User reviews

As a fan of classic British war comedies, I approached Invasion Quartet with high expectations, hoping for a clever mix of humor and wartime whimsy. Unfortunately, this film, while ambitious in its comedic aims, stumbles in several key areas.

Firstly, the film's technical execution leaves much to be desired. The cinematography is serviceable but lacks the polish one might expect from a 1960s production. The black-and-white visuals don't quite capture the charm of the era's more refined comedies, and the overall direction feels uneven. Jay Lewis, while experienced, seems to struggle with the tonal shifts, leading to a somewhat disjointed viewing experience.

The script, penned by an Oscar-winning writer, shows flashes of wit, but the humor often falls flat. The film starts with a promising setup but fails to sustain its comedic momentum as it progresses. The early scenes in the military hospital, brimming with potential, quickly devolve into repetitive gags and predictable punchlines. The transitions from these setups to the main plot are abrupt and contribute to a sense of disjointedness throughout the film.

The performances, though earnest, are a mixed bag. The lead, while well-intentioned, lacks the comedic presence required to anchor the film. This weakness is compounded by the miscasting of another key role, which undermines the film's ability to generate sustained laughs. On the other hand, Spike Milligan stands out with his quirky portrayal of Godfrey Pringle, offering glimpses of the sharp humor that could have elevated the film. His performance is one of the few highlights, providing some genuinely amusing moments amidst the film's broader missteps.

One of the film's more notable elements is its portrayal of German soldiers. The comedic treatment of the antagonists may come across as overly simplistic and reminiscent of more modern, irreverent approaches to historical subjects. While this aligns with the film's comedic intentions, it might not sit well with all viewers.

In summary, Invasion Quartet is a curious artifact of its time, offering a blend of British humor that is occasionally inspired but often falters. Its uneven execution and missed opportunities make it more of a niche interest rather than a classic of British comedy. While Spike Milligan's performance provides a few bright spots, the film as a whole struggles to find its comedic footing, making it a hit-or-miss experience for those seeking vintage humor.

At it's best, vintage British movie comedy knocks all other countries' humour into a cocked hat. Unfortunately, for the most part, this farce about a pair of wounded soldiers undertaking a mission into German-occupied France to prove their fitness for active service, falls far short of being a vintage comedy. There's nothing wrong with the story – superior comedies to this have been crafted from much weaker material – but the casting is curious to say the least. Bill Travers is not a strong enough comedy presence to lead the cast, and John le Mesurier is miscast as the leader of the Home Guard (although, in hindsight, this may be due to the fact that he is so familiar to us now as the effete Sergeant Wilson in DAD'S ARMY). Gregoire Aslan, as Travers' French sidekick, adds nothing whatsoever to the film. Only Spike Milligan, as the shell-shocked Godfrey Pringle, manages to reap a few meagre laughs from the threadbare script.

Turner Classics showed the movie several night ago. This was the first time I had seen the film. It was throughly enjoyable and it reminded me of some of the early British comedies from Pinewood and Ealing Studios. Spike Mulligan had a certain something about him that made him a very good comedian. He even used some of his voices that made him popular during the "Crazy Gang" days.

The film is disjointed and it is a series of comedy scenes. There is nothing here to take seriously. Even the Nazis are funny. The film was made by MGM British Studios and it had a great cast of British actors. There is even a cameo of a very young John Woods in the film. Camera work is fine also.

WW II comedies are a sort of a rare thing, as are war comedies in general. Guess it's still a sort of a touchy subject and also these sorts of movie normally don't do too well and aren't among the greatest. "Invasion Quartet" is a valor attempt and begins well and is filled with some great early silly British humor.

The movie mostly works out of course due to its great silly British comedy in it. It's so over-the-top and silly all that you can't help but laugh at it. The entire movie is filled with some great examples of this, as well with some silly over-the-top characters.

The movie is set in a army hospital for disabled soldiers but for some reason they are also all some serious nut cases. They're missing more than just a leg, hand or hearing.

The movie sort of starts to go downhill once the quartet embarks on their mission. You'll would expect for the movie to only get better by then but the humor gets less resourceful and the movie becomes a bit of a drag in parts.

When you're into British humor this is still a good enough watch though.

5/10

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This was a film I saw while quite young on WGN in Chicago. The opening sequence of animation was as good as the recent movie Valiant. The premise of a British Army Rehabilitation Hospital in the early days of World War II as a basis for a funny movie may seem strange but Spike Milligan and the gang make it work. One of the more memorable moments was the evaluation board meeting patients and deciding the ability of the patients to return to active duty; this was made funny by the Chief of Staff of the Hospital being an ob/gyn in civilian life. He approaches all his patients as if he was still in the maternity ward. The men demonstrate the so called bicycle exercise to show fitness and say "It helps restore your figure afterwards". The lead characters are an English officer who has lost a leg, a french officer who has lost a hand, an English demolitons expert recovering from PTSD, and a colonel who is in charge of the local Home Guard as he was thought too old to fight in World War II. The one legged englishman and the one handed french man swap uniform jackets to fool the board and it works until the french man shakes hands with the president of the board and loses his prosthetic hand. The two jacket swapers then dream up their own covert operations force and name it SOD(too English a piece of slang;now I get why it was funny). The movie is a prequel spoof of the Guns of Navarone; a rag tag group is out to silence German coast artillery piece wreaking havoc on the innocent civilians and allied forces. The Germans are portrayed in a manner befitting the best Mel Brooks could dream up.

Invasion Quartet has all the attributes of a cult classic, superb writing by an Oscar winning scriptwriter (John Briley) excellent direction from Jay Lewis whose light hand tempts superb erformances from a good spread of fine actors, many at their peak. This movie requires its audience to have an appreciation of a very British type of humour, like the Goons, Monty Python, Sykes and up to the more modern genius of Ricky Gervais. Spike Milligan leads the cast and audience down madness way with his inimitable humour in this brilliant, laid back, comedic precursor to 'The Guns of Naverone'. Bill Travers is an officer who takes three oddballs to wartime France to blow up a huge gun that is threatening England. Their 'invasion' of German held France is more of a Cooks tour than D Day as they wander around occupied territory searching for their target. John Le Mesurier, Eric Sykes, John Wood and other faces familiar to fans of British film from the period will light up your evening. Black and White.

I've seen this movie for the first time as a child. And it quickly became a favourite of mine. I must admit the animated opening-credits were kind of lame. But it's still a funny movie that deserves to be checked out!

It's about these four misfit soldiers from different countries who stayed at a military hospital during WW2. Together they team up when they hear the Germans have a destructive cannon called, "Big Herman" and scheme to bring it down.

Spike Milligan's performance in this as the apprehensive Godfrey Pringle was excellent! In fact he's my favourite in this movie. The funniest part of this flick was the bicycle scene! So, if you're into British humour like Monty Python or Are You Being Served, check this movie out sometime. It's a perfect comedy about WW2 to watch on a Sunday afternoon.