Here Come the Huggetts
Encyclopedia
Here Come the Huggetts is a 1948 British film, the first of the Huggetts Trilogy
about a working class
English family. All three films were directed by Ken Annakin
and released by Gainsborough Pictures
.
Jack Warner
and Kathleen Harrison
headed the cast as factory worker Joe Huggett and his wife Ethel (the couple had been introduced a year earlier in the film Holiday Camp), with Petula Clark
, Jane Hylton
, and Susan Shaw
as their young daughters (all named after the actresses portraying them) and Amy Veness
as their opinionated grandmother.
Although the plot lines of this and its sequels, Vote for Huggett
and The Huggetts Abroad
(both 1949) were slight -- revolving around such trivialities as a flighty cousin (Diana Dors
) who wrecks the family car, the installation of a telephone, an incursion into municipal politics, and an excursion to South Africa
with a diamond smuggler as a fellow passenger -- they were the type of light comedies that found favor with British audiences still reeling from the impact of World War II
.
Clark, who began her career as a child vocalist on BBC Radio
, sang the tune "Walking Backwards" in the film.
Huggetts Trilogy
The Huggetts Trilogy was a series of three British films released in the late 1940s, released by Gainsborough Pictures, centering around the character of Joe Huggett played by veteran actor Jack Warner, the head of a London family...
about a working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
English family. All three films were directed by Ken Annakin
Ken Annakin
Kenneth Cooper Annakin, OBE was an English film director.- Biography :Annakin grew up in Beverley, Yorkshire where he attended the local school. He began his career in feature films following an early experience making documentaries. His first filmwork was in 1947 with the Rank Organisation...
and released by Gainsborough Pictures
Gainsborough Pictures
Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, London. Gainsborough Studios were active between 1924 and 1951. Built as a power station for the Great Northern & City Railway it...
.
Jack Warner
Jack Warner (actor)
Jack Warner OBE was an English film and television actor. He is closely associated with the role of PC George Dixon, which he played until the age of eighty....
and Kathleen Harrison
Kathleen Harrison
Kathleen Harrison was a prolific English character actress best remembered for her role as Mrs. Huggett in a trio of British post-war comedies about a working class family's misadventures. To modern viewers she is better remembered as Mrs...
headed the cast as factory worker Joe Huggett and his wife Ethel (the couple had been introduced a year earlier in the film Holiday Camp), with Petula Clark
Petula Clark
Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
, Jane Hylton
Jane Hylton
Jane Hylton was an English actress who accumulated 30 film credits, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s, before moving into television work in the latter half of her career in the 1960s and 1970s.-Career:...
, and Susan Shaw
Susan Shaw
Susan Shaw was an English actress.Shaw began her film career in 1946 when she was signed to a contract by the J. Arthur Rank Organisation...
as their young daughters (all named after the actresses portraying them) and Amy Veness
Amy Veness
Amy Veness was a British film actress. She played the role of Grandma Huggett in The Huggetts Trilogy.-Selected filmography:* Please Help Emily * Let Me Explain, Dear * A Southern Maid...
as their opinionated grandmother.
Although the plot lines of this and its sequels, Vote for Huggett
Vote for Huggett
Vote for Huggett is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison and Diana Dors. Warner reprises his role as the head of a London family, in the post-war years. It was the second in the Huggetts Trilogy, after 1948's Here Come the Huggetts. In it,...
and The Huggetts Abroad
The Huggetts Abroad
The Huggetts Abroad is a 1949 British film starring Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Petula Clark and Susan Shaw. It was the final film of the Huggetts Trilogy. After Joe Huggett loses his job, the family decide to emigrate to South Africa travelling via a land route which takes them across Africa....
(both 1949) were slight -- revolving around such trivialities as a flighty cousin (Diana Dors
Diana Dors
Diana Dors was an English actress, born Diana Mary Fluck in Swindon, Wiltshire. Considered the English equivalent of the blonde bombshells of Hollywood, Dors described herself as: "The only sex symbol Britain has produced since Lady Godiva."-Early life:Diana Mary Fluck was born in Swindon,...
) who wrecks the family car, the installation of a telephone, an incursion into municipal politics, and an excursion to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
with a diamond smuggler as a fellow passenger -- they were the type of light comedies that found favor with British audiences still reeling from the impact of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Clark, who began her career as a child vocalist on BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
, sang the tune "Walking Backwards" in the film.
Cast
- Jack WarnerJack Warner (actor)Jack Warner OBE was an English film and television actor. He is closely associated with the role of PC George Dixon, which he played until the age of eighty....
as Joe Huggett - Kathleen HarrisonKathleen HarrisonKathleen Harrison was a prolific English character actress best remembered for her role as Mrs. Huggett in a trio of British post-war comedies about a working class family's misadventures. To modern viewers she is better remembered as Mrs...
as Ethel Huggett - Jane HyltonJane HyltonJane Hylton was an English actress who accumulated 30 film credits, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s, before moving into television work in the latter half of her career in the 1960s and 1970s.-Career:...
as Jane Huggett - Susan ShawSusan ShawSusan Shaw was an English actress.Shaw began her film career in 1946 when she was signed to a contract by the J. Arthur Rank Organisation...
as Susan Huggett - Petula ClarkPetula ClarkPetula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
as Pet Huggett - Jimmy HanleyJimmy HanleyJimmy Hanley was a British actor.Born in Norwich, Norfolk, Hanley began his career as a child actor before becoming popular in juvenile roles...
as Jimmy Gardner - David TomlinsonDavid TomlinsonDavid Cecil MacAlister Tomlinson was an English film actor. He is primarily remembered for his roles as authority figure George Banks in Mary Poppins, fraudulent magician Professor Emelius Browne in Bedknobs and Broomsticks and as hapless antagonist Peter Thorndyke in The Love Bug.-Early life:Born...
as Harold Hinchley - Diana DorsDiana DorsDiana Dors was an English actress, born Diana Mary Fluck in Swindon, Wiltshire. Considered the English equivalent of the blonde bombshells of Hollywood, Dors described herself as: "The only sex symbol Britain has produced since Lady Godiva."-Early life:Diana Mary Fluck was born in Swindon,...
as Diana Hopkins - Peter HammondPeter Hammond (actor)Peter Hammond Hill was an English actor and television director.He made his film début in Waterloo Road in 1945 and went onto carve a career playing handsome boy next door types throughout the late forties and early fifties most notably as Peter Hawtrey in The Huggetts Trilogy - Here Come the...
as Peter Hawtrey - John Blythe as Gowan
- Amy VenessAmy VenessAmy Veness was a British film actress. She played the role of Grandma Huggett in The Huggetts Trilogy.-Selected filmography:* Please Help Emily * Let Me Explain, Dear * A Southern Maid...
as Grandma Huggett - Clive MortonClive MortonClive Morton was an English actor who made many screen appearances, especially on television. In 1955, he appeared in Laurence Olivier's Richard III and is recalled by fans of Doctor Who for his role as Trenchard in The Sea Devils in 1972...
as Mr. Campbell - Maurice DenhamMaurice DenhamMaurice Denham OBE was an English character actor who appeared in over 100 television programmes and films throughout his long career.-Life and career:...
as 1st Engineer - Doris HareDoris HareDoris Hare MBE was a Welsh actress, best known for her appearances as "Mum" in the popular sitcom On the Buses alongside Reg Varney and Stephen Lewis....
as Mrs. Fisher - Esma CannonEsma CannonEsma Ellen Charlotte Cannon was a diminutive Australian-born character actress, who moved to England in the early 1930s.-Career:...
as Youth Leader