The Wrong Box (1966)

Two brothers (John Mills, Ralph Richardson) are the last surviving members of a tontine, an investment endeavor in which the last surviving member inherits 100,000 pounds. Mills plots to murder his brother in order to leave the money to his grandson (Michael Caine) while Richardson's two nephews (Dudley Moore, Peter Cook) mistakenly believing their uncle to be dead attempt to cover up his death till after Mills' death so they can inherit as Richardson's survivors. Directed by Bryan Forbes and with a screenplay by Larry Gelbart (TOOTSIE) and Burt Shevelove (FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM) loosely based on a novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, it's a delightfully droll farce which never sacrifices wit for a cheap laugh. The cast are all game and in peak form. Mills shows a surprising ability for physical comedy while Richardson is perfection as a pontificating windbag, totally unaware of what a bore he is. Even Nanette Newman displays a comic flair as Richardson's dizzy niece who finds eggs obscene and Peter Sellers in a small role as a cat loving doctor of dubious credibility and Wilfrid Lawson as Mills' decaying butler take turns stealing the film. With Tony Hancock, Cicely Courtneidge, Marianne Stone, Leonard Rossiter and Irene Handl. John Barry wrote the subtle score.