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A man should have an occupation of some kind.


The Importance of Being Earnest
(1952)

Disappointingly sedate adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s play. Anthony Asquith doesn’t so much direct as has a nap while the actors get on with it, and the result is merely engaging when you expect to be bombarded by witticisms.  

 Michael Denison is great fun as Algernon but unfortunately Michael Redgrave is miscast as Jack Worthing and does his best to dampen down everyone else’s energy. Edith Evans makes a resounding Lady Bracknell, and it’s always a pleasure to experience Joan Greenwood.

***


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