Never Mind the Quality: Feel the Width

In the 1970s every popular British sitcom from 'Man About The House' to 'Porridge' had a terrible, forgettable movie version made of it.

The same character actors are wheeled out without the sitcom format, or the pithy sitcom-format dialog and without the laughter track. Each movie version of a British sitcom had wide angle cameras and depressing outdoor scenes to moviefy something that should not be moviefied!

This translation from TV to movie theatre is no different.

The running gag about the saucy, busty Rita being caught in compromising situations with the tailor by the Rabbi fall flat along with everything else.

But its redeeming quality is the strength of the entire cast. It's chock full of popular stars of the day from Yootha Joyce to Bill Maynard. Even the minor and uncredited parts are filled by names you'll recognize if you're of a certain age... which I am!

But at the end of the day, it's a poor man's Carry On film.

This film had whiskers on even when produced in 1974.There was a Cohen and Kelly filmed in 1926,and the big Broadway hit Abies Irish Rose.The film is a spin off of the hit TV series which ran for 41 episodes.In those days people were prepared to laugh at racial and ethnic stereotypes.So we have the Roman Catholic Kelly in business as bespoke tailors with Jewish Cohen.So Kelly is always looking for a drink and Cohen always looking for ways to make money.I think that you could say that it is mildly offensive and never likely to get a repeat view in on TV.It shows how low EMI had sunk that they decided to produce this film themselves.If it is at all watchable it is because of the fine performance from that fine comedy actor John Bluthal.