Semiquincentennial Movie Project #10: Greased Lightning

 

 

The Semiquincentennial  Movie Project is an ongoing celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. During the course of this project your humble blogger is choosing a movie a week to represent each of the 50 states in the Union, as well as a movie scheduled for 4th of July weekend that will represent the nation's capitol, Washington D.C. The order of the weekly entries will coincide with the order of each state's entry into the fold (although, not necessarily coinciding with the date of their entry into said fold).

 

Week #10:  Virginia

 

The state of Virginia was established on June 25, 1788. 

Details about Virginia:

State bird: cardinal

State flower: American dogwood

State tree: dogwood

Additional historical trivia:

Jamestown was the first English colony in the United States. 

Both the American Revolution and the Civil War were ended in Virginia. Yorktown was the site of the British surrender in the former conflict, and Appomattox Courthouse was the site where the surrender was made official for the latter. 

Speaking of the Civil War, almost half of the battles fought during that conflict occurred in Virginia.  

Also, speaking of the Civil War, not all of the state of Virginia was behind the secessionist movement. A total of 50 counties separated from Virginia to create their own state, West Virginia. 

The state of Kentucky was once a part of Virginia until it received it's own status as a state in 1792.

Mountain Dew, the popular soda pop, originated in Virginia.

Famous people who hail from Virginia: 

Eight Presidents; George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor and Woodrow Wilson were from Virginia. 

Virginia was also the birthplace of such famous people as Booker T. Washington, George C. Scott, Michael Vick, Ella Fitzgerald, and (just because he is a Texas hero) Sam Houston.  

 

Greased Lightning (1977): 

Greased  Lightning is, ostensibly, the story of the first African American NASCAR driver and his trials and tribulations in what was, at the time, an all-white sport. Circa 1945 and beyond, Wendell Scott (Richard Pryor) had to deal with racism from people who still resisted these "uppity n*****s" who were trying to rise above their perceived station (from a racist white point of view).

 

But the racism theme is fairly subdued for the first half of the movie. To be sure, the epithet "n*****" is frequently used, but despite the negative connotation given the word today, much of the time it is not used with animosity towards the main characters. In fact, in an early scene, which involves a young Scott in a bicycle race with a bunch of white kids, it almost comes off as a praise: ("Man, you are one crazy n*****")

 

Given the background of Pryor and the director Michael Schultz (director of such classics as Cooley High, Car Wash, Krush Groove and The Last Dragon), this one is pretty tame by comparison when addressing the racial discrimination issue. It is a primary theme of course, but it's pretty toned down by comparison. 

 

The film opens with the aforementioned bicycle race, which introduces us to just how much of a risk taker Scott is and his determination to win at all costs. From there we segue into a scene in which Scott is returning home from armed forces service during World War II. His bus pulls into the station where there are only a couple of people waiting to welcome him. He expresses disappointment that his friends didn't meet him, but that only lasts until he arrives at home where a surprise party is waiting for him. And he meets the woman, Mary (Pam Grier), who would eventually become his devoted wife.

 

Immediately there is some inner family conflict. it is expected that Wendell is going to work at the factory like everybody else in the family, but he wants to open his own garage. In the meantime he is going to run a taxi. And try to save money for that goal.  But it's slow going. He eventually runs into an old school buddy, Slack (Frederick Dennis Greene), who is helping out a moonshine operation, running the product and outracing the cops and revenuers who want to stop the operation. But the money he gets outweighs any worries about the cops and revenuers...

 

But the fact of the matter is that Wendell has even greater dreams. See, "speed" (as in car speed, not the illegal drug) has always been like a drug...) has always been like a euphoria for Wendell, and he has even bigger dreams: to be a race car driver. Highly unlikely in the 40's, when the race car scene was dominated by a whites only country club style atmosphere. But sometimes fate fan stick it's finger in the pie...

Eventually Wendell gets arrested by the local sheriff, Sheriff Cotton (Vincent Gardenia), after a long series of attempts to get him under lock and key. 

 

Cotton is all for keeping him in prison until the cows come home, but a local bigwig, Billy Joe Byrnes (Noble Willingham) has other ideas. He wants to get this hot shot black driver on the local stock ca race track, not just because he is a damn good driver, but also because it will tweak the rest of the crowd of racists who think that stock car racing is the last bastion of white supremacy.

 

So Billy Joe convinces Cotton to drop the charges and release Wendell, with the proviso that Wendell will enter the race. Of course, Wendell is MORE than willing to help out.

