Here Come The Huggetts

UK, 1948. Directed by Ken Annakin. Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Jane Hylton, Susan Shaw, Petula Clark, Jimmy Hanley, Peter Hammond, David Tomlinson, Diana Dors.

Having featured in the previous year’s Holiday Camp, the Huggetts take centre stage in this feature, the second of four big-screen outings for them. This one features them in their home and work environments and is again filled with familiar faces in the supporting roles, including John Blythe, Amy Veness, Clive Morton, Maurice Denham, Doris Hare, Esma Cannon and Dandy Nichols. Amusing now to watch Kathleen Harrison’s deep suspicion of the newly installed telephone in her home! As with the first film, this gives us a slice of British life as it was then in those postwar years – there’s a sense of the old order changing, with elements like the aforementioned telephone. For newcomers trying to follow the series the changing family structure can be a bit confusing – here Petula Clark joins the cast as the youngest daughter, the oldest daughter has lost her baby and Peter Hammond is now the middle daughter’s boyfriend instead of the Huggett’s son. Don’t let it worry you – just sit back and enjoy!