Something Money Can't Buy (1952) User Reviews

Problems, Problems And More Problems

[boblipton · 5/10 · 5 January 2021]

Anthony Steel retires from the Army to return to wife Patricia and child. He gets a job with a lot of future in it, but nothing at present; at seven pounds a week, their savings are vanishing. Miss Roc starts up an agency to do whatever the client wants: manuscript typing and baby sitting and dinner escort. Steel chucks his job and starts up a food truck and caterer, but he and his partners are tyros. As Miss Roc's business becomes successful, they both become grouchy. By the time his business becomes successful, they're snapping at each other.

It's post-war problems, with women in the work place, and who's to take care of the children? While the performers are quite good, there's little rhythm in the script, and little effort at making anything particular funny, despite old standbys like daddy in charge of toddler. Perhaps they thought it was beneath them, but the straight line to despair and the ride back to a happy ending could have used a few more grins on the way.

I've now seen it twice on YouTube

[howardmorley · 6/10 · 22 May 2017]

I would rate this 1952 movie as adequate with 6/10.Tonight there was nothing on TV (even on I-Player}, so I trawled YouTube for some 1940s British produced films but could only find this film which I saw again.I was 6 years old when this film was created and was fascinated to see again the almost empty roads in post war Britain.Incidentally 1952 was the year of the great smog over greater London and I remember an occasion having to guide my late father in our old 1936 Standard showing him the side of the road through the opaque atmosphere.Many families were crowded into rooms with their relatives, there being a national housing shortage what with all the war bomb damage.Consequently returning armed forces personnel had to adapt to certain privations when they once again restarted at their old peace time job.

Anthony Steele and Patricia Roc play the young married couple threading their way through this peace time maze and they have to earn their living while rearing their two children.Anthony has two of his army colleagues to help him start "Roving Restaurants" while Patricia starts up a domestic agency with the help of a girl friend.The results are good but they have to resolve who is to care for their two children and will their marriage withstand the strain of other partners and commitments.

uninspiring rom com

[malcolmgsw · 5/10 · 23 October 2017]

Anthony Steel was best in action films as that made one forget his wooden acting style.A light comedian he is not.So the film starts out with a big negative.The script seems to include every type of domestic dispute that would become the staple fare of television sit coms in the coming decades.However a husband and wife bickering is not my idea of comedy.

Something Money Can't Buy a delightful movie

[pupzpupz-28709 · 10/10 · 22 May 2017]

This is my first review for what it's worth. Since the only review for this movie was so negative I thought it fair to present another view. I thoroughly enjoyed this presentation of a postwar couple trying to get on their feet financially. The story is not dull and all actors did an excellent job. The husband, Anthony Steel, begins by doing his best to settle into a lackluster, low paying job. His wife, beautiful Patricia Roc, capably handles domestic duties and her two young children. They both are feeling the strain, living in substandard housing and watching their savings drain away. The pressure prompts him to quit his secure job to seek something better, taking him far from home. After hitching a ride he finds a mentor in elderly A.E. Matthews, as Lord Haverstock, who adds a charming character to the cast. They brainstorm the idea of a mobile restaurant, pull their resources and begin to work. Two of Anthony Steel's former military chums join in. In the meantime Patricia Roc and friend have successfully launched an employment service. Steel's business isn't taking flight so well. Eventually, the mobile restaurant is transformed into a catering scheme that becomes a huge success. It's a loving, wholesome movie with a happy ending. I recommend it. Yes, old fashioned charm that's hard to find in today's movie climate.

Avoid the cut version!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 11 September 2016]

This movie was cut on its original release and here is what I wrote in my newspaper column: "Even with its original 83 minutes trimmed by approximately half an hour, this is still a remarkably dull domestic comedy. True, writer/director Pat Jackson did have a promising plot idea, but he fails to develop it into the laugh- provoking comedy of slapstick errors that audiences expect." Now that the full version has surfaced on TV, I find that I was wrong. I now appreciate that cutting a movie does not necessarily improve it. In this case, the reverse certainly applies. With the characters and situations more fully developed, "Something Money Can't Buy" becomes much more involving and entertaining. It's now obvious that Jackson's aim was to use stylish, documentary-style direction to produce realistic humor and believable drama, rather than slapstick and melodrama. With the assistance of a most ingratiating cast of players, he has done precisely that. Miss Roc looks lovely, Steele gives one of his most persuasive performances, and A.E. Matthews does not over-caricature the lord.

Excellent Another British Gem!

[vilenciaproductions · 18 May 2020]

Something Money Can't Buy is another gem from British cinema which turns out the best films during the 1940's and 1950's! The cast is first rate, Patricia Roc is beautiful as Anna Wilding, Anthony Steel is a handsome lead! And A.E. Matthews seems to be reviving his role as Lord Lister from the fabulous comedy "The Chiltern Hundreds" 1949! The man is a crack-up! Everybody else in the cast is wonderful! The films director pulls it off! The 16mm print I screened was beautiful black and white contrast with perfect audio! Looked excellent on the big screen! The only way to view a classic motion picture, is on film! Three Cheers for another British masterpiece!

Genteel, shapeless comedy almost redeemed by the music of Nino Rota.

[BOUF · 16 February 2000]

It's hard to care about the problems faced by this genteel upper middle class family. Drippy hubby (Anthony Steel) searches for a job immediately post WW2, while Patricia Roc (who acts well) minds the baby. However, Nino Rota's beautifully soppy music almost makes up for the uneventful plot and dull marital conflicts.