The Smallest Show on Earth (1957)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

The Smallest Show on Earth (1957) – B. Dearden

Charming Ealing-style comedy (although not quite as broad or zany) that takes place in a dilapidated old cinema (“the fleapit”), inherited by a young couple (Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers). Along with the cinema comes three aged employees, played by Margaret Rutherford, Bernard Miles, and Peter Sellers (underplaying in old age make-up).  The new owners hope to sell the property to a nearby modern cinema that needs the land for a parking lot but the offer is too low – so they decide to run the movie house (making a small profit!) to force their competitor to raise his bid.  Of course, predictable chaos ensues.  There’s also a sentimental moment where the oldsters are caught showing an old silent film (Comin’ Thro the Rye, 1923) late at night with Rutherford accompanying it on the piano.  This sort of British comedy tickles my fancy and, while not uproarious, The Smallest Show definitely elicited a chuckle or two and that warm feeling of affection toward characters you like.  The black comedic ending does tilt toward the similar vein running through Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) or The Ladykillers (1955).  Worth a look.