British Comedies: some excelllent ones that are rarer....
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- DirectorLewis GilbertStarsEddie ByrneJane BarrettRobert BrownBecause of its high productivity and "almost" 100 per cent employment, the village of Little Hayhoe, England is expecting a visit from the Prime Minister. The "almost" is because of Dan Dance (Eddie Byrne), an old rogue who would rather drink and philosophize than work. The Village Council are determined to have a perfect record so they connive to have the old man put into the alms-house which has been unoccupied for many years, where he must abide by rules laid down 400 years ago. A new Vicar arrives and discovers that, because of the circumstances created by the Council, Dan Dance is entitled to 6,000 pounds a year at the expense of the village.Due to copyright dispute this is a rarity but is a corker. If you can see it it has all the greats and is as funny as anything that Ealing produced.
- DirectorAlex De RakoffStarsMark HeapMichael LernerMichael PeñaFollowing a bizarre series of events, Jimmy, a local amateur boxer, finds himself pitted in a match against the world champion.Orlando's follow-up to LOTR is a geniunely sweet and funny sports comedy. Never shown, it really is a good, kind-hearted, and laugh out loud film.
- DirectorGaby DellalStarsPeter MullanBrenda BlethynBilly BoydFrank determines to salvage his self-esteem and tackle his demons by attempting the ultimate test of endurance - swimming the English Channel.Not strictly a comedy, more a comedy drama with sports, it's uplifting and captures something of Britain's shipbuilding and is most like the Full Monty (but with swimming trunks). A great film full of heart.
- DirectorVal GuestStarsDavid TomlinsonPeter SellersWilfrid Hyde-WhiteDuring the Cold War, an idiotic R.N. lieutenant, who cannot be fired due to his connections, is transferred from the Admiralty to the far away Mothball Fleet to a rusty destroyer whose crew is running an illegal money-making scheme.Fairly rare Peter Seller's Navy Film. There's a follow-up Further Up The Creek with Frankie Howerd that is a real stinker....
- DirectorPat JacksonStarsSidney JamesKenneth ConnorShirley EatonErnie's uncle has just died, but to claim his inheritance he must spend the night in the ancestral home with the rest of his relatives. Before long, the guests begin to drop dead.Sid James in Pre-Carry on crime caper - silly in places, but overall great stuff!
- DirectorRichard LoncraineStarsMichael PalinMaggie SmithTrevor HowardIn the early 20th Century, devout Reverend Charles Fortesque returns to England from his missionary work in Africa and, despite plans to marry his childhood sweetheart, receives a most unusual assignment: minister to the local prostitutes.Palin's spot-on gentle satire on Anglicanism in Victorian Britain. Pythonesque without the surreal.
- DirectorAnthony AsquithLeslie HowardStarsLeslie HowardWendy HillerWilfrid LawsonA phonetics and diction expert makes a bet that he can teach a cockney flower girl to speak proper English and pass as a lady in high society.Not exactly rare, but compared to My Fair Lady it is largely ignored and it is one of the best British Comedies of the 1930s.
- DirectorDavid PaltenghiStarsBrian ReeceMargot GrahameRaymond HuntleyAn American movie company wants to shoot a science-fiction film using a British army barracks as a location, and its soldiers as actors.British Army and National Service: all the usual crew...
- DirectorRoy BoultingJeffrey DellStarsTerry-ThomasPeter SellersLuciana PaluzziA former British colony in dire need of economic aid tries to play the British against the Soviets in an attempt to secure economic aid from either side in return for political loyalty.Not seen as much as Terry-Thomas' others, with Sellers playing multiple roles, High jinx in the Colonies.
- DirectorC.M. Pennington-RichardsStarsIan CarmichaelJanette ScottSidney JamesWhen newlyweds Jack and Peggy face eviction, they are tricked into buying a rundown houseboat. After rebuilding the engine, they take their friends Sid and Sandra on a trip down the river to Folkestone, but somehow they end up in France with no fuel and supplies and must resort to desperate actions to return home.One of my favourites from the pre-Carry on golden age of British Comedy - usual class differences involving the Boating scene.....
- DirectorBryan ForbesStarsJohn MillsMichael CaineRalph RichardsonIn Victorian England, a fortune now depends on which of two brothers outlives the other, or can be made to have seemed to do so.Terrific who's who list and the best use of a tontine (where the person who dies last gets it all) ever...a complete riot with Dudley Moore, Peter Cooke, and Michael Caine, and a huge host of others....
- DirectorGareth CarrivickStarsDave GormanDave Gorman tells the story of his attempt to find 10 'Googlewhacks' (websites containing two unique words when searched on Google) and meet their owners before his 32nd birthday, in order to win a bet.If you can find it this is an extraordinary film about one man's stand-up show of how he travelled the world using Google. Sounds boring, trust me, it's not....
- DirectorBill ForsythStarsJohn Gordon SinclairDee HepburnJake D'ArcyGregory is a normal teen who is infatuated with a classmate. He must work to win her affection.Hardly a rarity - best British double bill ever - this and Chariots of Fire - but it's fallen off the radar so I'll let it in. Quite simply one of the best teenage in love, and the best Scots comedy script - sharp, very funny, and sweet.