Further Up the Creek

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Further up the Creek
Further Up the Creek film Theatrical release poster (1958).png
UK trade advertisement
Directed by Val Guest
Written by Val Guest
Len Heath
John Warren
Produced byHenry Halstead
Starring David Tomlinson
Frankie Howerd
Shirley Eaton
Cinematography Gerald Gibbs
Len Harris
Edited by Bill Lenny
Music by Stanley Black
Production
company
Distributed by Columbia
Release date
  • 28 October 1958 (1958-10-28)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUK
Language English

Further Up the Creek is a 1958 British comedy film written and directed by Val Guest and starring David Tomlinson, Frankie Howerd, Shirley Eaton, Thora Hird, Desmond Llewelyn and Lionel Jeffries. [1] It served as a follow-up to Up the Creek (1958), with Peter Sellers not reprising his role because it clashed with the filming of The Mouse That Roared (1959). Frankie Howerd replaced him. [2]

Contents

Plot

Navy frigate the "Aristotle" is sold to a Middle Eastern power, and against regulations the ship's bosun tries to make a profit by selling tickets to passengers seeking a luxury cruise. When the Captain discovers what is going on, he attempts to straighten things out. [3]

Cast

Production

Guest said "it wasn't a big success at all. Today you can do Police Academy 2, 3, 4, I don't think Up the Creek 2 was … the gag had been blown somehow." [2]

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Like its predecessor, Up the Creek [1958], this film starts with a fine comic idea which is then exploited in the least enterprising way. Only the most obvious jokes are extracted from the situation and there is a constant desperate scramble to pile absurdity on top of absurdity. In the prevailing poverty David Tomlinson and Frankie Howerd have to resort to grotesque capers to persuade themselves that they are being funny – but with only intermittent success. Shirley Eaton, acting come-hither with supreme lack of restraint, beams her way good-humouredly through a non-existent role, and only Thora Hird, with her bitter aggressiveness, can bring a dash of badly needed astringency into this rather assorted mixture of established gags." [4]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Made in something of a hurry by director Val Guest, as he sought to cash in on the success of Up the Creek, this sequel suffers from both indifferent plotting and the absence of Peter Sellers from the role of the scheming bosun. Exploiting the sale of his ship to the ruler of Algerocco by flogging tickets for a Mediterranean cruise, Frankie Howerd (not a natural before the movie camera) works every gag, as the floating con trick is called to action stations." [5]

TV Guide wrote, "less rather than more, as most follow-ups are." [3]

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References

  1. ↑ "Further Up the Creek". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  2. 1 2 Fowler, Roy (1988). "Interview with Val Guest". British Entertainment History Project.
  3. 1 2 "Further Up The Creek! Trailer, Reviews and Schedule for Further Up The Creek! | TVGuide.com". Movies.tvguide.com. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  4. ↑ "Further Up the Creek". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 25 (288): 142. 1 January 1958 – via ProQuest.
  5. ↑ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 351. ISBN   9780992936440.


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