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The Little Hut

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The Little Hut
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMark Robson
Screenplay byF. Hugh Herbert
Based onLa Petite Hutte
1947 play
by André Roussin
The Little Hut
1950 play by Nancy Mitford
Produced byMark Robson
F. Hugh Herbert
StarringAva Gardner
Stewart Granger
David Niven
CinematographyFreddie Young
Edited byErnest Walter
Music byRobert Farnon
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • May 3, 1957 (1957-05-03)
Running time
90 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.7 million[1]
Box office$3.6 million[1]

The Little Hut is a 1957 British romantic comedy film made by MGM starring Ava Gardner, Stewart Granger and David Niven. It was directed by Mark Robson, produced by Robson and F. Hugh Herbert, from a screenplay by Herbert, adapted by Nancy Mitford from the play La petite hutte by André Roussin.

Plot

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High-flying tycoon Sir Philip Ashlow (Granger), his neglected wife, Lady Susan Ashlow (Gardner) and his best friend, pettifogger civil servant Henry Brittingham-Brett (Niven), are shipwrecked on a desert island.

Susan feels neglected and has been trying to make Philip jealous by demonstrating a romantic interest in Henry, who begins taking her seriously. Now that they are alone on the island, Philip constructs a large hut for his wife and himself and a little hut for Henry, but before long Henry is suggesting they share not only food and water but Susan as well.

Opposed to this, Susan nevertheless is offended by Philip's indifferent reaction to Henry's indecent proposal. The quarrel escalates until Philip declares that, as captain of their ship, he feels entitled not only to perform marriages but to grant divorces. He awaits Susan's decision on whether the men should change huts or share and share alike.

This potential ménage à trois where the two men are competing for the lady's attention is interrupted by a fourth visitor. The stranger is dressed in native garb and takes Susan captive, but is soon revealed to be Mario, the chef from their yacht, indulging a whim. The laughter from inside the hut between Susan and Mario is misinterpreted by Henry and her husband as being romantic in nature, arousing jealousy from both men.

After their rescue and return to society, Henry comes to visit Susan to propose they be together. But when he finds her and Philip in domestic repose, and Susan knitting baby booties, he knows the battle for her love is lost.

Cast

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Original play

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The script of The Little Hut was written by the French writer André Roussin, based on his own play La petite hutte (1947). Both play and script are based on another play in Catalan,[2] written by the novelist and playwright Carles Soldevila (1892–1967): Civilitzats tanmateix (Nevertheless civilized) (1921). This play was known in France through a translation by Adolphe de Faigairolle and Francesc Presas, published in 1927 in the magazine Candide.

The play ran for over 1,500 performances in Paris, was translated into English by Nancy Mitford and ran for three years in the West End, starting in 1950 with Robert Morley and David Tomlinson (with Roger Moore as their understudy)[2] at the Lyric Theatre[3] before being made into the film.[4]

The play flopped on Broadway in 1953 despite being directed by Peter Brook. Robert Morley was unable to reprise his performance in New York due to a tax situation.[5]

In 2010, the play was revived starring Aden Gillett and Janie Dee.[4]

Production

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Drive-in advertisement from 1957

There was reluctance to obtain the screen rights due to concern about censorship.[6] In February 1955 F Hugh Herbert and Mark Robson announced they had formed a company to purchase the film rights to the play and make a movie from it.[7]

Herbert had written The Moon Is Blue, which had famously been released without a seal of approval from the Production Code. However Herbert said "after that episode I was determined not to make another picture without a seal."[6]

The screenplay made a number of changes from the play. In the play, the affair was real, but in the film. the wife only pretended to get her husband interested in her. Robson said Herbert had proved with The Moon Is Blue that the censors did not mind if characters "talked about sex as much as you want – as long as nothing happens." The boyfriend became an old admirer of the woman, and the woman and her husband were given a divorce on board the ship. Also a dog was added to interrupt any potential sex moments.[8]

Herbert completed the script by January 1956 and David Niven, Noël Coward and Clifton Webb were being discussed for the male leads.[9] Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer were also discussed.[10] By April, the lead roles had been cast: Niven, Ava Gardner and Stewart Granger.[11] They made the film independently but did a deal with MGM to finance which involved MGM loaning their contract players Stewart Granger and Ava Gardner.[12]

Herbert said it "doesn't matter much where we make the film since 75% of it takes place on a desert island."[13]

It was planned to shoot the whole film in England, but a shortage of suitable studio space made this impossible. The film was shot in England and Italy over August to September 1956, with six weeks filming at the Cinecittà Studios in Rome and some background filming in Italy. Post production was done in England.[6]

Reception

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According to MGM records, the film earned $2,085,000 in North America and $1,515,000 elsewhere, making a profit of $340,000.

It did not perform well at the French box office with admissions of only 591,767.[14]

Mark Robson signed Walter Chiari to a five-picture contract on the basis of his performance calling him a "new Maurice Chevalier".[15]

Notes and references

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  1. ^ a b The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  2. ^ a b Windsor Theatre Programme Note May 2010
  3. ^ Lyric Theatre Information
  4. ^ a b Greenwich Theatre Information
  5. ^ SAM ZOLOTOW (Mar 23, 1953). "WILSON PREPARING FOR BUSY SEASON: Producer Slates 'Little Hut,' 'Quadrille' and 'Apple Cart' for Runs on Broadway". New York Times. p. 27.
  6. ^ a b c ROBERT F. HAWKINS (Sep 9, 1956). "INSIDE A 'LITTLE HUT' IN ITALY: Stage to Screen In Good Taste". New York Times. p. X7.
  7. ^ THOMAS M. PRYOR (Feb 15, 1955). "THE LITTLE HUT' PLANNED AS FILM: F. Hugh Herbert and Mark Robson Form Partnership to Do Play by Roussin". New York Times. p. 32.
  8. ^ Scheuer, Philip K. (Nov 11, 1956). "A Town Called Hollywood: Director Tells How They Cleaned Up 'Little Hut'". Los Angeles Times. p. F2.
  9. ^ Schallert, Edwin (Jan 31, 1956). "Drama: 'Oliver Twist' Looming; 'Panic in Rain,' 'God's Acre' Newly Projected". Los Angeles Times. p. 23.
  10. ^ "Drama: Jeff Richards Takes Star Role of Cowboy". Los Angeles Times. Feb 7, 1956. p. B6.
  11. ^ THOMAS M. PRYOR (Apr 23, 1956). "R.K.O. TO MAKE SPACE-TEST FILM: Feature to Depict Efforts of U.S. Scientists to Launch an Earth Satellite". The New York Times. p. 23.
  12. ^ "Yanks Making Em in Europe". Variety. October 31, 1956. p. 5.
  13. ^ THOMAS M. PRYOR (Mar 27, 1956). "'BILLY BUDD' PLAY IS BOUGHT BY FOX". The New York Times. p. 40.
  14. ^ Box office information for Stewart Granger films in France at Box Office Story
  15. ^ Louella Parsons (Nov 30, 1956). "Walter Chiari Called a New Chevalier". The Washington Post and Times-Herald. p. C12.
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