Thanks to the wonderful world of Twitter the other day I was informed that Talking Pictures TV were showing one of Sid James' early 60s comedy films I was yet to see. I had read about What A Whopper a while back in the excellent Sid James Companion, written by Robert Ross but this is the first time I've seen it on the telly.
The basic premise of the film focusses on a writer who attempts to raise some cash by writing a book about the Loch
Ness Monster. No publisher will take it because they all think there
isn't really a monster. The writer and some of his friends make a fake
monster and take photographs and then travel to Scotland to see if they
can convince the locals.
To be honest it's a fairly slim story for a film but it's light, frothy and a lovely burst of black and white innocent nostalgia for a dull November afternoon. As with many films of this type and era, what really makes this watchable in 2017 is the prime cast of brilliant British comedy actors who appear. Although a vehicle for the sparkling young pop star Adam Faith, the real stars are in the supporting cast. And there are several noteworthy Carry On stars present.
Leading the way is the wonderful Sidney James of course, putting in a classic Hancockian performance as the cheeky Cockney chappie on the make and behind the bar. Sid's effortless charm and boundless appeal are used to the full and it's an absolute joy from start to finish. Carry On original Terence Longdon has a sizable supporting role as Faith's mate Vernon and it's a world away from the posh army types he played in the likes of Carry On Sergeant, Nurse and Regardless.
There is also a lovely, over the top guest starring role for the legendary Charles Hawtrey as painter Arnold, one of a motley crew who shares the living space in Faith's block of flats in Chelsea. It's a classic little role for Hawtrey who used his Carry On fame to great effect at this time, popping up in all manner of productions, pretty much always doing the same kind of thing. Also look out for a supporting role from Terry Scott as a Scottish police sergeant and the lovely Molly Weir as a teacher.
What A Whopper also features interesting little cameos from Clive Dunn doing his old man act years before Corporal Jones in Dad's Army; Wilfrid Brambell as a slightly less than convincing Scottish postman and a typically outlandish cough and spit from the goonish Spike Milligan. As a side note, the glamorous blonde bombshell leading lady is Carole Lesley, who also starred in Doctor in Love at around the same time. Sadly, her career faltered by the 1970s and she was found dead in her house in Barnet, North London at the age of just 38.
The film had a strong pedigree behind the camera too. The music was composed by the brilliant Laurie Johnson, best known for television themes such as The Avengers and The Professionals. The script was written by Terry Nation, who started out writing for Spike Milligan and aspiring writers Jeremy Lloyd and Trevor Peacock (best known for his role in The Vicar Of Dibley) both contributed to the story.
The same year Adam Faith starred in What A Whopper he also played himself in a small role at the end of that other classic of the genre, What A Carve Up! Starring Sid James, Kenneth Connor, Esma Cannon and Shirley Eaton, I've got a blog on that little gem coming up soon.
And finally, according to the internet future Carry On and Coronation Street actress Amanda Barrie makes an uncredited appearance in What A Whopper as a "Chelsea Girl" - let me know if you spot her! Hopefully this little gem will make another appearance in the Talking Pictures TV schedule again soon.
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I decided late last year to treat myself to a few guilty pleasures. There are several films associated with the Carry Ons that I have never seen so I've decided to put that right. I have purchased copies of Doctor In Love, Please Turn Over, Not Now, Comrade and the vintage television sitcom Our House. As I'm a first time viewer of all of these classics, I am going to review each title for the blog. Today I'm discussing Doctor In Love.
Doctor In Love was the fourth entry in the Doctor series of films, produced by Betty Box and directed by Ralph Thomas. Released in 1960, it was the most successful British film of the year. The Doctor films followed a similar line as the Carry Ons although they were not produced as quickly, they had slightly bigger budgets and did not rely quite so much on innuendos and double entendres.
