Father's Doing Fine

Father's Doing Fine is a 1952 British comedy film directed by Henry Cass and starring Richard Attenborough, Heather Thatcher, and Noel Purcell, and featuring Sid James. It was based on the 1948 play Little Lambs Eat Ivy by Noel Langley. It was shot at Associated British's Elstree Studios with sets designed by the art director Donald M. Ashton.

Plot
Eccentric widow Lady Buckering lives in splendour in Hampstead, but behind the scenes is struggling with poverty and bringing up four demanding daughters, one of whom is about to have a baby. Also of concern is the very nervous father-to-be and how exactly to deal with her light-fingered butler.

Cast

 * Richard Attenborough as Dougall
 * Heather Thatcher as Lady Buckering
 * Noel Purcell as Shaughnessy
 * George Thorpe as Dr Drew
 * Diane Hart as Doreen
 * Susan Stephen as Bicky
 * Mary Germaine as Gerda
 * Virginia McKenna as Catherine
 * Jack Watling as Clifford Magill
 * Peter Hammond as Roly
 * Brian Worth as Wilfred
 * Sid James as Taxi Driver
 * Ambrosine Phillpotts as Nurse Pynegar
 * Wensley Pithey as Police Constable
 * Jonathan Field as Zookeeper
 * Harry Locke as Father in Zoo

Critical reception
TV Guide called it a "Fast-moving, barely plotted comedy," and "Unpretentious entertainment"; while the Radio Times wrote "such is the precision of Henry Cass's direction and the exuberance of the performances that it's difficult not to be sucked into this frantic world of scatterbrained daughters, disastrous share deals and crooked butlers," concluding that "The pace disguises the fact that the humour has dated somewhat, but there's rarely a dull moment."