The Smallest Show on Earth
Available on Prime Video, BFI Player Classics
A married couple learns there is no business like show business once they become big time operators of a big screen theater they’ve inherited from a great-uncle in Britain. Matt and Jean Spencer (played by married couple Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna) have inherited the Bijou Kinema, affectionately nicknamed “The Flea Pit,” and need to decide what to do with the whole operation. Their lawyer informs them that a competitor previously offered to buy the property, but when he low-balls the Spencers they decide to reopen the theater as a means of driving up the price. Assisted in their efforts by three staff members played by Margaret Rutherford, Peter Sellers and Bernard Miles, the rival theater owner refuses to budge on his offer until someone lights a fire under his butt.
Starring Bill Travers, Virginia McKenna, Peter Sellers
Director Basil Dearden