Futtocks End

Last updated

Futtocks End
Futtocks End film DVD cover (1970-2).png
DVD cover
Directed by Bob Kellett
Screenplay byRonnie Barker
Produced byBob Kellett
Starring Michael Hordern
Ronnie Barker
Roger Livesey
Julian Orchard
Kika Markham
Richard O'Sullivan
Mary Merrall
Hilary Pritchard
Jennifer Cox
Ernest C. Jennings
Music by Robert Sharples
Production
companies
David Paradine Films, Gannet Films
Release date
  • February 1970 (1970-02)
Running time
45 minutes

Futtocks End is a 1970 British comedy short film directed by Bob Kellett and starring Ronnie Barker, Michael Hordern, Roger Livesey and Julian Orchard. [1] It was written by Barker. Almost entirely without dialogue, the film includes a musical score, sound effects and incoherent mutterings.

Contents

Plot

The story revolves around a weekend gathering at the decaying country home of the eccentric and lewd Sir Giles Futtock and the series of saucy mishaps between the staff and his guests.

Cast

Sir Giles Futtock is another variation on Barker's Lord Rustless character. [2]

Production

It was filmed at Grim's Dyke, the former home of W. S. Gilbert, now a hotel.

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Like Rhubarb , this comedy featurette dispenses with all dialogue except for a series of mumbled noises and squeaks (the rest of the track consists of loud sound effects and a continuous, undistinguished score). Though one or two small gags work quite nicely (as Sir Giles reads a letter in the shower the water removes the writing), they are far too thinly spread, and the whole venture reeks of ancient music hall jokes. The cast seem to be enjoying themselves, but their over-emphatic performances and bits of speeded-up action hardly communicate the fun to the audience." [3]

British film critic Leslie Halliwell said: "A collection of visual gags, rather thinly spread, with dialogue replaced by squeaks and mumblings. Like all Barker's subsequent comedies on similar lines ( The Picnic , By the Sea , etc) one chuckles in constant anticipation of guffaws which never come." [4]

Writing in The Observer , Clive James likened the film to being "given a lolly to suck". [5]

Releases

In 1979 the film was shown, with no prior announcement or explanation, by the BBC in the middle of that year's Miss World broadcast. The programme had in fact been affected by industrial action by sound engineers.[ citation needed ]

The film was released on DVD in June 2006 together with an audio commentary by the producer-director Bob Kellett. It was shown in Trafalgar Square as part of the 2007 St George's Day celebrations.

In 2021 a remastered edition of the film, together with Kellett's 2006 commentary and an 11-minute home movie edition, was released on the Blu-ray anthology Futtocks End and Other Short Stories. The "other short stories" referred to in the title are three other short films produced by Kellett: San Ferry Ann , A Home of Your Own (which also co-starred Barker, and is cited in Kellettt's commentary as an inspiration for Futtocks End), and Vive le Sport. All of these films are remastered in 2K from their original film elements. The complete script appears in All I Ever Wrote by Ronnie Barker (Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd, 2001), as well as Fork Handles: The Bery Vest of Ronnie Barker (Ebury Press, 2013). The script contains some differences from the finished film. As Kellett explains in his commentary, dialogue during the establishing scenes was dropped in favour of an entirely wordless approach. A garden fête scene later in the script was omitted for budgetary reasons.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronnie Barker</span> English actor, comedian and writer (1929–2005)

Ronald William George Barker was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as Porridge, The Two Ronnies, and Open All Hours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Hordern</span> English actor (1911–1995)

Sir Michael Murray Hordern CBE was an English actor. He is best known for his Shakespearean roles, especially King Lear. He often appeared in film, rising from a bit part actor to leading roles; by the time of his death he had appeared in nearly 140 films. His later work was predominantly in television and radio.

<i>The League of Gentlemen</i> (film) 1960 British film by Basil Dearden

The League of Gentlemen is a 1960 British heist action comedy film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Jack Hawkins, Nigel Patrick, Roger Livesey and Richard Attenborough. It is based on John Boland's 1958 novel of the same name, and features a screenplay written by Bryan Forbes, who also co-starred in the film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronnie Corbett</span> Scottish actor and comedian (1930–2016)

Ronald Balfour Corbett was a Scottish actor, broadcaster and comedian. He had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the BBC television comedy sketch show The Two Ronnies. He achieved prominence in David Frost's 1960s satirical comedy programme The Frost Report and subsequently starred in sitcoms such as No – That's Me Over Here!, Now Look Here, and Sorry!

<i>Ill Never Forget Whatsisname</i> 1967 British film by Michael Winner

I'll Never Forget What's 'Isname, also known as The Takers, is a 1967 British comedy-drama film directed and produced by Michael Winner. It stars Oliver Reed and Orson Welles. It was written by Peter Draper. The film deals with creativity and commercialism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Livesey</span> British actor (1906–1976)

Roger Livesey was a British stage and film actor. He is most often remembered for the three Powell & Pressburger films in which he starred: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, I Know Where I'm Going! and A Matter of Life and Death. Tall and broad with a mop of chestnut hair, Livesey used his highly distinctive husky voice, gentle manner and athletic physique to create many notable roles in his theatre and film work.

