film a very positive appraisal. "On the strength of the current mania that some restless people have for automobiles of ancient vintage—what are fondly called "veteran cars"—a British producer-director, Henry Cornelius, has made a film that may cautiously be recommended as one of the funniest farce comedies in years." Box office Genevieve was the second-most popular film at the British box office in 1953. In the U.S. it earned Rank rentals of $560,000. (Another account said $450,000.) According to the National Film Finance Corporation, the film made a comfortable profit. Genevieve initiated a cycle of other comedies from the Rank Organisation. Awards and nominations It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World According to the commentary on the Criterion edition of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, nearly a decade later Rose used Genevieve as the basis for the former, another automobile comedy, but on a larger scale and set in Scotland. He sent an outline to Stanley Kramer, who as luck would have it was ready to make a comedy after a string of intense dramas which had been critical successes but hadn't made money. Kramer agreed to buy the project provided they would change the setting to America. Rose agreed, and he and his wife Tania wrote the screenplay. Released in 1963, the film became the biggest box-office hit of Rose's career. See also BFI Top 100 British films References Notes Bibliography ("from the screenplay by William Rose"). External links 1953 films 1950s sports comedy films British auto racing films 1950s comedy road movies British sports comedy films Fictional cars Films directed by Henry Cornelius Films set in Brighton Films set in London Films shot at Pinewood Studios British comedy road movies Best British Film BAFTA Award winners 1953 comedy films 1950s English-language films 1950s British films