A Touch of the Sun (1956)

dennyjt

4.0

Aug 31, 2022

Hotel desk clerk Howerd is a Mister Fixit who dreams of warmer climes. When he inherits a fortune, he takes off to enjoy it, only to find the reality does not match his imagination. On his return, as the film lurches into farce, he buys the now failed hotel, but has to impress the Northern investors by pretending the place is still a bustling location by having the staff race around posing as guests. Another failed Howerd vehicle, he would eventually find movie success with “Up Pompeii”. As typical for the time, the film benefits from the splendid British character actors filling out the cas…

CinemaSerf

6.0

Nov 24, 2023

I was never a great fan of Frankie Howerd's brand of comedy, but he's actually not bad in this rather quirkily entertaining tale of rags to riches. He is "Darling" who takes great pleasure in quitting as an hotel porter when he is left a small fortune. He soon bores of the high life and returns to his former workplace only to find it's struggling. He sees a chance to rescue it, settle a few old scores - and maybe even turn a profit if he can rope in a few gullible investors. To that latter end, he galvanises the staff and some of their friends to create the impression that this is a bustling,…