elvircorhodzic HOBSON'S CHOICE is a romantic comedy, which is characterized by fairly healthy humor. In the suburbs of Manchester lives a prominent shoe shop owner with his three daughters. A fairytale beginning of the story. Knowing the work of Mr. Lean, I expected something similar. However, the main protagonist is a tyrant, an alcoholic and a big stingy. His eldest daughter takes care of business and family. She is an extremely capable and smart woman. One day, after a domestic dispute, she decides to marry to a gifted boot maker in her father's shop ....The scenery is, as in any other film by Mr. Lean, very impressive. The opening scene is amazing. The director is in this case set up an interesting trap. In fact, already in the first scenes we can make hasty conclusions about the character of some of the protagonists. However, the characterization is being developed throughout the film, mostly in a comedy atmosphere and it includes many of the human virtues and flaws. Particularly fascinating is the relationship between a father, his eldest daughter and a unwanted son in law who takes the main role in the family at the end of the film.Charles Laughton as Henry Horatio Hobson is phenomenal in this role. He is the epitome of the grand egoism, and grumpiness. The protagonist who is evil, humorous and pathetic at the same time. Mr. Laugton is truly a master of the trade. Brenda De Banzie as Maggie Hobson is a fully realized character of a woman and shows a thorough, shrewd awareness of the secrets that every woman knows. However, she is a gentle and devoted wife. John Mills as Will Mossop is a collateral damage, if we ignore the end of the film. Son in law is to often a collateral damage. However, there is some symbolism. A smart and intelligent woman made a real husband and a businessman out of an ordinary, but talented guy.This movie is a little gem of the genre.

gavin6942 Henry Hobson is a successful bootmaker and tyrannical widower of three daughters. The girls each want to leave their father by getting married, but Henry refuses as marriage traditions require him to pay out settlements.In the opinion of Daniel Etherington of Channel 4, the "character interactions between the couple and the old bugger of a dad are fascinating, funny and moving." His verdict is, "Displays the Lean mark of quality and sterling work from its leads. A gem." The real stand out is, of course, Charles Laughton, who had been a master actor for decades. But David Lean really brings out the best in actors. While perhaps better known for his epics, he does a fine job here on a smaller scale of human interaction.

Hotwok2013 Directed by one of the all-time great directors David Lean, "Hobson's Choice" is the kind of movie that doesn't get made any more or probably ever will again, more's the pity. Charles Laughton plays Henry Hobson who owns a boot-shop in 19th century Salford, Manchester. He is a typical hard-drinking domineering Victorian father with three daughters, Maggie, Alice & Vicky. They are played by Brenda De Banzie, Daphne Anderson & a very young Prunella (Sybil Fawlty) Scales respectively. His eldest daughter Maggie has designs on marrying the firms star boot/shoe maker William Mossop (John Mills) but her father is dead set against it. He claims that at thirty years she is too old, "a bit on the ripe side", to get married, but the real reason is purely selfish. She runs his business very well and her father expects his meals ready & waiting on the table for him when he rolls home from the pub. Marriage would change all that & naturally her father wants to keep things exactly as they are. His two younger daughters are also looking to get hitched & their father isn't exactly encouraging both of them either. There is the question of shelling out his money on marriage "settlements" which would cut into savings severely. What follows is a battle of wills between father & daughter. Maggie gets her way in the end & claws herself out of her tyrannical father's shadow. She also sets about changing her new husband who is very much a shy retiring type of man & brings him out of his shell. They very successfully set up their own rival business & with the new-found self-confidence instilled in him by his wife, Will Mossop wants to take over his former employer's business with Hobson a sleeping partner. Hobson's hard drinking has by now taken its toll on his health & at the film's end he reluctantly agrees. Charles Laughton was one of the greatest actors this country ever produced & in this movie he is just fantastic. Brenda De Banzie & John Mills are also great but then so is the acting all around even in minor roles. This is a movie that works on every level, for my money. Shot in black & white the cinematography is great, the story is great & so too the comic situations. Highly Recommended.

SimonJack "Hobson's Choice" has great acting all around, and a singularly outstanding performance by John Mills!Charles Laughton was known for roles in which his characters were bombastic or overly theatrical. And, none could do them better than he. His comedic acting is even better than his dramatic. The role of Brenda De Banzie was so excellent in being the core off which the Laughton and Mills characters could play. And she played her part to perfection. But Mills shows a depth in his role, and a smooth grasp of his part in evolving from a perfectly believable uneducated and uncultured worker – almost a simpleton – to a self-assured, optimistic and assertive man who knows what he wants. In between, and along the way, we see him shy away from the change, then struggle with it, and finally, slowly accept and embrace it. By gum, what great acting in a great comedy! A film to watch again and again with family and friend.