Simon Simon

Pretty good but not as good as the tv show Simon and Simon

"Simon Simon" is an obscure short film from Britain which has little to recommend it except for a few very interesting celebrity cameos. You see, among others, David Hemmings drive by as well as Michael Caine (sporting a beard) and a quick appearance by Peter Sellers with some ultra-cool sports car as well.

The story is simple. Two workmen (Graham Stark and John Junkin) are working a construction job and making a mess of things....that is until their boss gets them a Simon brand crane. But they are idiots, so naturally that's NOT the end of their troubles. It also becomes rather surreal later...with an odd Red Baron sort of vibe.

The story is told without dialog and very hip jazz music (hip for 1970 that is). In many ways, it reminds me of some old silent comedies but with the music and color film. Inoffensive and mildly enjoyable but far from a must-see short film....mostly because there are laughs but they are also very small ones.

Made in the same vein as Eric Sykes' "The Plank," this film was made with very little money. Stark was able to line up this impressive cast because he was best friends with Peter Sellers. The actors did the film as a favour and didn't recieve any fee. It really is a spot-the-star-blink-and-you-will-miss-them feature. Michael Caine appears fleetingly in his recently purchased Rolls-Royce convertible. Much of the film is banal prank slapstick, but the scene with Peter Sellers scratching his Lamborghini and clicking his fingers for a new replacement is quite amusing, and a reflection of what Sellers was like in real life. Not shown much these days (I saw it at 3am in the morning), it is an interesting film for star spotters.

This is one of those wonderful old films which would be impossible to replicate in this modern era. Sadly it is also one of those films which you either love or hate, as taken in it strictest sense it is to modern audiences and those under 50 years something they would probably not fully appreciate. For me though, it is a wonderful glimpse of when films were fun, innocent and experimental, a lot of actors, technicians etc put a lot of time, effort and money to make this, with a minimal budget to boot, and the actors did it for free, no massive egos in this film, and it shows. If you do manage to find this film, please watch and listen to the directors commentary in the bonus section as it reveals so much about how they made the film and what was going on behind the scenes, which I found to be as interesting as the film itself. OK there are better films similar to this to be found, Eric Sykes The Plank and Ronnie Barkers Futtocks End come to mind and this one really should have a larger following than it has, so please find it and enjoy it, leave any prejudices behind, you will not be disappointed.