Up Pompeii

Frankie Howerd is a genius. This wonderful film is an unrealistic story of what might have happened in AD 79. A slave, Lurcio, accidentally picks up a scroll naming conspirators, and much British fun follows. This film has little storyline, and is not particularly funny, but it is worth watching for the theme song and Lance Percival's Roman General.

Howard has the knack of knowing when to give the audience the eye, with a just perfect leer. This film is one that shows you that it is possible to break the 4th wall to include the audience in the scene. A movie any teenage boy would love and should be viewed by all the staff at "MAXIM". When the film was first shown on TV here in North America it was a little scandalous. The English were not as prudish and had more fun that way.

This silly period comedy lives or dies depending your taste for Frankie Howerd. Me, I quite like him: I love his asides to the camera, his constant exasperation, his little quips and wisecracks. Others may find his humour stale and repetitive, and they'll be in trouble because this film is the Frankie Howerd Show in all but name.

A movie version of a once popular TV series (which I never saw), UP POMPEII is a bawdy spoof of the Roman costume drama. Howerd plays Lurcio, a slave who finds himself being chased by various ne'er do wells after a mix up involving a cucumber and a scroll (no, I'm not making this up). The film is an excuse for a parade of actors to embarrass themselves or amuse the audience, depending on how much you like smutty, silly and slapstick humour, and rarely a scene goes by without a scantily clad woman in sight.

As with most British comedies of the 1970s, a lot of the fun these days comes from spotting the star. There's Bernard Bresslaw as a champion, there's Hammer starlet Julie Ege as a noblewoman. Michael Hordern is fairly good as a politician who wanders around thinking of his next speech, as is Lance Percival as the heavy constantly on Howerd's tail (oo er). Watch out for Hammer players Maddy Smith and George Woodbridge in minor roles, a bit part for Darth Vader himself, Dave Prowse, and Barbara Murray as Howerd's alluring owner.

Poor Frankie didn't have a lot of luck in the world of film - making a string of Norman Wisdom type of comedies in the 50's, two Carry Ons in the sixties, and then this, the first of a trilogy of "Up..." films. This is probably his best starring vehicle. Scripted by Dave Freeman, Sid Colin and Talbot Rothwell, this, at least fairs better than the average sitcom-to-film venture; for this doesn't rely on the string of half-hour stories lifted from the television show to support the 90 mins. The reason is simple, all the writers were already experienced with writing films. All that has been lifted from the show is the majority of double entendre groan-worthy gags which, thankfully, when performed by Howerd, still raise a titter. With fine support from Patrick Cargill, Michael Hordern, Bernard Bresslaw, Hugh Paddick, Julie Ege etc. this is bound to make you laugh... even if it's just a bit.

I know I'm going against the tide with the above heading but it accurately sums up the movie and I will put forward arguments to explain why.

Many British sitcoms were transferred to the big screen in the 1970s. The main company involved was HAMMER (famous for producing cheesy yet top quality horror movies from the 1950s to the mid-1970s). The purpose behind such ventures was to keep high-profile British film companies alive in the face of fierce competition from American and Italian counterparts as far as horror productions go. Some transfers (i.e. ON THE BUSES, STEPTOE AND SON, RISING DAMP and PORRIDGE) were successful, mainly because the characters were kept in familiar settings and situations. Whilst others (GEORGE AND MILDRED, ARE YOU BEING SERVED?) are looked upon as complete disasters, mainly because the writers took the characters outside of their familiar settings for most of the movies.

The plots of "spin-off" movies from a British sitcom usually revolved around sending the familiar characters on holiday (these movies flopped or are widely considered disastrous) or keeping the characters in their main settings and using the medium of film to expand the scope of the humour. I think UP POMPEII actually falls outside these two categories.

Indeed, I believe the UP POMPEII movie brings the Lurcio character and the Pompeii setting to life in a way the TV series never could. Upon reading other comments about this movie, I've read complaints about the sets. Well, the sets on the TV series were far worse - they looked like cardboard (no exaggeration here!). Not even Frankie Howerd could distract me from the terrible sets of the TV series. At least the movie did attempt to build some convincing sets and I thought the producers did OK given the budget.

The TV series itself was very bland and relied entirely on the late great Frankie Howerd to carry the proceedings. The supporting actors in the TV series were simply not funny. I found the TV series unwatchable when Frankie was not on the screen.

In contrast, the movie helps Frankie by giving him first-rate talent to support him in the form of Bill Fraser, Julie Ege, Patrick Cargill, Barbara Murray, Madeleine Smith and Bernard Bresslaw. Special mention should be given to Michael Hordern, whose portrayal of Ludicrus Sextus is far superior than that played by Max Adrian in the TV series. But the best supporting actor in this movie by far is Lance Percival, who really comes into his own with the Captain Bilius character. The exchanges between him and Lurcio are hilarious and had me laughing so hard it hurt! The movie is a lot bawdier than the TV series but I actually think this is the way the franchise was meant to be anyway. It wasn't meant to be just puns, double-entendres and sexual innuendos alone (we had the CARRY ON movies, the ON THE BUSES series and numerous other places to look for that), it was meant to be all of those things but also done cheekier and more direct. With that in mind, I would say that the medium of film was the best way to present the aims of the UP POMPEII franchise.

As has been mentioned before, many of the jokes are very corny but the superb delivery by Frankie and his supporting cast make them laugh-out-loud hilarious. The slapstick elements were also telegraphed well in advance but again work due to the actors involved and some excellent one liners that followed each gag.

As others have pointed out on the comments page, Frankie Howerd built a long-lasting career on a very limited repertoire. Catchphrases such as "ooh ahh", "er missus", "titter ye not" and "it's wicked to mock the afflicted" were the main scope of his acts. Yet he did it so perfectly every time that he stayed for decades whilst other comedians came and went. Also unlike the work of other comedians, Frankie's comedy was not offensive in the least, instead being just harmless fun.

This movie contains what is perhaps Frankie Howerd's best performance outside his starring roles in CARRY ON DOCTOR and CARRY ON UP THE JUNGLE. I'd go as far as to say this was his singularly best performance, period!

So if you like British comedy and want something that surpasses the blandness of the TV series, check out this movie. It's bawdier than most forms of British comedy but still inoffensive harmless fun. Give it a try. You'll probably have a good time!