The second half of the film centers on both Wendell's struggles to be accepted as a member of the fraternity club that is opposed to him only because of his heritage of birth, but also a fairly good rivalry between himself and the other hotshot driver on the stock car circuit, Beau Welles (played by Earl Hindman, who, even though he doesn't actually look familiar has a voice that will trigger your memory, since he played the neighbor, Wilson, in the TV series Home Improvement).

 

The film plays a little loose with the actual history of Wendell Scott as a race car driver. For one thing, the major first win on the circuit seems to be coming a lot sooner, time wise, than the actual win did. And whether or not the active racist attitudes towards a black man in the whites only club atmosphere of the stock car racing scene was quite so laid back is questionable. To be sure, there WERE many attempts to knock Wendell out of the race that were probably close to true life, but it seems to me that the racism in the picture is rather toned down, at least from the way I would have THOUGHT it turned out. Which seems a bit odd, given that Pryor was involved in the film.

This film doesn't have a rating on Tomato meter (I guess not enough people reviewed it back in the day), but IMDb has it at a 6.4 (out of 10). I couldn't find any information on the financial side to determine how it fared at the box office, but I imagine it did fairly well among people of color, as well as many Pryor fans. My opinion is that the film is entertaining in it's own right. I can't nitpick on the historical aspect of it too much, since my only background of history of Wendell Scott only comes from research during this movie project. Have to admit I never watched car racing in my younger days (any more than I do now). 

Until next time, folks, drive safely.

Quiggy

 

Semiquincentennial Movie Project #9: All That Money Can Buy

 

 

 

The Semiquincentennial  Movie Project is an ongoing celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. During the course of this project your humble blogger is choosing a movie a week to represent each of the 50 states in the Union, as well as a movie scheduled for 4th of July weekend that will represent the nation's capitol, Washington D.C. The order of the weekly entries will coincide with the order of each state's entry into the fold (although, not necessarily coinciding with the date of their entry into said fold).

 

Week #9: New Hampshire -

 

 

The state of New Hampshire was established on June 21, 1788.

Details about New Hampshire:

State bird: purple finch

State flower: purple lilac

State tree: white birch

Additional historical trivia:

The man who was the inspiration for the "Uncle Sam" character of history, Sam Wilson, grew up in Mason, NH.

Those famous Budweiser Clydesdale horses from the classic beer commercials were originally from New Hampshire.

Always hated those annoying seat belts you are required to use in your state? Move to NH. They are not required there.

Sarah Hale, the founding proponent for declaring Thanksgiving a holiday in the U.S. was from new Hampshire.

Famous people from New Hampshire;

Alan Shepard, the first American to go into space. Franklin Pierce, 14th President of the United States. Mary Baker Eddy, founder of Christian Science. Ronnie James Dio (my favorite vocalist who sang for Rainbow, Black Sabbath and his own solo band, Dio. Maurice and Richard McDonald, original founders of McDonald's fast food franchise. And of course, Daniel Webster, US Senator and the subject of today's film.

 

 

All That Money Can Buy (1941): 

All That Money Can Buy (now often referred to, alternately, as "The Devil and Daniel Webster") was based on a short story written by Stephen Vincent Benet in 1936. The original story seems to have had some background in trying to instill patriotism for the American cause. Remember, in 1936 there was a growing populist movement to keep America isolated, and what with a looming war in Europe raising it's ugly head again, only 25 ears after the last one, much of the populace was of a mind to let Europe fight her own wars. Even by October of 1941, when the film version came out, the basic premise of being a self-supporting entity was the popular viewpoint of the nation.

Maybe all that is hard to see in the actual film by the average person. After all, it's basically just a reworking of the classic German legend of Johann Faust, most popularly remembered as the central character in Goethe's play, titled Faust. Here in the 1941 film, as in the original short story by Benet, the central character is a poor New Hampshire farmer who just can't seem to get an even break and frustratingly says he would "sell his soul to Devil" for just a fair shake.

The patriotism theme comes into play, however, as the protagonist, whose name is Jabez Stone, deals with his neighbors.  He is a self-sufficient soul who resists the unionizing, via the Grange, of the farmers, feeling that such dealings with the government in the form of a union might just smack a little of being underhanded. Also, when after the deal with the Devil produces some wealth, feels an obligation to share the wealth with those same neighbors.

Of course, if it all ended there this would be one short, and decidedly uninteresting story. The wealth eventually turns Jabez into the same kind of person he had previously despised, that of a greedy miser, taking advantage of those same people in their time of need.

