Simon And Laura (1955)

At the BBC, a "reality" television show with the cameras following the daily home life of a happily married famous acting couple (Peter Finch, Kay Kendall) becomes a big hit. In actuality, their marriage is on shaky ground. Based on the play by Alan Melville and directed by Muriel Box (RATTLE OF A SIMPLE MAN). The surfeit of reality TV shows in today's culture are a given so it's a bit surprising to see that over 50 years ago, the idea of a so called "reality" show was already given credence. Of course, the TV show isn't real at all, it's every bit as scripted as the reality TV shows of today and audiences in the film eat it up and buy it just as they do in the present. The film plays it safe and doesn't take advantage of the full potential of the premise that it initially promises. It's a bit amusing to see Finch in a film that satirizes the TV medium that he would return to satirizing 20 years later in his Oscar winning role in NETWORK. But Finch doesn't have the spirit of a farceur but the delightful Kendall (looking great in her Julie Harris wardrobe) does which allows her to walk away with the film, what there is of it worth taking anyway. The benign score is by Benjamin Frankel. With Ian Carmichael, Muriel Pavlow, Maurice Denham, Thora Hird and Jill Ireland.