Father Came Too!

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Father Came Too!
Father Came Too!.jpg
Directed by Peter Graham Scott
Written by Jack Davies
Henry Blyth
Produced by Leslie Parkyn
Julian Wintle
Starring James Robertson Justice
Leslie Phillips
Stanley Baxter
Sally Smith
Cinematography Reginald Wyer
Edited by Tom Priestley
Music by Norrie Paramor
Production
company
Distributed by J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors
Release date
  • 11 February 1964 (1964-02-11)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Father Came Too! is a 1964 British comedy film directed by Peter Graham Scott and starring James Robertson Justice, Leslie Phillips and Stanley Baxter. [1] It was written by Jack Davies and Henry Blyth.

Contents

It is a loose sequel to The Fast Lady (1962). [2] FilmInk called it "an old school low budget Rank effort." [3]

Plot

Dexter and Juliet Munro are a young newly married couple who move to a run-down country cottage in hopes of escaping from Juliet's overbearing father, Sir Beverly Grant. However, they are soon confronted by their new home's battered structure. Beverley offers help from a reputable building firm, but this help is refused by Dexter, who wants to remain independent of Juliet's father.

Dexter sees an ad in the local paper and employs Josh to do the work. The house is finished, although well over budget, and eventually burns down because Beverley had changed the fuses from 15A to 30A. Roddy Chipfield, their estate agent (and aspiring actor) saves the day, telling Dexter and Juliet that a motorway is soon to be built on their land, so they can sell at a profit, and gives them the keys to a cottage requiring no work in the adjoining field.

Cast

Production

The film was produced by Independent Artists for distribution by Rank. [4] It was shot at Beaconsfield Studios with sets designed by the art director Harry Pottle. [5] The pageant scenes were filmed in the village of Turville in Buckinghamshire. The film's dresses were designed by Julie Harris. [4]

Reception

Box office

Kinematograph Weekly called the film a "money maker" at the British box office for 1964. [6]

Critical reception

Monthly Film Bulletin said "Strained comedy which divides its footage more or less equally between James Robertson Justice's familiar act as a curmudgeonly egotist, and a motley collection of well-worn disaster jokes (falling through rotten floor-boards, sloshing paint all over the place, etc. etc.) In the intervals Stanley Baxter and Sally Smith suggest that they might, given half a chance, make a likeable comedy couple; and good supporting actors like Raymond Huntley, James Villiers, Philip Locke and Timothy Bateson have next to nothing to do." [7]

TV Guide noted "A broad British comedy." [8]

Leslie Halliwell said: "Less funny sequel to The Fast Lady , with comic household disasters striking every couple of minutes. Easy-going, and predictably amusing in spots." [9]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "This is a disappointing outing, considering that it had all the makings of being an amusing inversion of the old mother-in-law joke. James Robertson-Justice stars as the father-in-law from hell who shatters the bliss of newlyweds Stanley Baxter and Sally Smith with his tactless intrusions and incessant hectoring. Such is his dominance of the action that there simply aren't enough gags to go round, leaving Leslie Phillips and Ronnie Barker twiddling their thumbs on the periphery." [10]

References

  1. ↑ "Father Came Too!". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  2. ↑ "Father Came Too!". www.comedy.co.uk.
  3. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (30 July 2025). "Forgotten British Film Studios: The Rank Organisation, 1963 and 1964". Filmink. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Father Came Too!". BFI. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009.
  5. ↑ "Father Came Too (1963) – Peter Graham Scott | Cast and Crew | AllMovie" – via www.allmovie.com.
  6. ↑ Altria, Bill (17 December 1964). "British Films Romp Home – Fill First Five Places". Kinematograph Weekly. p. 9.
  7. ↑ "Father Came Too!". Monthly Film Bulletin . 31 (360): 24. 1964. ProQuest   1305834532.
  8. ↑ "Father Came Too". TVGuide.com.
  9. ↑ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 339. ISBN   0586088946.
  10. ↑ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 311. ISBN   9780992936440.


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