The Extra Day

Unless you're a die-hard old movie buff, you might not make it through The Extra Day. I stuck with it because I thought the premise was interesting, and because I wanted to catch Sidney James in a pre-Carry On flick. The film starts off on a movie set, filming the final scene of a movie. Then, with the canister packaged up, the reels get sent on the truck to the main studio. However, director Richard Basehart gets a call with bad news: the last reel fell out of the truck and the footage was spoiled. He has to stay up all night contacting and convincing the actors and extras involved in that final scene to return to work in the morning.

Some of the side stories involving the actors are cute, and some are a bit sad, like the older couple whose daughter was planning on putting them away in a nursing home. Thrown in for good measure is a romance between Richard and his leading lady, Simone Simone. She pretends not to give him the time of day, but you can tell she has just as much a crush on him as he does her. Keep your eyes peeled for Beryl Reid, Shani Wallis, and Glenda Jackson, but don't blink or you'll risk missing them.

The paths of the stars of 'La Bete Humaine' and 'La Strada' incongruously crossed on the set of this frivolous little picture which like most old British movies as usual ironically - given the subject matter - lies in its bit players (Glenda Jackson can just be glimpsed as one of Denis Lotis's teenaged fans near the end).

It's all very dull apart from a surprisingly rough boxing match between Tom Clegg and Sid James - both of whom not long afterwards became regulars in the early 'Carry On' films - and a likeable supporting turn by Colin Gordon as Josephine Griffin's father.

Richard Basehart whose strength isn't comedy is the American over across the pond giving The Extra Day a bit of box office punch. Except for Sid James this film needed all the punch it could get.

Laurence Naismith plays a film director who has just shot and wrapped his final scene of a film. But when taking the film to the editing department the can fell out of the back of the truck. Now Naismith has to shoot that last scene again and all the actors and crew have to be located and brought back to the studio on a Monday. Naismith's man Friday or Associate Producer Basehart is given the task over a weekend.

Leading lady over from France Simone Simon has romance on her mind with George Baker who not to put to fine a point on it is a stalker. With that in mind her story was a bit weird to say the least.

Leading man Dennis Lotis is a singing idol and he's also got fans and concerts and matrimony to contend with. Basehart arranges for a kidnapping for him.

Sid James who doubles as a prizefighter who's seen his best days still makes a living at it though usually with the loser's share. He's the best one in this film and Basehart resorts to some bribery in his case.

The Extra Day is a rather dated and not all that funny comedy. Maybe in the United Kingdom they might like it better.

Delightful film about making a film!

On the way to the lab, the last reel of a movie falls out of the truck, so the director must reshoot the scenes. In order to do that, he has to keep his lead (Simone Simon) from flying to Paris and collect all the extras who worked on the shoot.

The director sends associate producer and fledgling director (Richard Basehart) to gather everyone. One married couple is moving in with their daughter and has already left their old residence; another one is about to wreck his face in a prize fight; one young woman is about to marry a teen singing idol on the day of the reshoot. And the leading woman has romance on her mind.

Pleasant enough comedy. I thought the business with the old couple was very sweet. I enjoyed the performances.

Others have covered the plot line and other details about this movie, which I have seen on TV a number of times. I am always puzzled by the casting. The most glaring example of an actress being miscast is Beryl Reid playing one of the teeny bopper fans of crooner, Ronnie Baker (Denis Lotis). Reid was 37 when this film was made, and it shows. Denis Lotis was around 31 years old. He was always in the shadow of superior American crooners. Although he was promoted as a bit of a heartthrob, scenes of him being mobbed by hoards of teenage girls are over exaggerated. Soon after this film was made, he was blown out of the water by the gathering rock 'n' roll phenomenon. British stars such as Cliff Richard, Billy Fury, Marty Wilde, etc., really did have screaming girls in their audience, and Lotis became a 'square'.