I must admit straight away I did not enjoy this film nearly as much as I thought I would. The Doctor films were very much a starring vehicle for the wonderfully suave, talented Dirk Bogarde and his absence is keenly felt here. Despite the ensemble cast and colourful antics I think this film is really too much of a hotch potch and doesn't satisfy for some reason.
As with most of these films, the cast is bulging with familiar and highly talented comic actors and for the most part the film is carried along by their collective charms. The script for Doctor In Love came from Nicholas Phipps, a recognisable character actor of the era who also appears in the film as Dr Cardew. Phipps also contributed to the scripts for Doctor In The House, Doctor At Sea, Doctor At Large and Doctor in Distress.
Much of the film is carried by Michael Craig as the new romantic lead, replacing Bogarde. Craig does well in the role and makes for a solid leading man. Raffish, comic support comes from Leslie Phillips in the first of his three Doctor films. The duo play young doctors Burke and Hare and the film follows their various misadventures, mainly with members of the opposite sex. There are some funny moments but its not as solid an offering as some of the previous Doctor films and I could do without the coy, twee romantics. Regular Doctor actor James Robertson Justice is on fine form as the bombastic Sir Lancelot Spratt however he is frustratingly limited to a supporting turn.
The main leading ladies in the film are played by Virginia Maskell and Carole Lesley, both putting in fairly strong, confident performances. The best female roles in the film however are taken by the gorgeous Joan Sims and Liz Fraser, who pop up throughout as a pair of hilarious strippers. They first encounter Burke and Hare at a flu research institute, run by a rather butch and bizarre character played by the great Irene Handl. The scenes which see Sims, Fraser, Craig and Phillips all get squiffy on gin are great fun. It's great to see Sims and Fraser working together on screen. You can tell they get on and the pair became lifelong friends in real life. During the flu research scenes the audience also gets to see a bit more of Michael Craig than perhaps the censor had bargained for....(!)
As with so many of the other films or this era, the great joy is spotting so many familiar faces amongst the supporting cast. Of particular note are Ambrosine Phillpotts as Lady Spratt, Nicholas Parsons playing a young doctor at the start of the film, Michael Ward as Irene Handl's rather camp second in command and Fenella Fielding in a rather glamorous, breathy cameo as Mrs Tadwich. There is also blink and you'll miss them cameos from the likes of John Le Mesurier, Esma Cannon, Patrick Cargill, Bill Fraser, Rosalind Knight, Norman Rossington, Marianne Stone and Peter Sallis. Also watch out for a quick few lines from a young Sheila Hancock as a rather prim librarian!
Unfortunately the two leading ladies from this film both had really sad ends. Carole Lesley, a blonde bombshell originally from Chelmsford had fallen on hard times by the early 1970s. Despite other starring roles in films such as What A Whopper and Operation Bullshine, Carole didn't quite achieve the success expected of her. She died of a drug overdose in February 1974 at the age of just 38.
Virginia Maskell, who played Dr Barrington in the film and the love interest for Michael Craig's character, went on to success in films such as The Wild and The Willing, Happy Is The Bride and The Man Upstairs. Maskell took a break from acting in 1962 to concentrate on raising her two sons, however she returned later in the decade with appearances in television series such as Danger Man and The Prisoner. Sadly she was unable to recapture the success of her early career and this, coupled with post-natal depression led her to take an overdose in 1968. She died shortly afterwards at the age of just 31.
Doctor In Love is definitely worth checking out if you are a fan of classic British comedy and the wealth of talented, comedy actors who star here, although it is in my opinion, not the best in the series and it doesn't rival some of the Carry Ons that were being produced at the time. It's a shame Michael Craig didn't make further appearances in the series or cross over for a Carry On or two as he is really very successful in the lead role. Thankfully, Dirk Bogarde would return for the next film the series, Doctor In Distress in 1963, although by then he would be rather frustrated with the films and his pigeonholing as a young romantic lead in light comedies.
So not the best film I've ever seen, by still enjoyable froth for a wet Sunday afternoon!
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