Up to His Neck

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Up to His Neck
"Up to His Neck" (1954).jpg
Original British quad poster
Directed by John Paddy Carstairs
Written by
Story by Peter Rogers
Produced by Hugh Stewart
Starring
Cinematography Ernest Steward
Edited by Alfred Roome
Music by Benjamin Frankel
Production
company
Distributed by General Film Distributors
Release date
  • 1 August 1954 (1954-08-01)
Running time
91 minutes [1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Up to His Neck is a 1954 British comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs, starring Ronald Shiner, Hattie Jacques and Anthony Newley. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Plot

Sailor Jack Carter has been marooned for ten years on a South Seas island, and treated as a King by natives. He is eventually rescued by the Royal Navy, who then use him to train up commandos to recover a stolen submarine, and to foil an oriental criminal plot.

Cast

Production

Hugh Stewart got the job of producing when director John Paddy Carstairs refused to work with original producer Paul Soskin so Earl St John of Rank assigned the job to Stewart. [5]

Stewart said "the thing did very well. And because I was able to do some comedy, but also cut loose a bit in terms of daft ideas I then." It led to him producing the films of Norman Wisom. [5]

The film was shot at Pinewood Studios near London with sets designed by the art director Alex Vetchinsky.

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This farce, reminiscent of the pre-war George Formby comedies, seems to have learnt nothing during the intervening years. Most of the jokes fall flat, the pace is forced and there are lapses into dubious taste. Ronald Shiner shouts his way through it all with high spirits and works hard with a script almost devoid of funny lines. Laya Raki, well equipped as the seductive spy, has little to do." [6]

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References

  1. Up to His Neck information on British Board of Film Classification
  2. "Up to His Neck". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  3. Up to His Neck on IMDb
  4. Up to His Neck (1954) Film details
  5. 1 2 "Hugh Stewart". British Entertainment History Project. 22 November 1989.
  6. "Up to His Neck". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 21 (240): 137. 1 January 1954 via ProQuest.