 

To begin, we have Jabez (James Craig) who lives with his wife, Mary (Anne Shirley) and his mother (Jane Darwell). He is mostly happy with his lot in life, but one thing after another keep happening that prevents him from getting a step ahead of his creditors. 

 

He owes his banker, Mr. Stephens (John Qualen), a lot of money for his financial help, and every time he thinks things might be looking up, another bad event causes his hopes to be dashed.

 

After a particularly trying day, the frustrated Jabez says that for just two cents he'd sell his soul to the Devil. As luck would have it, the Devil (Walter Huston) overhears him, and presents Jabez with an opportunity, if he only signs a seven year contract for said soul. Immediately after signing the devil reveals a cache of hidden gold under Jabez's barn floor.

 

Ecstatic with his new found wealth, he immediately pays of his banker and starts improving his lot in life. The banker, in a bit of foreshadowing, says he's seen this gold somewhere before (and if you don't get it right away, you probably haven't been paying attention).

Jabez ends up helping his neighbors out too, although he does put a little bit of interest on the loan he gives them, just not the exorbitant rates that Stevens had been charging. Jabez also has money to hire a maid for his wife. His mother, a devout Christian, thinks that Jabez might be going down the wrong path, but he ignores her advice.

 

Eventually things start to look like Jabez really has some outside influence, although no one is quite able to put their finger on it. In order to keep Jabez moving further down his road of destruction, the Devil brings in a new maid that will replace the one that Jabez and Mary hired. The new maid is a very hot and liberated type, Belle (Simone Simon). (Another reviewer I read on this movie intimates she is a succubus, an evil spirit that uses sex to lead victims astray).

 

Jabez gradually becomes someone that the old Jabez would have disdained. When a freak weather storm destroys everyone but Jabez's farm crop, he hires on the farmers to till his own land, but only pays them a pittance for their work. Additionally he is alienating his own wife, who eventually packs up and leaves him.

By the time Jabez comes to his senses, the seven year contract is coming about due. Jabez, having had a change of heart,  wants out, but of course the Devil is going to have none of that. But Mary comes to the rescue. She convinces the great orator and senator Daniel Webster (Edward Arnold) to come to help. The end result is that Webster and the Devil agree to a court hearing. But the Devil stacks the jury and judge against Jabez by bringing some of the most disreputable figures in history to sit in on he trial. (And, of course, all those jurors were former clients of the Devil. Admittedly if you aren't well versed in history, you may not recognize many of them by name, but Benedict Arnold is one of the jurors, and the judge was instrumental in the Salem Witch trials...

 

Daniel Webster then has his work cut out for him. but eventually his oratorical skills win the day. The Devil tears up the contract and moves on. There is a fun scene at the end where he is going through his book of potential next conquests and then looks up at the theater audience finally pointing directly at "you' as the viewer...  So beware!

 

The movie did not garner a profit. Wikipedia actually states it made $50,000 less than it's cost at the theater. Reviews at the time a pretty few and far between at this late a date, but  on the other hand it did get notice at the Oscars. Walter Huston lost the Best Actor award to Gary Cooper for Sergeant York, but te film managed to get an Oscar for Best Music, beating out the likes of Citizen Kane and the aforementioned Sergeant York. (It should be noted there were 20 movies up for the award, so take that how you will).

As a morality tale, the film, as well as the story, may be a bit hard to digest for the fundamentalist Christian. It appears to imply that even at the point of death one still has the opportunity to redeem oneself in  his spiritual life, lending to the idea that one can live as one pleases until the final roll call and still make a last minute adjustment. I'm sure most of my fundamentalist friends would argue to the contrary.

Still, all in all, as just a general folk tale, it's not all that bad a movie. Huston does a good job as the ever deceptive Devil, and Simone Simon reminds me a lot of actresses who came along later who managed to exude sexuality without too much effort (Raquel Welch, Ann-Margaret and Brigit Bardot come to mind...) Should you try it out? I think you'd be OK with at least one viewing, although whether it is re-watchable I can't say.  That's up to you.

Until next time, drive safely folks.

Quiggy

 

 

Semiquincentennial Movie Project #8: D.A.R.Y.L.

 

 

 

The Semiquincentennial  Movie Project is an ongoing celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. During the course of this project your humble blogger is choosing a movie a week to represent each of the 50 states in the Union, as well as a movie scheduled for 4th of July weekend that will represent the nation's capitol, Washington D.C. The order of the weekly entries will coincide with the order of each state's entry into the fold (although, not necessarily coinciding with the date of their entry into said fold).

