THE LITTLE HUT

(director: Mark Robson ; screenwriters: from the play by André Roussin. Frederick Hugh Herbert, André Roussin, Nancy Mitford; cinematographer: F.A. Young; editor: Ernest Walter; music: Robert Farnon; cast: Ava Gardner (Lady Susan Ashlow), Stewart Granger (Sir Philip Ashlow), David Niven (Henry Brittingham Brett), Walter Chiari (Mario), Finlay Currie (The Rev. Bertram Brittingham-Brett), Jean Cadell (Mrs. Hermione Brittingham-Brett), Jack Lambert (Capt. MacWalt); Runtime: 96; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: F. Hugh Herbert, Mark Robson; MGM (TCM); 1957)

“A strong cast is not enough to make this French sex farce seem better than slightly charming.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

A strong cast is not enough to make this French sex farce seem better than slightly charming. Writer Frederick Hugh Herbertadapts it from the Andre Roussin risque stage farce that was adapted to the British stage by Nancy Mitford. Director Mark Robson’(“The Ghost Ship”/”Home of the Brave”/”The Bridges at Toko-Ri”) greatest achievement is keeping the film acceptable to the censors. Filming for the most part was in London and on a sound-stage at Rome’s Cinecitta.

The workaholic government official, the English nobleman Sir Philip Ashlow (Stewart Granger), his neglected wife Lady Susan Ashlow (Ava Gardner), and her suave lover Henry Brittingham Brett (David Niven), hubby’s best civil servant friend, are shipwrecked on a deserted South Pacific island. A predictable love triangle ensues.

The love triangle story only seemed like a side order for the marooned diners, feasting on all the oysters. This obsolete absurd film, a commercial flop, is not worth seeking out, unless you can’t resist seeing anything Ava is in.

REVIEWED ON 3/16/2016 GRADE: C