Life with the Lyons ** (1954, Bebe Daniels, Ben Lyon, Barbara Lyon, Richard Lyon) – Classic Movie Review 13,027

Hammer Films’ carefree 1954 British comedy film Life with the Lyons is the first cinema version of the popular radio series, and stars Bebe Daniels and Ben Lyon, with their children Barbara Lyon and Richard Lyon, in a fictionalised version of the family’s life.

Co-writer / director Val Guest’s 1954 British comedy film Life with the Lyons is Hammer Films’ first cinema version of the incredibly popular radio series, starring married couple Bebe Daniels and Ben Lyon, along with their children Barbara Lyon and Richard Lyon, in a fictionalised version of the life of the family, as well as Molly Weir as the family’s Scottish maid, Aggie MacDonald.

It finds what Val Guest calls Hammer ‘lurching into comedy’ for the first time. Though successful, and followed by a sequel, Hammer’s mind and true purpose were elsewhere.

It is a daft comedy tale about the American Lyon family over in Britain trying to to acquire a new house in London’s Marble Arch and get their problematic landlord to sign a lease. Daft it may be, but the sparky performances enliven the cheaply made and cheerfully delivered slice of nostalgia. It cost £28,000 and raked in more than at the £70,00 box office so it was a nice little earner.

Daniels had a hand in creating the radio series and writing the original radio story, along with Bob Block and Bill Harding. Life With the Lyons was created by Daniels, which she developed with Bob Block and Bill Harding, who all regularly worked on the scripts late at night in the family’s basement.

Economically minded Hammer studios, who then specialised in filming radio series, three years later chopped the film into pieces and reissued it as a cinema serial.

It was retitled Family Affair for the US.

Also in the cast are Horace Percival, Molly Weir, Hugh Morton, Doris Rogers, Gwen Lewis, Arthur Hill, and Belinda Lee.

The Lyons somehow managed to persuade producer Michael Carreras, chairman of Hammer Film Productions, into signing a contract where they got a percentage of the film’s profits.

Life with the Lyons [Family Affair] is directed by Val Guest, runs 81 minutes, is made by Hammer Film Productions, is released by Exclusive Films (UK) and Lippert Pictures (US), is written by Val Guest and Robert Dunbar, is shot in black and white by Walter J Harvey, is produced by Michael Carreras and Robert Dunbar, is scored by Arthur Wilkinson and Jack Beaver, and is designed by Wilfred Arnold.

It is a spin-off from the 1950 to 1961 radio series Life with the Lyons, with a screenplay based on earlier episodes of the show. In 1954, the family appeared in a BBC TV special and its success led to this first feature film spin-off, whose success in turn led to the family’s TV series, and a second movie.

It is followed in 1955 by The Lyons in Paris, also directed by Val Guest.

It is shot at Southall Studios in London.

Release date: 25 May 1954.

The studio sets are designed by art director Wilfred Arnold.

Life with the Lyons (1954, Bebe Daniels, Ben Lyon, Barbara Lyon, Richard Lyon).

Ben Lyon told Guest that Hammer wanted to make a film of Life with the Lyons and asked Guest to direct. Guest went into meet James Carreras, chairman of Hammer Film Productions. Guest recalled: ‘He said to me “I don’t know anything about comedy so I’ll leave it to you.”  They’d never done anything that was comedy.’

Guest recalled: ‘They were very cheap and quick to make and we had a lot of fun making them. There were no problems except if Ben lost his temper about something. Ben had a terrifying temper. He had the shortest fuse of anybody I knew. Bebe was the driving force of that team. Great sense of fun, very professional. She was a very clever business woman. She wrote the radio and TV scripts. She had files and files she’d brought from Hollywood. I’d never seen such a file of gags and routines.’

The cast are Bebe Daniels as Bebe Lyon, Ben Lyon as Ben Lyon, Richard Lyon as Richard Lyon, Barbara Lyon as Barbara Lyon, Hugh Morton as Mr Hemingway, Horace Percival as Mr Wimple, Molly Weir as Aggie, Doris Rogers as Florrie Wainwright, Gwen Lewis as Mrs Wimple, Arthur Hill as Slim Cassidy, and Belinda Lee as Violet Hemingway.

Life With the Lyons debuted on BBC Radio on 5 November 1950 as the first scripted situation comedy show in the UK, running for 252 episodes over 11 seasons, ending on 19 May 1961. Two TV shows followed, first on BBC (series 1-2) then on ITV (series 3-5).

Daniels and Block were the writers for all 11 seasons, though Harding left after season three and was replaced by Ronnie Hanbury.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 13,027

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