A rather delightful Lean production, 'Hobson's Choice' really showcases Charles Laughton and John Mills together. Laughton plays the alcoholic, widowed Hobson who lives and works in Salford with his three daughters. All three work in his boot shop and do not receive a salary, and are therefore desperate to leave and move away from him. Hobson doesn't care that much about his two younger daughters, but the oldest Maggie is useful and good at her job, and he makes jokes to his friends about her being an old maid and never finding a husband. Offended by this gossip, Maggie pressures the timid, shy bootmaker Willie who works out of sight downstairs into a relationship. Her father is devastated by this and will not give his blessing, so Maggie and Willie stubbornly get married and open their own shop from a loan lent to them by an ex-customer to prove that they can do it alone. What happens then is that not only does the shop become more profitable than Hobson's, but Maggie and Willie genuinely fall in love.
Lovely film, great acting, and always enjoy seeing a David Lean production.
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