Film Review
Bless This House was one of
numerous British TV sitcoms which somehow found their way onto the big
screen in the 1970s (presumably in a misguided attempt to lure
audiences out of their cosy living rooms). Although by no means
the worst offender of this unedifying genre,
Bless This House clearly struggles
to get beyond the confines of its half hour small-screen format and
merely looks like a weak entry in the
Carry On series. It may
seem quaint by today's standards, but the original sitcom was
phenomenally successful in its day and ran to 65 episodes over six series in the
early 1970s.
It is no accident that this resembles a
Carry On film. It was
directed and produced by Gerald Thomas and Peter Rogers, the team that
helmed this popular institution for two decades, and it features many
of the series' most popular stars - Sid James, Peter Butterworth and
Terry Scott, to name just three. Even the score was supplied by
Carry On regular Eric Rogers.
The film also features Robin Askwith, just before he went on to make
the raunchy
Confessions
films, and Terry Scott is partnered with June Whitfield in what looks
like a dry run of their long-running partnership in the TV sitcoms
Happy Ever After and
Terry and June.
Whilst its screenplay is frankly abysmal (its author Dave Freeman would
go on to script some of the absolute worst of the
Carry On films and the even more
dire TV spin-off),
Bless This House
still has a certain charm, thanks to the sheer talent that is placed in
front of the camera. Sid James and Peter Butterworth are two of
the great giants of British comedy and have little trouble salvaging
this third rate comedy disaster. If Sid's hopeless attempts to
plaster a wall don't get you laughing then the sequence in which Sid
and his buddy very nearly blow up half of London with their homemade
distillery almost certainly will. Sally Geeson's attempts to
drown Terry Scott with a hosepipe in a frantic bid to save the planet
(young Gesson was ahead of her time folks) are just as amusing.
It's definitely not a classic but
Bless
This House is still a mildly entertaining diversion if you have
nothing better to do with your time.
© James Travers 2010
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Gerald Thomas film:
Carry on Abroad (1972)
Film Synopsis
Sid and Jean Abbott are a happily married middle-aged couple who live
in a respectable suburban neighbourhood with their teenage children,
Mike and Sally. With Mike's enthusiasm for early morning car
maintenance and Sally's determination to save the planet from waste and
pollution, it isn't long before the family is at war with its new
neighbours, Mr and Mrs Baines. Unaware that Mr Baines is a
customs and excise inspector, Sid happily sets about converting his
shed into a whiskey distillery, whilst Jean opens an antiques stall
with the mountain of bric-a-brac she has accumulated with her friend
Betty. Meanwhile, Mike gets a job in a café and meets an
attractive young woman named Kate. As Mike and Kate embark on the
perfect romance, neither realises that they are next-door
neighbours. Mr Baines's blood pressure is likely to go through
the roof when he learns that his beloved daughter is about to tie the
knot with one of the odious Abbott brood...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.