Review of Hobson's Choice (1954) by Daniel D — 10 Jun 2013

Henry Hobson (played by Charles Laughton) owns a bootmaker shop in 1800s England. He has a soft spot for the pubs and has three daughters. He wishes for the two youngest to have a marriage, but doesn't want to pay the fee.

He wants to hog the oldest Maggie for himself and the shop. Basically nothing goes Hobsons way. The most comedic element for me of this whole film was Charles Laughton himself. I just found him hilarious in his role of the wretched Hobson, and just his facial expressions could make me laugh.

I never did reach the pity from him that I believe David Lean was trying to reach by the end, just because I couldn't take the character seriously. This had its ups and downs as far as how I viewed the film.

I couldn't finish this in one sitting though. Not that the film is dull in pace, but it's not the most exciting adventure. Which is fine since it gives the movie a cozy feel. The characters outside of Hobson are one-dimensional.

The three daughters are predictable. Willy developed to an extent, but the rest just stayed in place. This was in total a decent comedy, and David Leans first impression on me.