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RUNTIME
Did you know
89 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
MoodPlayr · trivia#01
The Huggetts Abroad
1949 1h 29m EN
👍
6.8
SOLID
★6.8TMDB · 6
Comedy
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
Life is not going well for the Huggetts. Father has lost his job. Jimmy and his wife cannot get to South Africa where he has a new job. So the family decide that they should go to South Africa by truck. With their travelling companion they travel across the desert which includes a brush with the law.
“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”
Where to watch · US
Cast
Jack Warner
Joe Huggett
Kathleen Harrison
Ethel Huggett
Dinah Sheridan
Jane Huggett
Susan Shaw
Susan Huggett
Petula Clark
Pet Huggett
Jimmy Hanley
Jimmy Gardner
Peter Hammond
Peter Hawtrey
Hugh McDermott
Bob McCoy
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- Ken Annakin
- Writers
- Gerard Bryant, Ted Willis, Mabel Constanduros
- Languages
- English
- Countries
- United Kingdom
Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.
Did you know?
Fun facts 🍿
Cinephile deep dive
The take
Ken Annakin directs. Reginald H. Wyer behind the camera. Gordon Hales cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 189 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
- 277 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
- 3Part of the "Huggett Family Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
- 4Directed by Ken Annakin, shot by Reginald H. Wyer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
- 5Editor Gordon Hales shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
- 6Jack Warner and Kathleen Harrison and Dinah Sheridan carry the top of the cast.
- 7IMDB entry: tt0041489 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
- 8Only 6 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
The technical file
- Cinematography
- Reginald H. Wyer
- Editing
- Gordon Hales
- Runtime
- 89 min · 1h 29m
- Status
- Released
- Original language
- EN
Part of
Huggett Family Collection
The Huggett family, Dad Joe, Mum Ethel, daughters Jane/Susan/Pet, star in these British films from the late 1940s
Also by
Ken Annakin
Community reviews
What people are saying
- CinemaSerf★ 5/10
Easily the most far-fetched outing for our stoical post-war British family, this one sees them embark on a trans-African trip after "Father" (Jack Warner) loses his job and "Jimmy" (Jimmy Hanley) manages to get himself one - in Johannesburg. Needless to say, they haven't two farthings to rub together, and when poor old daughter "Jane" (Dinah Sheridan) can't get a visa to accompany her husband the whole family (with varying degrees of willingness) decide to decamp - by truck - and drive the 4,000-odd miles. Luckily (or not) they have the slightly iffy character of "Bob" (Hugh McDermott) to help (?) them so off they go. It's preposterous, from start to finish - even if back then, Britain still controlled great chunks of Africa. The comedy is absurd and the normally reliable leadership of Warner and on-screen wife Kathleen Harrison is subsumed into an almost episodic lesson in rather poorly written and executed slapstick. The charm and cheeriness of these films was always their selling point. This has neither, really, and at 90 minutes is far too long, too.
Production companies
Who made it
- GA
Gainsborough Pictures
GB
Key crew
- ProducerBetty E. Box
- MusicAntony Hopkins
- EditorGordon Hales
Themes & keywords
What it's about, really
- huggett family
Release history · US
When it landed
- Theatrical1949-03-21
