Up Pompeii (film)

Last updated

Up Pompeii
"Up Pompeii" (1971).jpg
Theatrical poster
Directed by Bob Kellett
Written by Sid Colin
Based onan idea by Talbot Rothwell
Produced by Ned Sherrin
Starring Frankie Howerd
Michael Hordern
Barbara Murray
Cinematography Ian Wilson
Edited byAl Gell
Music by Carl Davis
Production
companies
Anglo-EMI
London Associated Films
Distributed byMGM-EMI
Release date
  • 11 March 1971 (1971-03-11)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£200,000 [1]

Up Pompeii is a 1971 British sex comedy film directed by Bob Kellett and starring Frankie Howerd and Michael Hordern. [2] It was written by Sid Colin based on an idea by Talbot Rothwell.

Contents

It is based on characters that first appeared in the British television sitcom Up Pompeii! (1969–1975).

Plot

Lurcio becomes the inadvertent possessor of a scroll bearing all the names of the proposed assassins of Nero. The conspirators need to recover the scroll fast, but it has fallen into the hands of Lurcio's master, Ludicrus Sextus, who mistakenly reads the contents of the scroll to the Senate. Farcical attempts are made to retrieve the scroll before Pompeii is eventually consumed by the erupting Vesuvius.

Cast

Production

Ned Sherrin had produced the successfulcomedies The Virgin Soldiers (1969) and Every Home Should Have One (1970). He and Terry Glinwood formed Virgin Films, which made seven films beginning with this and included its sequels Up the Chastity Belt (1971) and Up the Front (1971), then Rentadick (1972), Girl Stroke Boy (1971), The Alf Garnett Saga (1972) and The National Health (1973).

Franke Howerd's agent Beryl Vertue sold the idea of a film version of Up Pompeii to Nat Cohen. Sherrin wrote Cohen "had spotted the potency of cheap TV spin-offs and was envious of the Boulting brothers’ success with Till Death Us Do Part (1968)." Cohen hired Sherrin to produce. [3]

In May 1970 it was announced the film would be the first in a series of comedies produced by Ned Sherrin for Anglo-EMI, the second of which would be The Last Virgin Left Alive from a script by Eleanor Bron and John Fortune based on the novel Jam Today by Susan Barratt. [4] Anglo-EMI's head Nat Cohen said "I am convinced the key to recapturing large cinema audiences is a good, uproarious comedy." [5] The deal was negotiated by Vertue, a director of London Associated Films Limited with Cohen and Sherrin. [6]

Sherrin felt "Frankie’s unique comic quality had never been captured on the screen. Nor did we, despite the ingenuity of the director, Bob Kellett, really manage to pin it down." [3] Sherrin says this was because Howerd performed best in front of a live audience and struggled without it. "He was often very funny, particularly in the first two films of the series, but still a fraction of his commanding presence on stage." [7]

Talbot Rothwell wrote the scripts to the television series but was busy writing Carry On movies so the screenplay was written by Sid Colin.[ citation needed ]

The Robert Stigwood Organisation had money in the film. [8] In March 1972 Stigwood would buy out Virgin Films. [9]

Filming took place at MGM-EMI Elstree Film Studios, Borehamwood, in August 1970. Billy Walker the boxer was given his first screen role. [10] The producers were able to use left over sets from Julius Caesar (1970) which had just finished filming. [11]

A version was made for American audiences with six minutes of additional footage including a prologue and epilogue and Lurcio setting the scene. [1]

Reception

Box office

The film was the 10th most popular film at the British box office in 1971. [12] [13] By June 1972 it had earned EMI a profit of £20,000. [14] It led to two sequels.

Critical

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Although the screenplay is credited to Sid Colin, Up Pompeii is distinguishable only by its length from the TV comedy series written by Talbot Rothwell. The jokes are not merely similar but in some cases actually the same; and apart from the clumsily staged eruption of Vesuvius and collapse of Pompeii evidence of an attempt to translate television into cinema is slight. However, the cast is more illustrious than usual, and in addition to Frankie Howerd's asides, fans of the series have an extra treat in Patrick Cargill's accomplished portrayal of boredom in the person of the Emperor Nero." [15]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Unfortunately, the blatantly obvious Carry On -style formula (the cast even features Carry On regular Bernard Bresslaw) only works sporadically. There's more interest in trying to put names to the plethora of familiar British faces in the cast, among them Patrick Cargill as the Emperor Nero and Michael Hordern as the unfortunate Ludicrus Sextus." [16]

Leslie Halliwell said: "Yawnmaking spinoff of a lively TV comedy series: the jokes just lie there, and die there." [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frankie Howerd</span> English actor and comedian (1917–1992)

Francis Alick Howard, better known by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English actor and comedian.

<i>Up Pompeii!</i> British TV sitcom (1969–1991)

Up Pompeii! is a British television comedy series set in ancient Pompeii and broadcast between 1969 and 1970, starring Frankie Howerd. The first series was written by Talbot Rothwell, a scriptwriter for the Carry On films, and the second series by Rothwell and Sid Colin. Two later specials were transmitted in 1975 and 1991 and a film adaptation was released in 1971.

Madeline Smith is an English actress. After working as a model in the late 1960s, she went on to appear in many television series and stage productions, plus comedy and horror films, in the 1970s and 1980s.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Cargill</span> English actor (1918–1996)

Patrick Cargill was an English actor remembered for his lead role in the British television sitcom Father, Dear Father.

