Down Among the Z Men

Although poor by today's standards it should be noted that this movie is the first time all the major characters of the Goon Show had worked together on screen. They had not yet worked out which routines worked well in radio but not in a movie. They would do better in subsequent efforts. It helps if the viewer knows something of the Goon Show radio series and, perhaps, has seen the TV series too. Making the transition from a radio program, where the listener's imagination supplies the scenery, to a television or film style is always difficult. The film has its moments, especially the chorus girl's dance routines and a flash-of-brilliance preview of Peter Seller's exceptional talent as he makes fun of an American general and his Staff Seargent under siege by the Germans. It's also apparent why Michael Bentine did not last long as a star although Jerry Lewis must have used this as a training film.

E J Fancey productions occupied a space on a quality scale somewhere between educational films and home-movies. While US budget movie-makers had a knack of doing a lot with just a little. E J Fancey had a knack of making very little look even less.

So its a shame that this group of entertainers who were already popular on radio as The Goons, and later went on to better things should have this as part of their legacy.

Who were the Z Men? I'd never known but saw that they feature in another disappointing '50s army comedy "You Lucky People" - starring Tom Trinder in his last film. I see from Wikipedia that they were British army soldiers and officers who'd served in WW2 and became a reserve to be recalled if needed.

I once had the pleasure of meeting Michael Bentine and we discussed this film. Michael told me that the director would only allow one take of each scene unless an absolute disaster occurred. There is one scene near the end that is quite funny. Two or three other members of the cast disguise themselves as Michael Bentine and many confusions occur, probably inspired by the mirror scene in the Marx Brothers film Duck Soup.

The dancing girls are the only polished act in this whole movie. Even the goons themselves were embarrassed about the final film (it was filmed at breakneck speed due to an extremely short filming schedule forcing them to improvise).

The only reason to watch this film is out of historical interest. It's amazing to see a then 27 year old Peter Sellers showing early signs of his incredible character range, something which would stand him in good stead in the years to come. Spike Milligan (who I once met) looks so young in this but is his usual zany self. Harry Secombe often seems a bit lost in this film, not having a proper script to follow and not knowing how to react to the improvisations going on around him. In some ways he was the most professional of the Goons.

And finally we see Michael Bentine, a man I associate with zany children's comedy from the 1970s. A unique looking individual who's appearance changed quite dramatically once he cut his hair and lost the beard ,Bentine left the goons soon after this movie was made so this film is a unique insight into the group before they became a trio.

It's a shame this film is almost unwatchable and not representative of the fledgling talent within. It tries to play out like a Marx brothers comedy, but contains none of the polish or acerbic wit of those films. However as a snapshot of what was to come it's an interesting curiosity.

Hmm. as most people who are goons fans have probably done, I watched this film purely out of curiosity having never seen the format "on screen". It didn't work. There is nothing whatsoever to recommend this film, boring, unfunny and unwatchable. as the goons huge popularity in later years goes to show, that's not to say that their talent is in any way called into question, I just think they really hadnt quite decided on which comedic routines would work and which wouldn't as early as 1952. Far better to watch something like "the muckinese battle horn" from 1957, which although doesn't feature secombe, is far nearer the mark to the goons madcap fast moving humour, and fans of the radio show will feel more at home. "z men" is quite frankly embarrassingly bad.