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Hobson's Choice

Hobson's Choice

Comedy · Drama · Romance · 1954

A widower refuses to let his three daughters marry in order to avoid paying settlements, so they'll just have to outsmart him.

Movie details

Hobson's Choice

“A Masterpiece of Lusty, Gusty, Rowdy Entertainment”

1954 Comedy · Drama · Romance 1h 48m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.4 / 10

Community rating

A widower refuses to let his three daughters marry in order to avoid paying settlements, so they'll just have to outsmart him.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Hobson's Choice?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

David Lean

Written by

David Lean · Wynyard Browne · Norman Spencer

Charles Laughton

Charles Laughton

Henry Horatio Hobson

John Mills

John Mills

William Mossop

Brenda De Banzie

Brenda De Banzie

Maggie Hobson

Daphne Anderson

Daphne Anderson

Alice Hobson

Prunella Scales

Prunella Scales

Vicky Hobson

Richard Wattis

Richard Wattis

Albert Prosser

Derek Blomfield

Derek Blomfield

Freddy Beenstock

Court is in session

Put Hobson's Choice on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.