Brown Mouse Bob I saw this film a few times as a young boy forty-odd years ago and quite liked it, mainly because of the old cars, although it was a never a favourite. However, having watched it again today I am shocked at just how horrible it is. The two main characters are plain nasty. Even the supposedly 'nice' one, John Gregson. They are nasty to each other, nasty to their wives/girlfriends, nasty to other motorists, having no regard for anything or anyone outside of their own narrow little world. If this is an example of how England used to be, then it's as a warning of how the upper-middle class Hooray Henrys used to (still do?) behave. Leaving this aside, as a film it's pretty dull and very dated. Even the Oscar-winning harmonica score just keeps grating on and on. Whimsy? Not a bit of it. Just another example of how bad some of Britain's filmmaking was. There are many better films from this period, so keep this one as a documentary - i.e. this is how Britain looked in the 50s before the car took over, and this is how NOT to behave.Alternatively, forget all about it. It's really not worth watching.

TheLittleSongbird Genevieve may be a little too short, but for me it is one of the best British films of the 50s. It is just a charming, delightful and re-watchable little film. The film looks beautiful, the photography is lovely and the scenery and colours are just as pleasing to the eye. The script has its fair share of funny, poignant and charming spots, the direction is spot on and the story is always engaging with the misfortunes and calamities never less than entertaining. The soundtrack by the harmonica maestro Larry Sadler is unforgettable, and the film is blessed with wonderful performances. I loved John Gregson, Kenneth More and Dinah Sheridan, but it was Kay Kendall who was the real joy. All in all, just a delight from start to finish. 9/10 Bethany Cox

movingpicturegal Fifties Britain and time for the Veteran Car Club's annual run from London to Brighton and back. We meet Alan, a man who spends most of his free time tinkering with "Genevieve", his 1904 antique car - and his wife Wendy, she is completely bored by the annual run but goes nevertheless, this year spurred on by a fancy new hat. Their friend is a man named Ambrose who brings along a "model" and her huge dog for this year's trip. The two men then spend most of the time in a rivalry over getting to Brighton first, jeering at each other over car breakdowns and the like, while the two women are pretty much being dragged along for the ride. Then they actually get into a road race against each other on the return trip to London, backed by a 100 pound bet to see who gets back first!This film is a fun romp, fast-paced, with well done performances by all. It includes lots to satisfy the Anglophile in me, like cute British expressions such as "good luck, Old Spot", "beastly", and "jolly good", plus interesting on-location photography in London, Brighton, and the English countryside. There are some quite amusing scenes when the couple ends up in this hotel in Brighton, with an odd set of rules regarding the hot water and the like, plus a really horrible room! My only complaint is the constant car mishaps seen in this left me feeling slightly more frustrated than amused. Still, this is a very enjoyable, well-done movie, filmed in bright, beautiful Technicolor, and featuring an excellent harmonica music score that gives the film a nostalgic charm all it's own. Well done!

iwprice I just finished watching 'Genevieve' again for the first time in over 30 years, and as usual checked the reviewers' comments here on IMDb. Since my dad was very into old cars and in fact took part in one of the Veteran Car Club's runs at about the time the movie was made, perhaps the following nitpicks may be of interest.1. The cars were VETERAN cars, not 'vintage' as widely asserted. Old cars (in the UK) anyway are classed as "Veteran" if built before 1904, "Edwardian" if built between 1904-1910, and "Vintage" if built between 1910-1930. Pre-WW2 non-mass-produced cars were deemed "Post-vintage thoroughbred", and that was it.2. The annual November event is not a 'race', it's a 'run'. Street racing was and is forbidden, and definitely invalidates auto-insurance coverage. OK the movie plot climaxes in an unofficial race (home to London the next day), but that's moviemaker's license. I loved the disclaimer during the opening titles from the Veteran Car Club saying "Our members would NEVER do anything like that".3. Kay Kendall's character's dog is not a St. Bernard or a Shepherd, it's a Mastiff. A nice one too! 4. I too recognise many of the films locations - most of them nowhere NEAR the Brighton road.5. Those who find the comedy unfunny are clearly no students of human nature, and that is indeed a tragedy.6. My greatest joy in recognising great character actors in supporting roles, was not even Joyce Grenfell as the hotel clerk (when I was a student at what is now Brighton University in the sixties, I digged with landladies just like that), but to see Geoffrey Keen cast as a motorcycle speed cop just astonished me! "Genevieve" is now a cornerstone of my private video collection - just as wonderful as I remember it.