 

Week #7: South Carolina -

 

The state of South Carolina was established on May 23, 1788 

Details about South Carolina:

State bird: Carolina wren

State flower: Carolina yellow jessamine

State tree: palmetto tree 

Additional historical trivia:

Concerning the Civil War, Fort Sumpter was the site of the first shots ever fired in it. South Carolina was also the first state to secede from the Union.

The Dock Street Theater is the site of the first venue for theater ever established in the United States.

If you've eaten a peach, it's likely it came from South Carolina. The state produces more peaches than even Georgia...

The first game of golf ever played in the U.S. was played in South Carolina.

South Carolina is the only state in the Union that owns and operates the school bus system for the whole state. 

Famous people from South Carolina: Vanna White (from Wheel of Fortune), "Shoeless" Joe Jackson (of the infamous Chicago Black Sox), "Dizzy" Gillespie, "The Godfather of Soul" James Brown and Andrew Jackson (7th U.S. President). 

 

 

 

D.A.R.Y.L. (1985): 

Yet another of the kids vs. science fiction trope that got kicked off with Steven Spielberg's E.T. The Extraterrestrial. This one features Barrett Oliver (and that is his real name, despite the fact that it sounds like it might have been inspired by Ryan O'Neal's character in Love Story, Oliver Barrett.) Oliver had come to prominence the year before after being cast as the lead in the fist The Neverending Story series of films. That role garnered him some attention, as he was nominated for a Young Artist Award in the category of Best Starring performance. (He was beat out by his co-star in the film, Noah Hathaway).

Oliver only had a brief career in film. He was in today's film as well as both Cocoon and Cocoon II: The Return, but by 1989, after a brief 8 year run in the industry, he apparently decided to go a different route. He is currently a photographer and his work as such has been seen in museums and even on film, but he quit the in front of the camera before he even reached the age of maturity. (He was only 16 in his last film).

D.A.R.Y.L. open with a car chase. A boy and an older man are on the run from a plethora of chase vehicles (cars, helicopters, etc.). The older man drops off the boy and continues on it's run, ultimately crashing by driving the car off a cliff. The boy, basically on the run in the woods, ends up being discovered by an older couple and ends up being taken to a children's shelter.  

 

The director of this children's shelter is Howie Fox (Steve Ryan) and his wife Elaine (Colleen Camp). They are neighbors and good friends with the Richardsons, Andy (Michael McKean) and Joyce (Mary Beth Hurt). The Richardson's have been looking to adopt a child, and this boy just might be the start. Although they are told from the beginning that the boy is suffering from a form of selective amnesia... he knows his own name, Daryl, but he can't remember anything about his parents. So basically the Richardsons  can only foster care for the boy until he remembers who he really is.

 

While with the Richardsons it becomes apparent that Daryl is rather unique. He exhibits quite a bit more intelligence than the average 10 year old, and he is polite and respectful to everyone. He also shows an uncanny ability to learn and adapt to new studies, such as becoming a phenomenal home run hitter despite not even knowing how to play baseball when first introduced to it.

 

Eventually two adults show up claiming to be Daryl's real parents, although it is not a spoiler to learn that they actually aren't... they are scientists who had developed this advanced robot, whose real designation is D.A.R.Y.L. (That stands for Data Analyzing Robot Youth Life-form). He is not a real boy, although he probably wants to be. He has developed an affinity for the couple who were raising him, and a friendship with his neighbor, a boy only called "Turtle". In other words, he has exceeded the boundaries of what he was originally developed for: that of a government utility for whatever purposes the government wants him to perform. He was NOT expected to develop a personality or garner any range of human emotions.

 

As a result, the head guy in charge of the government organization (which is never actually named, but is probably the C.I.A., given how that organization operates in these kinds of movies...) orders that the D.A.R.Y.L. program be terminated, and that Daryl be deactivated. The fly in the ointment is that one of the scientists, Dr. Stewaert (Jeffrey Sommer) has let the outsiders of the Fox and Richardson family know of Daryl's true nature. And Dr. Stewart has also gained a conscience, so he plans to fool the government entity that Daryl has been deactivated when in fact he plans on escaping the facility with Daryl.

