Forces' Sweetheart (film)

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Forces' Sweetheart
Directed by Maclean Rogers
Produced by E.J. Fancey
Starring Hy Hazell
Harry Secombe
Michael Bentine
Edited by Peter Mayhew
Production
company
Distributed by New Realm Pictures
Release date
November 1953
Running time
76 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Forces' Sweetheart is a 1953 British comedy film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Hy Hazell, Harry Secombe and Michael Bentine. [1] Two gormless soldiers become infatuated with a female entertainer.

Contents

Plot

Recently arrived back home from entertaining British troops in Korea, forces sweetheart Judy James meets with her agent, who has arranged a West End show centred on her and funded by an eccentric English chewing gum magnate Aloysius Dimwitty. Meanwhile, both fantasising that Judy is their fiancée, Flight Lieutenant John Robinson and Private Harry Llewellyn make their way to London to try to meet her. Just before the pair arrive, her actual boyfriend, Lieutenant John Robinson of the Royal Navy, arranges a meeting with her. This allows Llewellyn (who had previously unwittingly decided on the pseudonym Lieutenant John Robinson) and the Flight Lieutenant to be mistaken for their namesake and thus bluff their way into meeting Judy.

Dimwitty leaves abruptly to go back to back to his Scottish castle and – fearing his funding for the show is lost – Llewellyn and the Flight Lieutenant go in pursuit. It emerges that Dimwitty had simply gone north to attend a wedding and he is soon back in London organising a boxing match as a 'first half closer' for the show. Judy's boyfriend proposes to her on the show's opening night, disappointing Llewellyn and the Flight Lieutenant. However, Judy informs the pair that she is one of triplets, the other two of which appear behind Llewellyn and the Flight Lieutenant.

Cast

Critical reception

Monthly Film Bulletin said "This crudely made production has little to recommend it, due mainly to sheer technical inadequacy. Harry Secombe struggles hard to raise laughs, but is hampered by a wardrobe which consists of a tweed suit, black shirt and a corduroy cap – making him appear more alarming than humorous. Michael Bentine, hiding behind a giant moustache, does his best with material unworthy of his comic talents. An undistinguished comedy, well below the "" Goon Show " standard." [2]

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References

  1. "Forces' Sweetheart". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  2. "Forces' Sweetheart". Monthly Film Bulletin . 20 (228): 162. 1953 via ProQuest.