REVIEWS:
- "Made in Heaven" is predicated on one of Britain's most curious annual traditions. During the yearly Dunmow Flitch, a side of bacon is awarded to any married couple who can prove at a public trial that their union has been happy and argument-free for a full year. Among the contestants depicted herein are the members of the Topham family: husband (Charles Victor), wife (Sophie Stewart), son (David Tomlinson), daughter-in-law (Petula Clark) and grandfather (A. E. Mathews). Into this household arrives a saucy Hungarian maidservant (Sonja Ziemann), sending the menfolk into a tizzy. No surprises here, just plenty of laughs--and in Technicolor, to boot.
Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Scripted by playwright William Douglas Home, this sprightly comedy was inspired by the ancient English custom of the “Dunmow Flitch”, in which married couples sought to win a sizeable side of bacon by swearing on Whit Monday to an uninterrupted year of wedded bliss. However, the chances of the ideally suited Petula Clark and David Tomlinson take a dip when they employ a pouting Hungarian maid (Sonja Ziemann). Vicar Richard Wattis and his stern sister (Athene Seyler) add considerably to the fun, which is steadily directed in an amiably sitcom-like way by John Paddy Carstairs and glossily photographed by Geoffrey Unsworth.
David Parkinson
Radio Times Review
- . . .when you get down to analysing the ingredients, it's just cream-puff comedy, really--and the least bit stale cream puff at that. The main thing though is not to analyse but to swallow it whole and enjoy it.
It's well-tried and not always especially true British comedy, but the film as a happy air about it. Attractively grown-up Pet Clark turns in a sparkling performance as the doubting young wife. She manages to hold her own against the devastating eyelashes and flashing, wicked smiles of Sonja Ziemann as the hired help. But it's the old hands at this kind of comedy who really carry the fun along: David Tomlinson, Charles Victor and A.E. Matthews, as son, father and grandfather respectively, all stock characters. Yes it's all gay and merry. It has a springtime spirit--and a springtime look, too in its spruce, sunny Technicolour.
Picturegoer - 6 December, 1952
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