Canal+ Image International was a British-French film, television, animation studio and distributor. A former subsidiary of the EMI conglomerate, the corporate name was not used throughout the entire period of EMI's involvement in the film industry, from 1969 to 1986, but the company's brief connection with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Anglo-EMI, the division under Nat Cohen, and the later company as part of the Thorn EMI conglomerate are outlined here.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talbot Rothwell</span> British screenwriter (1916–1981)

Talbot Nelson Conn "Tolly" Rothwell, OBE was an English screenwriter.

Sid Colin was an English scriptwriter, working for radio, television and the cinema. He is best remembered for creating the television comedy The Army Game (1957–59) and writing for Up Pompeii! (1969–1970), as well as films including Carry On Spying and Percy's Progress. He occasionally collaborated with regular Carry On series writer Talbot Rothwell. Earlier in his career, he was a musician and occasional lyricist.

<i>Up the Front</i> 1972 British comedy film by Bob Kellett

Up the Front is a 1972 British comedy film directed by Bob Kellett and starring Frankie Howerd, Bill Fraser, and Hermione Baddeley. It was written by Sid Colin and Eddie Braben. Set during the First World War, it is the third film spin-off from the television series Up Pompeii!. The plot concerns Lurk, a coward who is hypnotised into bravery.

<i>Up the Chastity Belt</i> 1971 British comedy film by Bob Kellett

Up the Chastity Belt is a 1971 British comedy film directed by Bob Kellett and starring Frankie Howerd. It was written by Sid Colin, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beryl Vertue</span> English television producer (1931–2022)

Beryl Frances Vertue was an English television producer, media executive, and agent. She was founder and chairman of the independent television production company Hartswood Films.

<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.

<i>Every Home Should Have One</i> 1970 British film by Jim Clark

Every Home Should Have One is a 1970 British comedy film directed by Jim Clark and starring Marty Feldman. The screenplay was by Marty Feldman, Barry Took and Denis Norden, based on a story by Herbert Kretzmer and Milton Shulman.

<i>Rentadick</i> 1972 British film by Jim Clark

Rentadick is a 1972 British comedy film, directed by Jim Clark and starring James Booth, Richard Briers, Julie Ege, Ronald Fraser and Donald Sinden. It is a spoof spy/detective picture, the plot of which involves attempts to protect a new experimental nerve gas.

<i>A Touch of the Sun</i> (1956 film) 1956 British comedy film

A Touch of the Sun is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Gordon Parry and starring Frankie Howerd, Ruby Murray and Dennis Price. It was written by Alfred Shaughnessy.

<i>The Alf Garnett Saga</i> 1972 British comedy film by Bob Kellett

The Alf Garnett Saga is a 1972 British comedy film directed by Bob Kellett and starring Warren Mitchell, Dandy Nichols, Paul Angelis and Adrienne Posta. The film was the second spin-off from the BBC TV series Till Death Us Do Part (1965–1975). It starts where the first film finished, but with Angelis and Posta now playing Mike and Rita, the roles previously played by Anthony Booth and Una Stubbs.

<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.

<i>The House in Nightmare Park</i> 1973 British film by Peter Sykes

The House in Nightmare Park is a 1973 British comedy horror film directed by Peter Sykes and starring Frankie Howerd, Ray Milland and Hugh Burden. It was one of a number of British comedy films which parodied the successful British horror genre, closely associated with the Hammer Horror films. Its plot follows that of a traditional "Old Dark House" story.

Spiteful Puppet is a British company that produces books, stage plays and audio plays. Among their many releases includes a long running audio series based on Robin of Sherwood alongside many books and audio films.

References

  1. 1 2 Moody, Paul (19 October 2018). EMI Films and the Limits of British Cinema. Springer. p. 104. ISBN   9783319948034.
  2. ↑ "Up Pompeii". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  3. 1 2 Sherrin p 202
  4. ↑ "Cinema". Acton Gazette. 14 May 1970. p. 28.
  5. ↑ "Cinema now for Frankie's UP Pompeii". Evening Standard. 1 May 1970. p. 10.
  6. ↑ "Anglo EMI to make new comedy series". Kine Weekly. 2 May 1970. p. 3.
  7. ↑ Sherrin p 203
  8. ↑ City comment: Thanks to the pound Swan, Hunter; Stigwood, Robert. The Guardian, 2 Aug 1972: 16.
  9. ↑ "Stigwood to control virgin films". The Guardian Journal. 23 March 1972. p. 10.
  10. ↑ "Not a wilder lady, but more amorous". Grimsby Evening Telegraph. 30 December 1970. p. 10.
  11. ↑ Sherrin p 204
  12. ↑ Waymark, Peter (30 December 1971). "Richard Burton top draw in British cinemas". The Times . London, England. p. 2.
  13. ↑ Harper, Sue (2011). British Film Culture in the 1970s: The Boundaries of Pleasure: The Boundaries of Pleasure. Edinburgh University Press. p. 269. ISBN   9780748654260.
  14. ↑ Moody, Paul (19 October 2018). EMI Films and the Limits of British Cinema. Springer. p. 83. ISBN   9783319948034.
  15. ↑ "Up Pompeii". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 38 (444): 84. 1 January 1971 – via ProQuest.
  16. ↑ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 982. ISBN   9780992936440.
  17. ↑ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 1072. ISBN   0586088946.

Notes

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.