Three Men in a Boat (1956 film) Three Men in a Boat (1956 film) Three Men in a Boat is a 1956 British CinemaScope colour comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Laurence Harvey, Jimmy Edwards, Shirley Eaton and David Tomlinson. It is based on the 1889 novel "Three Men in a Boat" by Jerome K. Jerome. The film received mixed reviews, but was a commercial success. The film is set in the Edwardian era, Harris, J, and George, want to get away from it all and decide to take a holiday boating up the River Thames to Oxford, taking with them their dog Montmorency. George
Three Men in a Boat discussion of "Advantages of cheese as a travelling companion" was also a memorable extract. The reception by critics varied between lukewarm and hostile. The use of slang was condemned as "vulgar" and the book was derided as written to appeal to "'Arrys and 'Arriets" – then common sneering terms for working-class Londoners who dropped their Hs when speaking. "Punch" magazine dubbed Jerome "'Arry K. 'Arry". Modern commentators have praised the humour, but criticised the book's unevenness, as the humorous sections are interspersed with more serious passages written in a sentimental, sometimes purple, style. Yet the book sold in huge numbers.