Joey Boy (film)

Last updated

Joey Boy
"Joey Boy" (1965 film).jpg
Directed by Frank Launder
Written byFrank Launder
Mike Watts (adaptation and screenplay)
Based onnovel by Eddie Chapman[ citation needed ]
Produced by Sidney Gilliat
Starring Harry H. Corbett
Stanley Baxter
Bill Fraser
Percy Herbert
Lance Percival
Reg Varney
Cinematography Arthur Lavis
Edited byJohn Shirley
Music by Philip Green
Production
company
Temgrange
Distributed by British Lion Films (UK)
Release date
1965
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Joey Boy is a 1965 British comedy war film directed by Frank Launder and starring Harry H. Corbett, Stanley Baxter, Bill Fraser, Percy Herbert, Lance Percival, Reg Varney and Thorley Walters. [1] It was based on the 1959 novel by Eddie Chapman.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Synopsis

After a gang of London Spivs are arrested for running an illegal gambling den during the Second World War they are offered a choice between prison and a tour of duty with the British Army putting their unique talents to work.

Cast

Production

British Lion had been owned by the Conservative government since December 1963. In 1964 the government had it denationalised. Among the films released by British Lion in its first year of independence was Joey Boy, Rotten to the Core , Dr Who and the Daleks and Dr Terror's House of Horrors . By November 1965 British Lion were seeking re-nationalisation. [2]

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This laboured farce makes a peculiarly dispiriting addition to the list of Launder-Gilliat productions. The script, an anthology of clichés of barrack-room and wide-boy humour, interspersed with juvenile horseplay and tired vulgarity, is bereft of wit and originality. Since Frank Launder's sluggish direction fails to remedy these deficiencies, the film is as visually shoddy as it is unfunny. In the circumstances, it is not too surprising that Harry H. Corbett's central performance should resolve itself into an unpleasingly complacent display of mugging, and the experienced supporting players make equally little of their unpromising material. The film does perhaps perk up slightly with the visit of the parliamentary delegation, but only by comparison with the tedium of what has gone before, and the final shot (Harry H. Corbett pulling a lavatory chain) is all too crudely apt." [3]

The Guardian called it a "hopelessly ramshackle vehicle" for Harry Corbett. [4]

Britmovie wrote, "despite pretensions to follow in the same vein as the Boulting Brothers Private's Progress [1956] there’s a distinct lack of humour here, the combined talents of TV comics Harry H. Corbett, Reg Varney and Stanley Baxter are sadly wasted in this fitful film." [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry H. Corbett</span> English actor (1925–1982)

Harry H. Corbett was an English actor and comedian, best remembered for playing rag-and-bone man Harold Steptoe alongside Wilfrid Brambell in the long-running BBC television sitcom Steptoe and Son. His success on television led to appearances in comedy films including The Bargee (1964), Carry On Screaming! (1966) and Jabberwocky (1977).

Stanley Livingstone Baxter is a Scottish actor, comedian, impressionist and author. Baxter began his career as a child actor on BBC Scotland and later became known for his British television comedy shows The Stanley Baxter Show, The Stanley Baxter Picture Show, The Stanley Baxter Series and Mr Majeika.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lance Percival</span> British actor and comedian (1933–2015)

John Lancelot Blades Percival, known as Lance Percival, was an English actor, comedian and singer, best known for his appearances in satirical comedy television shows of the early 1960s and his ability to improvise comic calypsos about current news stories. He later became successful as an after-dinner speaker.

<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.

<i>The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer</i> 1970 British film by Kevin Billington

The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer is a 1970 British satirical film directed by Kevin Billington, and starring Peter Cook, Vanessa Howard and John Cleese. It was co-written by Cook, Cleese, Graham Chapman and Billington. The film was devised and produced by David Frost under the pseudonym "David Paradine".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Lion Films</span> Film production and distribution company

British Lion Films is a film production and distribution company active under several forms since 1919. Originally known as British Lion Film Corporation Ltd, it entered receivership on 1 June 1954. From 29 January 1955 to 1976, the company was known as British Lion Films Ltd, and was a pure distribution company.

