George and Mildred

GEORGE AND MILDRED was a spin off from the mid 1970s sit-com MAN ABOUT THE HOUSE . Though I haven't seen the series since it was last broadcast I do remember it being fairly amusing with most of the comedy arising from the eponymous couple going to live beside the snobbish Fourmile family , a sort of LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR without the cynical racist gags .

Having seen this " big screen version of the show " I find myself asking what it's a big screen version of ? Certainly not of a popular mid 70s sit com of the same name . For some reason the movie jettisons all character interaction from the television by having George and Mildred leaving the street where they live behind and getting caught up in a plot involving some serious gangsters who want something George has inadvertently picked up and which leads to some cringe making situations and lines like:

" Did he give it to you "

" No that's the first time a man has resisted my charms "

" I meant the envelope "

You do get the impression that screenwriter Dick Sharples ( Who never wrote an episode for the original sit-com ) has never seen an episode of the source material and has got the show confused with the CARRY ON series of films . In many ways it resembles the same mistakes of the latter LOST IN SPACE movie in that it has absolutely nothing in common with the series that spawned it

This, the last and probably least, of all big screen versions of situation comedies is made even more unfortunate by being released after the untimely death of Youtha Joyce. It is surely not a way she would have wanted to have been remembered. This follows all the established clichés of other sitcom adaptations: going on holiday, mistaken identity, and the involvement of incompetent organised crime (the main villain is occasionally seen bald and sometimes bewigged, no doubt a homage to Lex Luthor in the contemporaneous Superman film). A whole plethora of bit-part British actors of the period gives a slight pleasure since the viewers can entertain themselves with the "What's his name? I recognise the face. Wasn't he in-?" game. Otherwise this is a painful experience. The script is dreadful even by spin off standards. Everything here is lazy and more importantly, unfunny. Typical scene: A hit-man runs up a flight of stairs to kill George and out of breath, he talks to Mildred about his children, then takes the lift down only to run up again, spots George (by chance) but then not kill him. Its a drawn out and embarrassingly bad sequence and not remotely amusing. In the end, the villains chase George and Mildred in their car. We are told repeatedly they are going down a dead end. However the road (unlike the script) is not a dead end. After the villains have a cheaply shot and unfunny crash, the Ropers end up on an airfield which seems to be created merely so George can elicit the hilarious line "He's flying a bit low."

As with a lot of TV-to-film sitcoms, this failed miserably to transfer to the big screen. The mainly studio settings of the TV version forced some sort of discipline which is sadly lacking here. Seems quite appropriate that this was made by Hammer Films. A classic of the horror genre!

By 1980 the British cinematic trend of converting filmic spin-offs from situation comedies had already run out of steam. Margaret Thatcher had entered Downing Street as PM and the British climate changed considerably. British comedy in the coming decade would see alternative comedy blast through the walls to make a mark, whilst situation comedy shows moved to a different plane to that of their heavily sexed 70s brethren.

George & Mildred was a wonderful show, itself a spin-off from the equally adorable Man About the House, the film suffers, not just as the death knell of a once proud British tradition, but also as a victim of climate change. That it bares little resemblance to what made the show popular in the first place is something used to pound down on the film with, but the production team were trying to keep up, sensing the wind of change they took two much loved characters out of the comfort zone and attempted to keep them viable. Oh it didn't work, not at all, but the will is still admirable.

It's not a great film, it's passable at best because fans of Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy can at least enjoy their stoic performances. While there are some very good gags in the script. But ultimately it's a tired picture, the set-pieces lack zip, the plot ill advised and underwriting the Roper neighbours, the Fourmiles, is a big mistake. Joyce would die soon after the film's release, a victim to alcoholism aged 53. Sadly this film is no way to remember her, anyone interested in her work are advised to see her 1970s TV output to view a wonderful actress at work. 5/10

After seeing other reviews on here, I viewed this film with some trepidation, & with my expectations not too high..

It starts off brightly enough - we get introduced to the familiar characters in the first few minutes (albeit living in a different road to the one used in the TV show, but similar enough).

Once the plot is established about the Ropers celebrating their anniversary at a swanky hotel, things unfortunately start to go downhill. As so often with previous British 70s sitcom spin-offs, the humour doesn't always work when the characters are put into a completely new setting - & it's the same here.

The usual humour about George's laziness, Mr Fourmile's snobbishness & Mildred's upwardly mobile aspirations being dashed are jettisoned for an unwise 'mistaken-identity' plot (which ironically could very well have been written for someone else entirely).

The whole film lurches into being a slightly bawdy sex-comedy - much more like something from the early 70s than the 80s, & George & Mildred don't really get to play to their strengths.

Despite a good supporting cast including Stratford Johns, Kenneth Cope, Harry Fowler (& an early appearance from Vicky Michelle), the whole film becomes rather exhausting about halfway through as the whole sorry spectacle starts to fall a bit flat.

Not to say that there are some laughs along the way - but nothing as good as what we've seen in the G & M sitcom.

It's sad too that this became Yootha Joyce's final work - being released after her death, & thus putting an end to this warmly-remembered series, leaving this film as her epitaph.

It's certainly worth watching if you're a G&M fan, & an interesting period piece - & good of course to see these characters one last time. Just don't expect to be blown away... we'll leave that to the 'hitman'!