Good start, but then it gets ruined

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

My favourite scenes? At their Brighton hotel (Joyce Grenfell is wonderful) and when Rosalind plays her two numbers on the trumpet! One solitary scene adds so much to this movie, and that is towards the end when the elderly man who loves Darracqs speaks to Alan (without first having been introduced!).

For those critics who seem to resent the "classic" tag that accompanies "Genevieve",I feel it's important to consider just how popular this film was at the time of it's release. At the age of seven, I was already in love with motion pictures;both British and American.Such was the impact and popularity of "Genevieve" down here in Auckland,N.Z. that it was screened in two inner city cinemas simultaneously.Not bad when you consider our small population in 1954. Everyone went to see this film.Personally,I love it and still return to the DVD on a regular basis. What still stands out for me is the casting;all four leads being very polished and most attractive.Even at the age of seven,I fell in love with Dinah Sheridan and was always sorry that her husband talked her into an early retirement. This charming "classic" will continue to give me endless pleasure for as long as I live.

Ambrose Claverhouse is the archetypal Kenneth More part.He's like Jeremy Clarkson without the malice.A 30 - something fairly innocent little boy obsessed with sex and motor - cars in no particular order.Some people have taken exception to the fact that he and his pals are quite posh,well,yes he's middle class,but his twin obsessions are shared by many working class blokes.Perhaps it's all right for Darren from Dagenham to be a petrolhead ladies man but not Charles from Chelsea - but that's the Brits for you ,most of us are snobs of one kind or the other. Driving back from Brighton last weekend I got caught up in the last stages of the Veteran Car Club Rally near the "Black Lion" at Patcham and in a Proustian moment the sweet,silly and ultimately rather sad memories of "Genevieve" swept over me so completely I had to pull up at the side of the road. It is a completely frivolous movie that nobody thought for a moment was going to be any more than a colourful bit of froth to brighten the lives of England's austerity - blighted movielovers. But somehow the basic good nature and decentness of Messrs More and Gregson,the determination and spirit of Mesdames Sheridan and Kendal combined to create an alchemy that spelled gold at the 1955 Box Office and created a legend that has lasted over half a century. Perhaps not appealing to 21st century eyes for it's unfailing cheeriness and good humour,there is not an ounce of meanness or cynicism in it. Clearly such innocence cannot be allowed to have ever existed. Well,I'm here to tell you it did. In real life the VCC Rally is one way,London to Brighton.For the movie Mr More and Mr Gregson turned the return journey into a race with,ultimately,"Genevieve" herself as the prize.In one of the great scenes in British cinema Mr Gregson within sight of the finishing line in "Genevieve" is hailed by an elderly gentleman who proceeds to tell him how he courted his wife fifty years earlier in just such a car. Mr Arthur Wontner only has a few lines but his old - time charm and courtesy are absolutely captivating.Mr Gregson listens patiently to his reminiscences as Mr More goes driving gaily past apparently to win the race but in fact he gets stuck in the tramlines and is whisked away at the last second,the prize slipping from his unbelieving hands. Certainly the world has changed since this picture was made.I'll leave it to you to decide whether it is for the better or not.

Lust, jealousy, ruthless conniving...and that's for starters. No, this isn't a Lana Turner and John Garfield film. This is Genevieve, one of the greatest of the classic English comedies from the late Forties and early Fifties. The movie is witty, warming and, above all else, funny. Genevieve is a 1904 Darrocq roadster, driven by the ordinarily levelheaded young barrister, Alan McKim (John Gregson), on the London to Brighton and back annual antique car rally. By his side is his indulgent and sometimes exasperated wife, Wendy (Dinah Sheridan). Joining him in a 1904 Stryker is Alan's best friend, the irrepressible Ambrose Claverhouse (Kenneth More). Joining Ambrose is the beautiful creature he hopes to have an emotional experience with overnight in Brighton, the elegant and slightly off-center Rosalind Peters (Kay Kendall). Stuffed in the Stryker's small back seat is Suzy, Rosalind's Saint Bernard. And off they go, the cars snorting and puffing, wheezing and sometimes breaking down. We have a chance to see how much the annual rally and Genevieve mean to Alan and how much Gwen, who'd rather be at a party that evening, loves him. We learn what a loud and funny man Ambrose can be, and how just below the surface is a competitive streak just waiting to break free. And we see what a beautiful creature the long-legged and fey Rosalind is, and that she just might be Ambrose's match. Says Rosalind to Wendy, "Ambrose only seems to think about two things. That silly old car - and the other thing." Says Wendy to Rosalind, "What other thing? Oh. My husband only thinks about the car." The four reach Brighton and enough things happen to them to keep us smiling. But then a little misunderstanding leads to a 100 pound bet as to who will get back to London and cross the Westminster Bridge finish line first. What had been a friendly run turns into a cutthroat competition. Ambrose comes into his own...and nice guy Alan matches him. It's not too long before Wendy and Rosalind, who at first thought the men were behaving like boys, join them in the thrill of the race. It's nip and tuck all the way, with stratagems, close calls and some truly ruthless plotting. It's great. Among the many reasons for this movie's charm and success are the four actors. Sheridan is an expert actress and light comedienne, likable and believable. Gregson is stolid but equally likable. They make a nice couple. Almost blowing them away, however, are Kenneth More and Kay Kendall. More had been the confident, energetic bit player or second lead for years. Kendall, with her looks, style and way with words had been slowly inching up the star ladder. With this movie and the following year's Doctor in the House, they both made it to the top. More was a much more versatile and subtle actor than his movie persona might have you believe. Ambrose Claverhouse may be loud and confident, he might even be just a bit of a bully, and he certainly has a victory laugh that will drive you crazy, but More is able with all this to make the guy funny and even appealing. We feel rather sorry for Ambrose when his emotional experience with Rosalind is not to be. Kendall simply was one of a kind...so elegant, so funny, so off the wall. When, tipsy on the champagne Ambrose has been giving her while the four of them dine, Rosalind decides to play the trumpet, Kendall is so funny you'll want to watch the scene again. Kendall has to set up the character at the table. She has to sound a little slurred. She has to walk carefully to the bandstand. She has to mime playing the trumpet, first slowly and sweet and then swinging, and she has to pass out back in her chair. Kendall does all this with exquisite timing and style. She's so funny because she knows not to try for a moment to be funny. Kendall didn't have much time at the top. She died six years later at 33 of leukemia. Not the least of Genevieve's charms is the jaunty, quirky music for the film composed and played by Larry Adler, perhaps the best harmonica player ever. Adler was one of those great American artists who were blacklisted because he wouldn't knuckle under to the vogue for self-abasing testimony before Congressional committees about his political beliefs. Unable to find much work in America he moved to Britain and started over. When Genevieve was released in the United States, his name was removed on the credits as the composer and another name substituted. When the music won an Academy Award, there was no mention of Larry Adler. It took years before the Oscar organization rectified this. Adler decided to stay where he was, in Britain. He kept his citizenship but only returned to the States later for concert or composing gigs.