<i>Percys Progress</i> 1974 British comedy film by Ralph Thomas

Percy's Progress is a 1974 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Leigh Lawson, Elke Sommer, Denholm Elliott, Judy Geeson and Harry H. Corbett. It was written by Sid Colin, Harry H. Corbett and Ian La Frenais. The film is a sequel to Percy (1971).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Percy Herbert (actor)</span> English actor (1920–1992)

Percy Herbert was an English actor. He worked predominantly from the 1950s into the 1970s and became one of the most recognisable faces in post-war British cinema.

<i>The Wildcats of St Trinians</i> 1980 British film

The Wildcats of St Trinian's is the fifth British comedy film set in the fictional St Trinian's School. Directed by Frank Launder, it was released in 1980.

<i>Adventures of a Private Eye</i> 1977 British film by Stanley Long

Adventures of a Private Eye is a 1977 British sex comedy film directed by Stanley Long and starring Christopher Neil, Suzy Kendall, Harry H. Corbett and Liz Fraser. It followed Adventures of a Taxi Driver (1976), and was followed by Adventures of a Plumber's Mate (1977).

<i>Crooks and Coronets</i> 1969 British film by Jim OConnolly

Crooks and Coronets is a 1969 British crime comedy film written and directed by Jim O'Connolly and starring Telly Savalas, Edith Evans, Warren Oates, Cesar Romero and Harry H. Corbett.

<i>Go for a Take</i> 1972 British film

Go for a Take is a 1972 British comedy film starring Reg Varney and Norman Rossington, directed by Harry Booth. It was released in the United States as Double Take.

<i>Josephine and Men</i> 1955 film by Roy Boulting

Josephine and Men is a 1955 British comedy film directed by Roy Boulting and starring Glynis Johns, Jack Buchanan, Donald Sinden and Peter Finch. Produced by the Boulting Brothers it was shot at Shepperton Studios and distributed by British Lion Films.

Christmas Night with the Stars is a television show broadcast each Christmas night by the BBC from 1958 to 1972. The show was hosted each year by a leading star of BBC TV and featured specially-made short seasonal editions of the previous year's most successful BBC sitcoms and light entertainment programs. Most of the variety segments no longer exist in accordance with the BBC's practice of discarding programmes at the time.

Hardcore is a 1977 British comedy film directed by James Kenelm Clarke and starring Fiona Richmond, Anthony Steel, Victor Spinetti, Ronald Fraser and Graham Crowden. It depicts a highly fictionalised account of the life of Richmond, who was a leading pin-up in the 1970s. It was the first of two movies Anthony Steel made with Richmond.

<i>Royal Cavalcade</i> 1935 film

Royal Cavalcade, also known as Regal Cavalcade, is a 1935 British, black-and-white, drama film directed by six separate directors: Thomas Bentley, Herbert Brenon, Norman Lee, Walter Summers, W. P. Kellino and Marcel Varnel. The film features Marie Lohr, Hermione Baddeley, Owen Nares, Robert Hale, Austin Trevor, James Carew, Edward Chapman and Ronald Shiner as the Soldier in Trenches. The film was presented by Associated British Pictures Corporation.

<i>Rattle of a Simple Man</i> 1964 British film by Muriel Box

Rattle of a Simple Man is a 1964 British comedy-drama film directed by Muriel Box and starring Diane Cilento, Harry H. Corbett and Michael Medwin, based on the 1963 play by Charles Dyer. A naive man who becomes involved with a prostitute.

Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas is a 1977 Christmas television special starring Bing Crosby and his family with special guests Twiggy, David Bowie, Ron Moody, Stanley Baxter and Trinity Boys Choir. It includes a duet by the unusual pairing of Crosby and Bowie on "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy".

The following were mayors of Bournemouth, Dorset, England, Before 1974, Bournemouth was in the county of Hampshire:

<i>Down the Gate</i> Television series

Down the 'Gate is a British comedy television series which ran for two series on ITV from 1975 to 1976. It starred Reg Varney as a fish porter at London's Billingsgate Market.

References

  1. "Joey Boy". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  2. British Lion directors seek renationalisation Our own Reporter. The Guardian 19 Nov 1965: 24.
  3. "Joey Boy". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 32 (372): 56. 1 January 1965 via ProQuest.
  4. A clash of symbols from Russia The Guardian 10 May 1965: 4
  5. "Joey Boy". britmovie.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.