked Reverend sends out his gang to search for any suspicious well-to-do individuals. The hapless crook must convert his windfall into real cash before the original owner catches up with him, and attempts such varied schemes as going to the racecourse and backing every horse in the race! The film culminates in Willie’s arrest and conviction – and the removal of his portrait from the Frith family album. But more importantly for Willie, will Gloria still love him without ‘The Big Money’?