The Night We Dropped a Clanger

Brian Rix is Military Intelligence's secret weapon, sure to shorten the war five years. At the moment, he's investigating the German buzz bombs that have been dropping out of the sky. He decides he needs to go behind the lines in Germany, to where they are being produced. The problem is that he is now known to the Germans. So he insists that the government produce a double for him. They find one in Brian Rix, of course. He's a perpetual private on clean-up, since he was a janitor before the Wwar, and no more impressive now. He will be sent publicly to Egypt, so the other Rix can operate in the shadows. But first they have to train the private to behave convincingly like the officer.

It was just Rix's meat. He was best known for a series of very popular Whitehall farces, on stage and television. That probably wasn't why he was made a Life Lord; he and his wife worked for several charities for the mentally handicapped, and for chairing the Arts Council's Drama Panel after he retired from acting for his public and charitable work. He died in 2016 at the age of 92.

Other expert farceurs in the company include Cecil Parker, William Hartnell, Leslie Phillips, and Liz Fraser.

Although you can still find amusement in this farce (The misheard "Hitler is in his bunker" still seems outrageously near the knuckle for such a family film), It's difficult to appreciate how successful this film was when it was originally released. The situations all seem rather tame or childish and exploit scenarios and interplay between characters that may strike anyone under the age of fifty as peculiarly obtuse. The slapstick just seems needlessly timid. All that siad, audiences loved it when it was released, perhaps you will too.

Brian Rix stars in dual roles as a celebrated RAF officer and a hopelessly incompetent airman. When RAF Intelligence notices how similar the two men look they propose to use the incompetent as a decoy on a secret mission. Needless to say, the plans get mixed up and the incompetent leads the secret mission, while the real agent is used as a decoy. I was unfamiliar with Brian Rix before I viewed the film and I must admit I quite enjoyed his work here. Other familiar faces include Cecil Parker, Leslie Phillips and William Hartnell. Not a classic of the standard of Ealing's best, but few good laughs during the 90 minutes.

The print I saw had the title, Make Mine A Double.

I was surprised to see this made in 1959 as the premise would better fit 1949. However despite all the cringemaking low humour the film is worth watching to see how 'backward' England was in those days. The V1 star seems very realistic as did the farn setting. The pomp, idocy and waste of the military show why so many names are on war memorials. All the soldiers wore thoser stupid little forage caps - what idiot designed them! I'm watching while on 2020 COVID lockdown and in happier times the film may lose its appeal.

THE NIGHT WE DROPPED A CLANGER is a WW2-era comedy featuring a star turn for music hall personality Brian Rix, the guy well known for dropping his trousers and the like in various routines. Rix takes on the dual role of a leading wing commander and the incompetent aircraftsman who just so happens to be his double. One is due to be sent into occupied France on a secret mission and the other will be his decoy on a mission to North Africa. What could possibly go wrong?

The answer is everything, but THE NIGHT WE DROPPED A CLANGER is really only a film for die-hard fans of British comedy of the era. This film feels like it was made in the 1940s, not 1961. The humour is quite weak and tame and not as funny as the rival CARRY ON films from the same time. Rix is something of an acquired taste and although some of his slapstick routines are funny, his weak-willed character is more irritating than amusing.

Still, there's a solid supporting cast to enjoy, including William Hartnell once again playing up the stern role he ended up typecast with. Leslie Phillips enjoys a little womanising but is rather underutilised, it has to be said, although there's a nice part for Liz Fraser who gives something of an eye-popping performance as a nightclub singer. Hattie Jacques has a good cameo as does Irene Handl, but they're all too brief unfortunately.