This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Blistering performances.

The heirs of two feuding elderly brothers who are the remaining beneficiaries of a Tontine lottery struggle to make sure they're on the side of the last man standing.This opens on a promising scene, where the schoolboys who stand to benefit from the lottery are lectured to by a Dickensian master, but then moves through a montage of untimely deaths that will tell you whether this movie is for you. I found the montage lame and underdeveloped, and nothing that followed improved the experience.Judging by other reviews it's clear comedy is a subjective experience, but it's hard not to see how poorly scripted this story is, how hard the actors struggle to give life to the material, and how many jokes were left on the table.The cast is wonderful, but I did feel sorry for them - especially Caine - having to deliver some really poor lines. Music is whimsical. Nothing else to report. Grrr.Overall: Disappointment verging on resentment.

A stellar cast of British comedians and err.. Michael Cane, were brought together for this glorious romp in 1966.The last two survivors of a tontine (a who dies last wins all investment fund) and their relatives struggle with misidentified corpses and coffins in late Victorian England.Peter Cook and Dudley Moore take the lead as miscreant orphans. John Mills tries to knock the block off Ralph Richardson. Peter Sellers finest moment arrives when he uses a kitten as a blotter. The cine camera almost trips over itself when Tony Hancock turns to face us as the bumbling detective. Wilfrid Lawson shambles about as the unpaid butler. You'll have to be quick to spot many well-known faces such as John Le Mesurier, Leonard Rossiter, Cicely Courtneidge and Irene Handl. And it all ends with a horse-drawn hearse chase. I think they missed a trick with not involving the Venus de Milo in one of the coffins.Thoroughly recommended for 105 minutes of silliness. It all makes sense - honest.

This is the kind of comedy that entertains with twists and turns in the plot. One crazy event leads to another, all caused by mix-ups, assumptions and misunderstandings. That said, it is well written and quite funny in a 1960's British way, with plenty of satire to go along with the zany happenings of the story. Michael Caine, Dudley Moore, and Peter Cook are all good, and Peter Sellers is fantastic in a small role. But ultimately the film comes down to a cleverly crafted plot that was derived from an old novel by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne.The movie is clean enough to watch with your family, though the young kids will miss much of the humor, and some of the comedy comes from the fact that characters pretend to care about the deaths of older family members, when in fact they don't.

In 1800s England, a group of boys gathers in a large room as the details of a "tontine" are read. 20,000 pounds is being invested, and the last survivor of the group will inherit the entire amount.The boys group up to become men. We see the circumstances of each man's death, and with the same music played each time, we witness as that man's name is marked out in pretty much the same way. Some of the deaths are quite funny. Avis Bunnage, as Queen Victoria, does a fine job in a brief scene where she has an accident while knighting one of them.At long last, only two survivors remain, and they happen to be brothers. And Masterman is at death's door--or at least that's how it appears. Joseph, though 74, appears quite young and healthy, and he surely won't be going anywhere anytime soon. This delights the greedy John and Morris, who stand to inherit Joseph's estate when he goes.Masterman's son Michael is in medical school, and the decrepit butler Peacock hasn't been paid in seven years. The family is having to sell off all its possessions to make ends meet, and only a few items of furniture and a precious piano remain. Nevertheless, Michael is a sensible man, unlike his scheming cousins. He is, however, in love with his pretty cousin Julia. This isn't immoral; Julia is adopted.Masterman hasn't seen Joseph in years, but he wants to see this brother just one more time before he goes. Joseph, John and Morris take the train, but there is a terrible accident. John and Morris find a dead body wearing Joseph's jacket and assume it is Joseph. Joseph was in the "water closet", and somehow he doesn't encounter the others again until much later. He hitches a ride and goes into excruciating detail about a number of subjects, finally exasperating the driver into claiming he's reached his destination, so Joseph will have to find other means to get to where he is going.Joseph finally arrives at his brother's place and somehow survives numerous attempts on his life, not realizing what Masterson is doing.Meanwhile, John and Morris plan to box up the body and send it on. John handles this part. Meanwhile, another box is delivered to Masterson's address, containing a statue the intended recipient didn't want. Thanks to on-screen graphics that occasionally appear, this is revealed to be "the wrong box" of the movie's title.Morris must make sure everyone believes Joseph dies after Masterson, and of course Masterson will not likely survive much longer. All he needs is a blank death certificate with a doctor's signature. He can fill in the date so it appears Joseph died later. One physician is unscrupulous enough, and mentally incompetent enough, to do just this. Peter Sellers gives one of the movie's best performances as the bumbling Dr. Pratt, who just loves cats. When he signs the document, he picks up a cat to "seal" his signature. At least I'm guessing that's what he does. It's sort of like what a notary does today, but the cat is pressed to only one side of the paper.And what follows is absolute chaos and hilarity. I have no idea exactly what happens. It involves numerous hearses in wild chases, disruption of an actual funeral, a band concert interrupted numerous times to show respect to the deceased, Salvation Army singers preventing an attempted suicide, and so many incorrect assumptions on the part of the scheming cousins and their victims.Such brilliant writing, so many brilliant actors. Michael Caine isn't actually that funny but so many comedy teams have a straight man. That's what he is, and he does it very well. Same for Nanette Newman as Julia.Ralph Richardson and Peter Cook, of course, deliver hilarious performances. Wilfrid Lawson makes Peacock the butler so appealingly pathetic.This is one of the funniest movies ever.