Third Time Lucky: A British farce that somehow works

Is it worth it?

If you like those old-school British comedies where everyone is sweating over a piece of paper, you might get a kick out of Third Time Lucky. It is not exactly high art, but it’s got a weird, frantic energy that I kind of dug. If you need explosions or high-stakes drama, look somewhere else. This is for the folks who want a bit of 1930s chaos.

The whole thing kicks off because of some letters. You know the drill—scandalous secrets, a blackmailer, and a rector who really should know better. The setup is simple, but then it gets messy in that way only old movies can manage. It’s honestly a bit of a scramble.

I found the scene where Meggitt shows up at the jumble sale dressed as a Bishop to be genuinely funny. He’s looking for his stolen bonds, but he’s stuck dealing with villagers and church business. Watching him try to maintain his fake persona while losing his mind is the highlight. It reminds me of the pacing in The Last of Mrs. Cheyney, just with less fancy clothes and more dusty church pews.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Third Time Lucky (1931) through its definitive frames.

The dialogue is snappy, maybe a little too snappy at times. Characters walk into rooms and immediately start explaining the entire plot to each other. It’s not subtle. At all. But the actors seem to be having fun with it, which counts for a lot in my book.

Small things I noticed:

• The jumble sale set looks like they just threw every prop they had into a room.
• The Rector’s facial expressions whenever he thinks he’s been caught are gold.
• The safe cracking scene takes roughly three seconds, which is hilarious.
• There is a distinct lack of extras in the background of the village scenes, making the church look tiny.

The middle of the movie drags a bit, honestly. There’s a lot of walking around and talking about who has which envelope. I caught myself checking my watch, but then it picks back up right before the end. It doesn’t pretend to be more than a lighthearted romp, so I can’t be too harsh on it.

It’s not as sharp as some of the other stuff from that era, like Weak But Willing, but it’s got heart. Sometimes a movie just needs to be a bit silly and move on to the next scene. Third Time Lucky gets that right, even if it trips over its own feet a few times.

If you’ve got a rainy afternoon and nothing else on, give it a shot. Just don’t expect to be changed by it. It’s just a nice, weird little story about a bad day for a church rector. ⛪️