Charlie Powell

Inn For Trouble certainly isn't a grand piece of cinematic history and there's few who would consider it a classic but it is pleasant enough to enjoy, to partially fill a lazy afternoon and at less than an hour and a half long Inn For Trouble never outstays it's welcome. The film (the title is a pun and perhaps a warning, you're inn for trouble if you mess with mamma) is based on a television series (never an indication of excellence) called The Larkins and follows the family as they move away from their suburban home to run a country pub known as Ye Earl Osbourne on behalf of Belchers Brewery. Sounds simple enough, this being comedy however, things don't exactly run smoothly for the big mouthed mother and her clan. The Larkins find their pub has no punters, the only remaining staff are either grumpy (Charles Hawtrey) or distracting (Yvonne Monlaur), the local copper is t-total (doesn't drink alcohol) and despite being located between two major roads there is no passing trade, add a drinking competition and an undercover Earl and there you have the plot of the film that is better suited to those of the decade just ending than to those of the one just starting, the final 'knees up mother brown' scene cementing this as a cockney film from days gone by. Peggy Mount the family matriarch portrays her character Ada Larkin with her usual trademark style of dominating gusto, that would of had her punters running for cover should they have had any. David Kossoff is decent enough in his role of the hen pecked husband Alf Larkin whose beloved beer is disliked by the locals and the remaining family members are passably performed by Ronan O'Casey as the son in law whose wife is holidaying in Canada and by Shaun O'Riordan the scoutmaster son who would rather sleep in a tent than at the pub. Charles Hawtrey billed as special guest has a throw away role appearing in only a handful of scenes as the grumpy employee Silas Withering, his attitude is never really explained despite later in the film exclaiming that the new landlords are working him to hard, so perhaps he prefers the quite life and plots to send the Larkins packing back to the city. Character actresses Irene Handl and Esma Cannon appear in just one scene gossiping in the local village shop but have some important information to tell Mrs Larkin, while Leslie Phillips portrays the owner of the Belchers Brewery and is featured at both the beginning and the end of the film. Inn For Trouble is a pleasing film with some enjoyable characters and has a gentle comedic tone but it never sizzles with fun and excitement, never really has you laughing out loud and yes probably isn't to memorable either, explaining it's widely unknown status today, a shame but perhaps not a big surprise.