<i>The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins</i> 1971 British film by Graham Stark

The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins is a 1971 British sketch comedy film directed and produced by Graham Stark. Its title is a conflation of The Magnificent Seven and the seven deadly sins. It comprises a sequence of seven sketches, each representing a sin and written by an array of British comedy-writing talent, including Graham Chapman, Spike Milligan, Barry Cryer and Galton and Simpson. The sketches are linked by animation sequences overseen by Bob Godfrey's animation studio. The music score is by British jazz musician Roy Budd, cinematography by Harvey Harrison and editing by Rod Nelson-Keys and Roy Piper. It was produced by Tigon Pictures and distributed in the U.K. by Tigon Film Distributors Ltd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Four Candles</span> Comedy sketch

Four Candles is a sketch from the BBC comedy show The Two Ronnies, written by Ronnie Barker under the pseudonym of Gerald Wiley and first broadcast on 18 September 1976. Comic effect is largely generated through word play and homophones as an ironmonger or hardware shopkeeper, played by Ronnie Corbett, becomes increasingly frustrated by a customer, played by Barker, because he misunderstands what the customer is requesting.

<i>A Home of Your Own</i> 1965 British film by Jay Lewis

A Home of Your Own is a 1965 British comedy film directed by Jay Lewis and starring Ronnie Barker, Richard Briers, Peter Butterworth and Bernard Cribbins. It was written by Lewis and Johnny Whyte.

<i>Dont Just Lie There, Say Something!</i> 1974 British film by Bob Kellett

Don't Just Lie There, Say Something! is a 1974 British comedy film directed by Bob Kellett and starring Brian Rix, Leslie Phillips, Joan Sims and Joanna Lumley. It was based on the Whitehall farce of the same title written by Michael Pertwee, who also wrote the screenplay. A government minister and his best friend take action in parliament against permissive behaviour in the United Kingdom.

<i>Nothing but the Best</i> (film) 1964 British film by Clive Donner

Nothing but the Best is a 1964 British black comedy film directed by Clive Donner and starring Alan Bates, Denholm Elliott, Harry Andrews and Millicent Martin. The screenplay by Frederic Raphael is based on the 1952 short story "The Best of Everything" by Stanley Ellin.

<i>On the Beat</i> (1962 film) 1962 British film by Robert Asher

On the Beat is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Robert Asher and starring Norman Wisdom, Jennifer Jayne and Raymond Huntley.

Digital Classics DVD Limited is a UK-based DVD label which releases titles in the UK and worldwide across a range of genres: music, arts, documentaries, dramas and classic British comedy. Digital Classics DVD is part of DCD Media, one of Europe’s leading independent TV production and distribution groups.

<i>Father Came Too!</i> 1964 British film by Peter Graham Scott

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Kellett</span> English film director (1927–2012)

Robert Ryerson Kellett was a British film director, film producer and screenwriter, and one of British cinema’s most prominent comedy directors in the 1970s, working with many of the big names of the era, including Ronnie Barker and Frankie Howerd.

Robert Sharples, known as Bob Sharples, was a British musical conductor, composer and bandleader, whose work encompassed films and well-known British television programmes in the 1960s and 1970s, most notably Opportunity Knocks (1964–1978).

<i>Porridge</i> (film) 1979 British comedy film by Dick Clement

Porridge is a 1979 British comedy film directed by Dick Clement and starring Ronnie Barker, Richard Beckinsale, Fulton Mackay and Brian Wilde. It was written by Clement and Ian La Frenais based on their BBC television series Porridge (1974–1977). Most of prison officers and inmates from the original series appear in the film, with the notable exceptions of Lukewarm, Blanco, Heslop, and Harris. There is also a different governor, played by Geoffrey Bayldon rather than series regular Michael Barrington.

The Class sketch is a comedy sketch first broadcast in an episode of David Frost's satirical comedy programme The Frost Report on 7 April 1966. It has been described as a "genuinely timeless sketch, ingeniously satirising the British class system" and in 2005 was voted number 40 in Channel Four's "Britain's 50 Greatest Comedy Sketches". It was written by Marty Feldman and John Law, and features John Cleese, Ronnie Barker, and Ronnie Corbett.

<i>The Comedy Man</i> 1964 British film by Alvin Rakoff

The Comedy Man is a 1964 British kitchen sink realism drama film directed by Alvin Rakoff and starring Kenneth More, Cecil Parker, Dennis Price and Billie Whitelaw. It depicts the life of a struggling actor in Swinging London.

<i>Girl Stroke Boy</i> 1971 British film by Bob Kellett

Girl Stroke Boy is a 1971 British comedy-drama film directed by Bob Kellett and starring Joan Greenwood, Michael Hordern, Clive Francis, and Peter Straker, based on the play Girlfriend by David Percival.

References

  1. "Futtocks End". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  2. Barker, Ronnie (29 May 2014). Fork Handles: The Bery Vest of Ronnie Barker. ISBN   9780091951405.
  3. "Futtocks End". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 37 (432): 111. 1 January 1970 via ProQuest.
  4. Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 385. ISBN   0586088946.
  5. James, Clive (1981) The Crystal Bucket, Pan Macmillan, p.233