How to Murder a Rich Uncle (1957)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

not horrible nor great

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

And to Katie Johnson, too, that cute old British sweetheart who stole the scenes in that 1955 Ealing comedy out from the hands of Alec Guennis and Peter Sellers. Having died only a month before the British release of this black comedy, Johnson had a lengthy career but had only come into her own thanks to "The Ladykillers", leaving a sad quality to the history of this delightful film.I must admit when watching this, I had a sudden urge to utilize this in a plot line on "Downton Abbey" as a great family on a great estate discovers that they are destitute and must somehow plot to murder wealthy uncle Charles Coburn who had left England years before to move to America and is only now coming over for a visit. Family patriarch Nigel Patrick has it set up that he will accidentally shoot Coburn as he arrives, but ironically, it is a distant cousin that is killed instead. One by one the family with the exception of Coburn, Johnson and Patrick are all killed off, and that includes Patrick's irritating mother (Atheyne Seyler), unknowing wife (Wendy Hiller) and cousin Kenneth Fortescue who had intended to drowned his uncle yet fell in the water himself, only to die of pneumonia. A sweet bond is started between Coburn and innocent Johnson, another distant cousin who is considered the black sheep of the family simply because she seems so simple. As luck turns out, Coburn is accused of knocking off his family, thanks to the presence of Anthony Newley, boyfriend of one of Patrick and Hiller's daughters, seen taking notes at family functions as certain "hints" are dropped. Deliciously droll in every way, this remains consistently funny in the way everybody is dispatched, along the lines of "Kind Hearts and Coronets", later musicalized for Broadway as "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder". In spite of how close it seems to the Ealing comedies, it was independently made and released by Columbia, which is perhaps one reason why it is not known as well. This was one of the first major roles for a young Michael Caine, barely recognizable as a town local. Patrick underplays his role of the murderous nephew, a smart choice that would have been much broader had Alec Guennis played the role. In fact, Patrick plays the part without much guilt, as if his family duty called for those killed to be willing victims to the future of the family, and that is what makes this film all the more intelligent. The ghosts of the deceased make curtain call appearances, but there is delightfully sweet close-up of Coburn and Johnson as the film ends. This is a must for those who like intelligent comedy with a bit of naughtiness to it.

If you liked The Ladykillers, you'll want to rent How to Murder a Rich Uncle the next time you have a movie night planned. Just don't want it with your family! In this British comedy, a high-brow family is in financial ruin, but they desperately want to hide that from the public. Nigel Patrick, the patriarch of the family, plots along with his wife, Wendy Hiller, and son, Kenneth Fortescue, to murder their extremely wealthy uncle and inherit his fortune. Katie Johnson, Athene Seyler, and Paddy Webster also live in the house, and while everyone pitches in to take part in an "accidental" murder, something always goes wrong! The titular character just can't be killed! Charles Coburn plays the rich uncle. He just has one of those faces that make you want to wrap him up in a big hug, doesn't he? I've had a soft spot in my heart for him ever since I first saw him as Piggy in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and I've called him 'Piggy' ever since. Not only is Piggy absolutely adorable, but his character in How to Murder a Rich Uncle is written to be incredibly likable, so the audience is put in a very difficult situation. How can we possibly root for Nigel Patrick and his family, even though they're the protagonists, when their main goal is to kill the lovable Charles Coburn? The answer is simple: root for Piggy and watch with baited breath and hope he stays alive as long as he can.As a side note, in a very small part, in which he's on screen for only a few minutes and only speaks "Aye" three times, Michael Caine is seen in one of his first movies. This is an adorable, hilarious film that you can't help but love, even though you don't really like the main family. Rent it and see if you like it!

It has been decades since this film, to my knowledge, has been broadcast on British Television. Probably so to stop giving ideas to conniving families, but from what I can remember, it is one of the funniest "black comedies" I have ever seen. If I remember correctly there was a long winded scene involving a poisoned tea-bag which poisoned the wrong person, also when the elderly batty cousin digs out some old cheque books with large amounts paid out in the past, suggesting that as they paid out well before, then surely the cheque book would still be usable. I would relish seeing it again and would sincerely hope it would actually be as funny and enjoyable as I last remember it. See it if you can.

Nigel Patrick does double-duty as star and director of this low-key but hilarious spoof of such genteel British thrillers as AND THEN THERE WERE NONE. John Paxton's script finds rich American uncle Charles Coburn paying a visit to the English ancestral home where, unbeknownst to him, his aristocratic nephew (Patrick) and the rest of the requisite wacky family members are suffering a severe money deficiency. No sooner has kindly old Uncle unpacked than Patrick, his wife Wendy Hiller, and nearly all of the rest of the cash-crazed clan are plotting the unsuspecting Yank's untimely demise in hope of inheriting his fortune. Much to their dismay -- and the viewer's merriment -- all their efforts to provide Coburn with an "accidental death" backfire big-time (heh heh)... Katie Johnson of THE LADYKILLERS fame nearly steals the show as a sweetly dotty yet vaguely spooky cousin who takes a shine to Coburn. I was surprised, though, by the youthful Anthony Newley as the crackpot criminologist suitor of Patrick's and Hiller's daughter. Not only is Newley far less grating than he became in later films, he's downright funny! Also, keep your eyes peeled (or should I say "pealed" :-) for a very young Michael Caine as a gangly bell-ringer. In a running sight gag to which mere words can't do justice, Caine teams up with a much shorter fellow to ring the church bells for each new funeral; I'd even go so far as to say it's one of the highlights of the movie. This...RICH UNCLE is well worth putting out the "Welcome" mat for!