 

Just how he expected to fool a government entity that has a reputation for knowing when an individual goes to the bathroom despite said individual even realizing there is someone with that knowledge, is anybody's guess. The final reel includes Daryl driving a car like he is in a game of "Pole Position", a video game he has previously become familiar with, and even operating a supersonic jet, which he only learned by being shown how just a bit earlier in the film.

 

If you've watched these kinds of films before you don't need me to tell you how it ends.

The movie was not a big hit at the box office, it didn't even make back it's budget of $10 million. It garnered only a 50% on Rotten Tomatoes, which means half of the reviewers liked it, but half of them didn't. Vincent Camby sums up the good view by saying that "the best thing that can be said about D.A.R.Y.L. is that it's inoffensive... [but] it's pretty silly". Paul Attanasio wrote that "the script is moronic and so riddled with improbabilities that the suspense element never takes root."

My opinion is that it is flawed in some ways, but as a example of 80's children-oriented sci-fi (or fantasy) it fits in as suitable family entertainment. My only real problem is with Michael McKean as the father. I just never could see him in such a straightforward "normal" role, mainly because of characters he had played that I had seen in the past: Lenny on Laverne and Shirley, David St. Hubbins in This is Spinal Tap, Mr. Green in Clue.

Referring back to the starring role actor, Barrett Oliver actually won some acclaim for his performance as Daryl. He won the Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor, beating out, among others, Fairuza Balk in Return to Oz and Jeff Cohen in The Goonies. 

Wee, until next week folks, drive safely.

Quiggy

 

 

A Job For Imbeciles

 

 

This is my entry in the Kenneth Williams Blogathon hosted by The Wonderful World of Cinema.

 

 

The classic Sherlock Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles, first published in 1902 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, has been adapted numerous times, both as a feature film and as part of on an ongoing television series. The story is usually adapted to fit in to whatever the current climate or milieu that is part of the presentation. Many of them featured Sherlock in his own time period of the late 19th and early 20th century. 

 

The BBC TV series Sherlock with Benedict Cumberbatch had an episode, "The Hounds of Baskerville", which had the character investigating the moors of England in the 21st century, and that is one of my favorite depictions of the story. That one includes some mysterious goings on in an Area 51 - like area in the UK, conveniently known as the "Baskerville Research Facility".

 

The original Doyle story has some supernatural aspects to it, but Sherlock, being Sherlock, is dismissive of anything that can't be validated by his logic.  For the most part, those variations present Holmes as the rational logical machine that Doyle presented him as in the canon. The Hound of the Baskervilles, as a novel was originally published as a concession to the overwhelming urging of the public to bring back the character of Holmes to its adoring public. As such, having no desire to resurrect the character from the dead, the story itself, in the context of the canon, takes place in the history between the meeting of Watson and Holmes and Holmes' supposed death at Reichenbach Falls.

Kenneth Williams, one of the comedic minds behind the beloved British comedy series of Carry On... (such as Carry On Cleo, Carry On Sergeant and Carry On Up the Khyber). He was a character in 26 of the 31 Carry On... films. IMDb lists 63 overall credits for Williams, so the Carry On.. films account for a whopping 42% of his output on film.  It is interesting to note that, after his death when his private diaries became public, it was revealed that Williams actually had little regard for the series, although probably some of that had to do with how little money he made off the series.

 

Outside of the Carry On films, Williams had a varied career. He appeared in plays on stage, had roles on BBC radio and television shows, and even wrote several books. People on this side of the pond could be forgiven if they have never heard of any of his output beyond those Carry On films (and there may be quite a number of Americans who would give you a questioning look even if you started taking about THOSE films). But for those who had been around during his heyday in the UK, he was a well known and popular comedian.

In the tradition of comedy films, parody has always been a favorite of mine. And I also have a fairly good collection of movies and TV series featuring Sherlock Holmes. Combining comedy with Sherlock Holmes may seem sacrilege to some aficionados of the Great Detective, but one of my favorite Sherlock films is actually Without a Clue, a parody that postulated that Dr. Watson was the real brains behind the mysteries and that the character of Sherlock was just a figure that Watson created, using an alcoholic actor to pose as Holmes.

This entry falls under that parody genre. It's up to you to determine whether it should be a legitimate Holmes movie, and probably even whether it is a legitimate comedy, for that matter.   

 

 

 The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978):

The opening scene of this film wastes no time in letting you know just how different this Holmes outing is going to be from anything you've ever witnessed before as a pianist (Dudley Moore) comes out on stage to play a chaotic piano intro to our film. This segues into the prologue in which the title card says "French Nuns" as Sherlock Holmes (Peter Cook) wraps up his current case.

