Bottoms Up (1960 film)

Last updated

Bottoms Up
"Bottoms Up" (1960).jpg
Directed by Mario Zampi
Written by Michael Pertwee
Additional dialogue by
Frank Muir
Denis Norden
Produced byGiulio Zampi
Mario Zampi
Starring Jimmy Edwards
Arthur Howard
Martita Hunt
Sydney Tafler
Mitch Mitchell
Cinematography Gilbert Taylor
Edited by Richard Best
Music by Stanley Black
Production
company
Transocean [Mario Zampi Productions]
Distributed by Warner-Pathé Distributors
Release date
  • 8 March 1960 (1960-03-08)(London)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Bottoms Up is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Mario Zampi, and starring Jimmy Edwards in a spin-off of his TV comedy series Whack-O! , playing the seedy, alcoholic, cane-wielding headmaster of Chiselbury School, a fictional British public school. [1] [2] The screenplay was by Michael Pertwee, with additional dialogue by Frank Muir and Denis Norden.

Contents

The cast includes juvenile actor John "Mitch" Mitchell who in the late 1960s was the drummer in The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Richard Briers in his first film appearance.

Plot

Professor Jim Edwards is the headmaster of Chiselbury School, a private boarding school for boys. A new head of the school's Board of Governors threatens to replace him as headmaster unless he can drastically improve the school's performance. When Edwards is also confronted by his bookmaker demanding money he owes and which he cannot pay, he devises a plan to deal with both problems by agreeing to accept into Chiselbury the bookmaker's son who will impersonate the heir to the throne of an oil-rich (fictional) state in the Middle East, which he hopes will persuade other parents to enroll their sons.

Cast

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Though on a somewhat larger scale (notably in the climactic free-for-all), this comedy closely follows the pattern of the television show. This is probably just as well, since even the overall vigour and furore cannot alone compensate for some heavy-handed slapstick and a rambling script; one really needs a taste for Jimmy Edwards as well." [3]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "The strong supporting cast makes a solid contribution to an otherwise hit-and-miss comedy." [4]

Leslie Halliwell said: "Rambling film version of a successful TV series." [5]

TV Guide called the film an "inane slapstick comedy set in an English boarding school... Forced humour from a slapdash script and direction." [6]

Allmovie wrote: "producer/director Mario Zampi knows where the laughs are and knows how to get them in full measure." [7]

Sky Movies wrote: "it could have been a lot funnier, but, even so, it's a useful record of Edwards in his element." [8]

Related Research Articles

<i>Buster</i> (film) 1988 film by David Green

Buster is a 1988 British romantic crime comedy-drama based on events from the Great Train Robbery, starring Phil Collins and Julie Walters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Edwards</span> English comedy actor (1920–1988)

James Keith O'Neill Edwards, DFC was an English comedy writer and actor on radio and television, known for his roles as Pa Glum in Take It from Here and as headmaster "Professor" James Edwards in Whack-O!.

<i>Whack-O!</i> British TV series 1956–1960 and 1971–1972

Whack-O! is a British sitcom TV series starring Jimmy Edwards. It was written by Frank Muir and Denis Norden.

<i>Its Great to Be Young</i> (1956 film) 1956 British film by Cyril Frankel

It's Great to Be Young is a 1956 British Technicolor musical comedy film about a school music teacher, starring Cecil Parker and John Mills.

<i>Hey! Hey! USA</i> 1938 British film

Hey! Hey! USA is a 1938 British comedy film starring comedian Will Hay, Edgar Kennedy and Eddie Ryan. Hay appears as Benjamin Twist, a porter who accidentally finds himself on a ship bound for the United States. The film features an early appearance by child actor Roddy McDowall, before he went to live in America.

<i>The Early Bird</i> 1965 British film by Robert Asher

The Early Bird is a 1965 British comedy film directed by Robert Asher and starring Norman Wisdom, Edward Chapman, Bryan Pringle, Richard Vernon, John Le Mesurier and Jerry Desmonde. It was the first Norman Wisdom film to be shot in colour. The title is taken from the expression "the early bird catches the worm".

<i>Dry Rot</i> (film) 1956 British film by Maurice Elvey

Dry Rot is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey, and starring Ronald Shiner, Brian Rix, Peggy Mount, and Sid James. The screenplay is by John Chapman, adapted from his 1954 Whitehall farce of the same name.

<i>The Man in the Sky</i> 1957 British film by Charles Crichton

The Man in the Sky is a 1957 British thriller drama film directed by Charles Chrichton and starring Jack Hawkins and Elizabeth Sellars. A test pilot strives to land a stricken prototype plane.

