1961 British film by Wolf Rilla
Watch it, Sailor! is a 1961 black and white British comedy film directed by Wolf Rilla and starring Dennis Price, Liz Fraser and Irene Handl.[1] It was based on the 1960 play of the same name by Falkland L. Cary and Philip King, which was a sequel to their earlier play, Sailor Beware, and was filmed in 1956.[2]
Premise
Albert, a sailor, returns home to Britain to marry his fiancée. He is getting drunk at a bar rather than going to the ceremony. A drunk at the bar explains the horror of the mother-in-law syndrome. He eventually leaves with his sailor companion Carnoustie and gets in a car to go to the ceremony but the car (an Austin Six) breaks down. They run to the church but the vicar has postponed the wedding to do a funeral..
Everyone is waiting in the church. The bride Shirley chats with her mother. Meanwhile her father Henry is latest of all and enters the pub which the sailors left and starts to get drunk.
Back at the bride's home the maid of honour, Daphne, says she is going back to the church to see Carnoustie.
However a telegram is received from Lt Comm Hardcastle saying the wedding cannot proceed for legal reasons.
Albert and Carnoustie are now at the church with the vicar and organist.
Production
It was shot at Hammer's Bray Studios in Berkshire. The sets were designed by the art directors Bernard Robinson and Don Mingaye.
Critical reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The cast is crowded with guest stars and talented comedy actors, but slack direction and a flat-footed adaptation from the currently playing stage hit cramp everyone's style. In general it is a case of old jokes and character gimmicks, re-presented without a glimmer of wit or originality."[3]
The Radio Times wrote, "A host of familiar British comedy talent fill out the cast including Irene Handl, Miriam Karlin and Frankie Howerd ... this is unexceptional, though some enjoyment can be found watching the old pros go through their paces."[4]
Allmovie wrote, "the two great scene-stealers in this comedy of errors are Irene Handl as the bride's eccentric (okay, she's just plain dotty) aunt, whose ramblings have a surreal quality; and Dennis Price as the droll-witted officer who is forced by orders to interfere with the impending marriage, and then ordered to make it right. With the cock of an eye-brow or the slight curl of a lip, before he even utters a line, Price dominates every scene in which he appears, and even if the rest of the movie weren't as funny as it is, his performance would be worth the price of admission."[5]
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