 

Only, Holmes hasn't really solved the case. The nuns are concerned about a holy relic that is missing from their church and Holmes helpfully suggests that is is missing because of the "work of thieves." (Thank you, Captain Obvious!) But then, again, maybe he has, because he tells them that, through his extraordinary ability at observation, he knows exactly who stole the relic. It was the member of the congregation that he saw loitering around the place where the relic usually sat, with a bulge that resembled the relic protruding from his pocket. (And why can't Scotland Yard be this "on the ball"...?)

You have to pay attention throughout this movie. Throwaway jokes abound. Like Holmes reading a tome called "Guilt Without Sex". (read that again...)

 

The story proper begins with the arrival of a Dr. Mortimer (Terry-Thomas) from Dartmoor. Mortimer represents the estate of Baskerville. It seems that the estate's prior owner, Sir Charles, had died, of natural causes according to the papers. But Mortimer thinks Sir Charles was murdered. By supernatural means. It turns out that local legend says that every master of the Baskerville estate has had a strange coincidence surrounding their deaths... the appearance of a monstrous hound.

 

Our heroes agree to go to Baskerville Hall and meet the new heir, Sir Henry Baskerville (Kenneth Williams). Sir Henry tells Holmes of  a strange incident recently. Henry had put his boots outside his bedroom door to be shined, but when he went to the door the next morning, one of them was missing... Holmes is aghast. Not at the strange theft, however.

"Do you think I'm going to waste my time combing the streets of London for some old boot? This is a job for an imbecile!" 

 

Holmes declines the case, leaving it in the capable(?) hands of his assistant, Dr. Watson. What follows after this is a discombobulated sequence of seemingly unconnected skits, including a visit to Sherlock's mother (played by Dudley Moore) who is running a scam as a spiritualist leading seances, but it's all fake, with a helper off scene causing tables to rise, etc. 

 

Also, there is a scene that has Sherlock visiting a massage parlor, which may or may not also be operating as brothel (although none of the women are appealing to anyone normal male who would visit a brothel...)

 

There are other scenes that seem to be added to flesh out a 5 minute skit into a full-fledged film, some of which are humorous for about a minute or so, but then become a distraction. For instance, when Sir Henry and Watson show up at the Baskerville estate, they are housed in a room that is ankle deep in water (and with no forthcoming explanation of where the water is coming from, nor with either Sir Henry or Watson commenting on it). 

There is also some very strange parody of The  Exorcist. Why? Who knows. Eventually (after what seems like an interminable time, but is actually only about 90 minutes), the titular hound is revealed to not be some supernatural horror, but an ordinary Irish setter. But getting to that point requires a bit of patience. Which is surprising, since other movies in the Moore / Cook  were actually good and well-made (The Wrong Box, Bedazzled, Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies).

Kenneth Williams, too, might be sub-par, especially when compared to characters he played in the Carry On films. Here Sir Henry is pretty much a stereotypical upper-crust fop, albeit with some not-so-subtle caricatures of gay tendencies. In addition there are a few other cameos that don't always pan out. Denholm Elliot, who shone as Marcus Brody in the early Indiana Jones films and as the butler in Trading Places is seriously overused but not very well drawn out as a guy who has to carry around a chihuahua that has a serious bladder problem. 

 

A lot of blame for the failure of this movie (it was a bomb in every sense of the word) is often placed on the director, Paul Morrisey, a student of Andy Warhol, who although he could do avant-garde films pretty well (Flesh for Frankenstein, Blood for Dracula), had no idea how to work with Moore and Cook in their preferred comedic milieu.  He rewrote the screenplay that Moore and Cook had originally submitted. I wonder what the original actually looked like.

This one has the lowest Rotten Tomatoes rating of any movie I have ever reviewed, only 0%. (I guess negative numbers are not available...) Critics of the time can be summed as saying it was pretty terrible. It surely didn't make much money. It was originally released in the UK in 1978, but didn't make it's way across the pond to the U.S. until 1981 (and I think that primarily was because of the success of the Moore film Arthur... otherwise it might have stayed overseas indefinitely...)

As a relic of the past, I would say only completists who want to watch every Dudley Moore and/or Peter Cook performance (or for that matter Kenneth Williams or any of the other featured actors) should bother with this one. It has very few really funny moments, and most of those happen within the first 10 minutes.

Well, until next time, folks, drive safely.

Quiggy