<i>My Wifes Family</i> (1956 film) 1956 British film by Gilbert Gunn

My Wife's Family is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Gilbert Gunn and starring Ronald Shiner, Ted Ray, Greta Gynt, Diane Hart and Robertson Hare. It was written by Gunn and Talbot Rothwell.

<i>All the Way Up</i> (film) 1970 British film by James MacTaggart

All The Way Up is a 1970 British comedy film directed by James MacTaggart and starring Warren Mitchell, Pat Heywood, Kenneth Cranham, Richard Briers, Adrienne Posta and Elaine Taylor. It is based on the 1962 play Semi-Detached by David Turner.

<i>Three Men in a Boat</i> (1956 film) 1956 British film by Ken Annakin

Three Men in a Boat is a 1956 British CinemaScope colour comedy film directed by Ken Annakin, starring Laurence Harvey, Jimmy Edwards, David Tomlinson and Shirley Eaton. It was written by Hubert Gregg and Vernon Harris based on the 1889 novel of the same name by Jerome K. Jerome.

<i>What Changed Charley Farthing?</i> 1974 film by Sidney Hayers

What Changed Charley Farthing?, is a 1975 comedy film directed by Sidney Hayers, starring Doug McClure, Lionel Jeffries, and Hayley Mills. It is based on the 1965 novel of the same title by John Harris.

<i>Old Mother Riley in Paris</i> 1938 British film

Old Mother Riley in Paris is a 1938 British comedy film directed by Oswald Mitchell and starring Arthur Lucan, Kitty McShane, Magda Kun and C. Denier Warren. It is the second in the Old Mother Riley series of films, and is also known by its re-release title, Old Mother Riley Catches a Quisling.

<i>Nearly a Nasty Accident</i> 1961 British film by Don Chaffey

Nearly a Nasty Accident is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Don Chaffey and starring Jimmy Edwards, Kenneth Connor, Shirley Eaton and Eric Barker.

<i>Treasure Hunt</i> (1952 film) 1952 British film by John Paddy Carstairs

Treasure Hunt is a 1952 British comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Martita Hunt, Jimmy Edwards, Naunton Wayne and Athene Seyler. It is based on the 1949 play Treasure Hunt by Molly Keane and John Perry.

<i>The Girl on the Boat</i> (film) 1962 film by Henry Kaplan

The Girl on the Boat is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Henry Kaplan and starring Norman Wisdom, Millicent Martin and Richard Briers. It is based on the 1922 novel of the same name by P.G. Wodehouse.

<i>Postmans Knock</i> (film) 1962 British film by Robert Lynn

Postman's Knock is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Robert Lynn starring Spike Milligan, Barbara Shelley, John Wood and Warren Mitchell. The screenplay concerns a country postman who is transferred to London, where he manages to foil a major robbery.

<i>Top of the Form</i> (film) 1953 British film by John Paddy Carstairs

Top of the Form is a 1953 British black-and-white comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Ronald Shiner, Anthony Newley and Harry Fowler. The film draws inspiration from Will Hay's 1937 classic Good Morning, Boys.

<i>Bell-Bottom George</i> 1943 British film by Marcel Varnel

Bell-Bottom George is a 1943 black and white British comedy musical film, directed by Marcel Varnel, starring George Formby and Anne Firth. A wartime morale booster, it features the songs, "Swim Little Fish", "It Serves You Right", "If I Had A Girl Like You" and "Bell Bottom George." Future Carry On star Charles Hawtrey appears in a small role.

<i>Old Mother Riley in Society</i> 1940 British film

Old Mother Riley in Society is a low budget 1940 black and white British comedy film, directed by John Baxter, and starring Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane. It is the fifth in the long running Old Mother Riley series, and features the screen debut of Jimmy Clitheroe as the boot boy in a high society household.

References

  1. ↑ "Bottoms Up". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  2. ↑ "Bottoms Up | BFI | BFI". Explore.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  3. ↑ "Bronco Bullfrog". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 27 (312): 51. 1 January 1960. ProQuest   1305822201 – via ProQuest.
  4. ↑ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 121. ISBN   9780992936440.
  5. ↑ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 133. ISBN   0586088946.
  6. ↑ "Bottoms Up Review". Movies.tvguide.com. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  7. ↑ "Bottoms Up (1960) - Trailers, Reviews, Synopsis, Showtimes and Cast". AllMovie. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  8. ↑ "Bottoms Up! - Sky Movies HD". Skymovies.sky.com. 6 November 2003. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2014.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.