Ladies Who Do (1963) in Color — Starring Peggy Mount & Robert Morley

Ladies Who Do (1963) — Buy This Classic in Color

Ladies Who Do is a 1963 British comedy directed by C.M. Pennington-Richards and starring Peggy Mount, Robert Morley, Harry H. Corbett and Miriam Karlin. It follows a team of London office cleaners who stumble onto a stock market tip and decide that the City belongs to them as much as it does to the men in pinstripes. Sharp, cheeky and unmistakably British, it is a comedy of class, money and quiet rebellion. Own this classic movie in color as a DRM-free MP4 digital download for just €15.00.

Plot Summary

The film opens in the offices of a City of London firm, where a small team of charwomen go about their nightly work long after the executives have gone home. Among them is Mrs. Higgins, played by Peggy Mount, a woman of strong opinions and stronger common sense who has spent years tidying up after men who consider themselves her betters. The cleaners know the building better than anyone, and they know the men who work in it just as well.

One evening the women come across a discarded financial tip — a scrap of information about a company whose shares are about to rise. What begins as idle curiosity quickly becomes something more serious. The cleaners pool their modest savings and take a gamble on the stock market, an arena that has never once made room for people like them. The men upstairs, meanwhile, have no idea that their own cleaning staff are quietly buying into the very world they preside over.

When the investment pays off, the women find themselves with money and, more dangerously, with opinions. They begin to take an interest in how the firm is run, and the firm does not care for it. Robert Morley appears as one of the establishment figures whose comfortable assumptions are about to be disturbed, while Harry H. Corbett and Miriam Karlin bring further life to a cast of characters caught between deference and ambition.

The comedy sharpens as the women’s new confidence collides with the rigid hierarchies of the City. Their success is not simply financial; it is a challenge to the idea that wisdom and authority belong only to those with the right accent and the right address. The men attempt to reassert control, and the women prove rather harder to manage than anyone expected.

Around them, a rich supporting cast — including Avril Elgar, Dandy Nichols, Jon Pertwee, Joan Benham, Ron Moody and Cardew Robinson — fills out a world of offices, canteens and boardrooms where everyone knows their place, until the people at the bottom decide to move. The film keeps its tone light, but its satire has a genuine edge.

As the story builds toward its conclusion, the central question becomes whether the cleaners can hold on to what they have won — not just the money, but the standing that comes with it. The ending answers a question the whole film has been circling: who really gets to decide what a person is worth?

Cast & Crew

Director: C.M. Pennington-Richards
Stars: Peggy Mount, Robert Morley, Harry H. Corbett, Miriam Karlin, Avril Elgar

Why Buy This Classic in Color?

This professionally colourised edition brings a new dimension to a film whose pleasures are as much visual as verbal. The City of London settings, the period offices and the working streets around them take on a warmth and texture that black and white could only suggest, letting you read the class distinctions of the era in the cut of a coat, the sheen of a boardroom table and the worn fabrics of a cleaning uniform. The restoration reveals detail in the production design that was easy to miss before, and it serves the performances by keeping the focus squarely on faces — Peggy Mount’s formidable composure, Robert Morley’s unruffled authority — now rendered with natural skin tones and period-accurate colour. For anyone who loves British comedy of the early 1960s, this is a chance to see a familiar film afresh. Buy it today for €15.00 and start watching with an instant DRM-free MP4 download.

Historical Significance

Ladies Who Do arrived in 1963 at a moment when British cinema was increasingly interested in class, money and the ordinary people who kept the country running. Directed by C.M. Pennington-Richards, a steady and experienced hand in British film and television, the picture belongs to a tradition of ensemble comedies that drew on the deep bench of British character acting. Its premise — working women outwitting the financial establishment — gave it a satirical bite that audiences recognised immediately.

The film is carried by Peggy Mount, one of the great comic presences of the British stage and screen, whose commanding delivery made her a household name. She is matched by Robert Morley, an actor whose urbane authority was by then internationally familiar, and by Harry H. Corbett, then at the height of his fame from television comedy. Around them, a supporting company including Miriam Karlin, Dandy Nichols, Jon Pertwee, Joan Benham, Ron Moody and Cardew Robinson gives the film the density and rhythm of a well-drilled repertory.

Its subject matter — who gets to participate in wealth, and on what terms — has lost none of its relevance. The film’s gentle but persistent argument that competence and nerve are not the property of any one class keeps it watchable decades later. Colorization brings this sharp little comedy to new audiences, opening it up to viewers who might otherwise pass it by and giving longtime fans a fresh way to enjoy it.

Technical Details

• Format: MP4 / MKV digital download
• Resolution: HD 720p
• Colorized: Professionally colorized from original black and white
• Audio: English original mono
• Runtime: 85 minutes
• DRM-free: Yes — watch on any device
• Instant download: Available immediately after purchase
• Price: €15.00 (token, rendered by the site)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Movie-Specific Questions

Q: Was Ladies Who Do originally filmed in colour?
A: No. Ladies Who Do was shot in black and white, as was common for British comedies of its budget and era. This page offers a later professional colorized restoration, not a studio colour release.

Q: Who plays the lead in Ladies Who Do?
A: The central role of Mrs. Higgins is played by Peggy Mount, one of the most recognisable comic actresses of British stage and screen. She is supported by Robert Morley, Harry H. Corbett, Miriam Karlin, Avril Elgar, Dandy Nichols, Jon Pertwee, Joan Benham, Ron Moody and Cardew Robinson.

Q: What kind of comedy is Ladies Who Do?
A: It is a British satirical comedy about class and money, in which a group of City of London office cleaners invest on a stock market tip and challenge the assumptions of the men they work for. The humour is dry, character-driven and very much of its early-1960s moment.

Digital Download Questions

Q: What format is the download?
A: The film is delivered as MP4 and MKV files that play on virtually any device.
Q: Is there DRM on the file?
A: No. The download is completely DRM-free so you can watch it on any device without restrictions.
Q: How quickly can I watch after purchase?
A: Your download link is available instantly after payment, so you can start watching within minutes.

Related Colorized Classics

• Criss Cross (1949)
• If I Had a Million (1932)
• Hi Diddle Diddle (1943)
• King and Country (1964)
• Mildred Pierce (1945)