Double Bunk

Ian Carmichael ("Jack") and his fiancée "Peggy" (Janette Scott) fall foul of her rather fastidious landlady and are soon looking for a house. As luck would have it, they discover a houseboat and for a mere £750 they have their dream home/yacht. Not long after moving in they meet their landlord "Watson" (Dennis Price) who wants to double the rent for their mooring. Extortionate, so he - a mechanic, encouraged by his pal "Sid" (Sidney James), decides to get the old tub mobile again, and off they go for some fun folics on the river with "Sandra" (Liz Fraser) along too. It's a very gently paced nautical comedy, this - it is all very predictable with some easy humour that pokes a bit of fun at the "Commodore Classes" whilst leaving you knowing just what is going to happen - and what the outcome will be, too. Noel Purcell is quite entertaining, Dennis Price gets a well deserved ducking and we certainly discover that life on the ocean waves is not for everyone.

Double Bunk is directed by C.M. Pennington-Richards and features music by Stanley Black and photography by Stephen Dade. It stars Ian Carmichael, Sid James, Janette Scott, Liz Fraser and Dennis Price.

When newlyweds Jack (Carmichael) and Peggy (Scott) face eviction from their rented London abode, they get tricked into buying a ramshackle houseboat. Taking the challenge on with determination in their hearts and love in their eyes, they are further knocked back when Mr. Watson (Price), the owner of the mooring station, tells them of the charges they must pay to stay where they are. Rebuilding the engine, Jack decides to treat Peggy to a honeymoon trip down the Thames, so with best pal Sid (James) and his stripper girlfriend Sandra (Fraser) along for the trip, they set off on what will prove to be a mighty adventure.

It opens with James and Fraser singing the delightfully catchy title song, and from there on in the film never lets up the jovial mood created. There's nothing uproarious here, this is a gentle British comedy built to keep the smile on your face, though it does slot in a few laugh out loud moments (double dose of gangplank frivolity, Sid's Vodka hangover, a punch up after a bum squeeze). It's well performed, often sexy (wolf whistles at the ready here for both our lady protagonists) and the water setting is very easy on the eye.

Fans of vintage British comedy are sure to get much from this easy going feel good comedy. 8/10

When I was in hospital in 1957 my bed radio played the comedy "Take it from Here" in which a couple named "Ron" (Wallis Eaton) and "Eff" (June Whitfield) were featured.The producers of Double Bunk (1961) worked these two radio characters into the screenplay twice by portraying them hidden in a punt with a canvas cover over them so that the viewer could retain the mental image of them that they had "seen in their mind's eye" from the radio comedy which I believe Frank Muir & Dennis Norden had written.Another character I recognised from my youth was Gerald Campion who played "Billy Bunter" from the BBC TV children's programme of the 1950s.If you have followed the career of Naunton Wayne he makes a rare solo appearance, minus Basil Radford, playing a harbour master who is side-tracked by the ample charms of a young Liz Fraser.Also on display is comedienne Irene Handel playing a frumpy wife of the previous owners of the houseboat from whom Ian Carmichael & Janette Scott newly weds have purchased it in lieu of a house.In early post war Britain couples had a hard job finding marital accommodation because of blitzed buildings and general strict financial circumstances.The other reviewers have adequately commented on the plot of this very British comedy where each well known actor/actress plays well trodden & familiar roles known by a British audience.

The uppermost question occurred to me watching this film on www.IMDb.com was surely one has to show proficiency by the marine equivalent of the driving test before you can be let loose on the river.But of course the resulting slapstick forms the basis of the film comedy.

One of those black & white British comedies in the Carry On mould with a competent cast playing their usual roles, particularly Janette Scott as a sharp comedy actress. Usual 1960's misogyny and somewhat done on a budget but it's a pleasant way to spend a rainy afternoon. Ian Carmichael plays probably the only car mechanic to wear a collar and tie under his oily overalls and I'm not sure why his Heinkel bubble car is left hand drive! Some of the stunts were lucky not to lead to serious injury!

Ian Carmichael and Janette Scott getting married and anxious for a home. They buy a houseboat, which turns out to be a pig: she leaks,she has dry rot, the engine doesn't work, and harbor owner Dennis Price has just doubled the docking, water and electric fees. Ian's mechanic pal, the ubiquitous Sid James, suggests they fix the engine and go on a honeymoon on the boat, with him as dogsbody. He shows up with stripper Liz Frazer. As soon as they set off, things start to go awry.

It's a rote but well executed British comedy of the early 1960s, with lots of leering and little to be observed, although the presence of some old comedy hands offers a pleasantly nostalgic air for older folk going to the cinema: Naunton Wayne (in his penultimate film appearance), Irene Handl, Noel Purcell, Bill Shine and Miles Malleson all have cameos. If it lacks the raucous humor of the CARRY ON series, it's still pleasant family-friendly fare.