Cucumber Castle is a British comedy film made for television directed by Hugh Gladwish and starring the Bee Gees, Eleanor Bron and Frankie Howerd.[1] It aired on BBC2 on 26 December 1970.[2][3]
The film's title is taken from a song of the same name featured on the album Bee Gees' 1st in 1967 although the song's lyrical content bears no relation to the film script except for the titular castle.
Plot
The plot revolves around two heirs, Prince Frederick and his brother Prince Marmaduke, and their dying father. On his death bed, the King orders his kingdom divided into two halves, the Kingdom of Jelly and the Kingdom of Cucumbers. Before the king dies, Prince Frederick declares himself the "King of Cucumber" and Prince Marmaduke becomes the "King of Jelly". The film intersperses comedy sketches with Bee Gees songs plus performances by Lulu and Blind Faith with several cameo appearances. At the end, the king changes his mind and comes back, saying "I think those pills are working".
By the time filming began in 1969, the Bee Gees were down to a trio consisting of Barry and Maurice Gibb and the drummer Colin Petersen. Robin Gibb had quit the group earlier in the year following the release of the group's sixth album Odessa. Songs for the film were recorded during the summer of 1969 with Petersen on drums, but when filming began, he was fired from the group. His scenes from the film were cut and he is not credited on the accompanying album, though he does play on some songs.[citation needed]
The five Bee Gees' songs appeared on the album Cucumber Castle released earlier the same year.
An orchestral version of the original Cucumber Castle song plays over the opening credits. The end titles feature a similarly orchestral version of the earlier Bee Gees track Holiday.
The footage of Blind Faith and the likes of Mick Jagger in the crowd weree taken from Blind Faith's Hyde Park performance in 1969.
Home media
The title was briefly released in the U.S. in the early days of home video by the tiny label Video Tape Network, but quickly disappeared from sale. The tape was once cited by Video Review magazine as the rarest commercial release ever, and copies have fetched three figures on the collector's market. It has never since been officially released on home video in any form, though bootlegs have circulated for years.[citation needed]
References
↑ "Cucumber Castle". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
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