Second Best Bed *** (1938, Tom Walls, Jane Baxter, Veronica Rose, Carl Jaffe, Greta Gynt) – Classic Movie Review 13,443

Director Tom Walls’s 1938 British farcical comedy film Second Best Bed is written by Ben Travers, and stars Tom Walls, Jane Baxter, Veronica Rose, Carl Jaffe, and Greta Gynt.

Director Tom Walls’s 1938 British farcical comedy film Second Best Bed is written by Ben Travers, and stars Tom Walls, Jane Baxter, Veronica Rose, Carl Jaffe, and Greta Gynt.

A comical mix-up leads to a spoiled, newly married young wife (Jane Baxter) walking off to Monte Carlo after suspecting that her rich, much older husband (Tom Walls) harbours affections for a local village girl whom he is helping as the victim in an assault case.

A gentle, very entertaining, precision-aimed farce from the prolific pen of brilliant comedy writer Ben Travers, using a well-worn cast, all of them acting well within the bounds of their considerable capabilities. Tom Walls again shows he is as skilled a film director as he is a comedy performer.

The film’s title is explained in the opening credits: “‘I give unto my wife my second best bed.’ Extract from the will of William Shakespeare.”

It is an independent production at Shepperton Studios by Capitol Film Corporation, and released by General Film Distributors in the UK in January 1938.The sets are designed by Walter Murton.

Carl Jaffe appears as Georges Dubonnet in his film debut.

Tom Walls (18 February 1883 – 27 November 1949).

After an early success in London’s West End with a long-running farce Tons of Money, Tom Walls commissioned and staged a series of farces at the Aldwych Theatre over the next decade, working regularly with Travers.

The cast

The cast are Tom Walls as Victor Garnett, Jane Baxter as Patricia Lynton, Veronica Rose as Jenny Murdoch, Carl Jaffe as Georges Dubonnet, Greta Gynt as Yvonne, Edward Lexy as Murdoch, Tyrell Davis as Whittaker, Mae Bacon as Mrs Whittaker, Ethel Coleridge as Mrs Knuckle, Davy Burnaby as Lord Kingston, Martita Hunt as Mrs Mather, Gordon James as Judge, Charlotte Leigh as Miss Boolbread, C Denier Warren as umpire, Peter Bull as tennis match spectator, H Victor Weske, and Charlotte Leigh.

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,443

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