One Way Pendulum

I watched this film with practically no prior knowledge of it and for the first fifteen minutes or so I thought it was shaping up into a typical farce or situation comedy of the era with one or two elements which seemed a little too far-fetched. However, the dialogue and the situations become even more bizarre and then, at about 40 minutes in, the film turns completely on its head with a wholly surreal twist.

This film is wonderfully bonkers, incredibly inventive with a small but excellent cast and a plethora of richly absurd lines of dialogue. The characters almost without exception see the peculiarities in their peers whilst being completely oblivious to their own eccentricities and in that sense is a wonderful observation of our own individual failings. It won't appeal to everyone, but if you like the humour of Monty Python, Spike Milligan or, especially, The Strange World of Gurney Slade, you should love this overlooked, and largely forgotten gem.

I see it flopped on its original release, maybe it was too ahead of its time, or more likely people watched it with expectations that this film would deliver a comprehensible plot with traditional gags. It doesn't. Like the main character, Mr Groomkirby, it exists in a world of its own - and we are privileged to be afforded a glimpse into it.

This is an absolutely bizarre crazy film. You watch puzzled (for me) till the conversation about having arms shortened to fit sleeves and the light bulb brightens:) Saw it in an art theater in the States about 2 years after it was released and was blown away. I have been telling people about it for years and am ecstatic about it being acknowledged as even existing (it was invisible on the Web for a very long time - you had to go to Beyond the Fringe and work backwards) If I could find it it any playable format I would get it in an instant - track the strangeness picked up in later 60's films - Beatles included. If it ever surfaces and you are into 'quirky-ness' be sure to sit back and enjoy.

Watched this tonight on Talking Pictures. I was about 5 yrs old when this was made. Very nostalgic & featured several familiar TV faces from the time (UK), Brilliant. As other reviewers have stated it looks like a hybrid of Spike / Python before their time. Obviously the Court scene is the best but watching Peggy Mount consume 10,000 calories eating in the kitchen is great. If the aforesaid genre is not your SOH then avoid it gut otherwise just enjoy this rarity.

I last saw this movie in 1970. I was discussing the funniest movies of all time and this one came to my head. Very bizarre movie, but incredibly funny. Absurd situations and dialog. If you liked Monty Python, this is your movie. I remember one particularly funny line. When asked by a friend why their son always dresses in black, the mother responded that they decided before he was born to dress him in white if he turned out to be black or to dress him in black if he turned out white. Her friend then asks if her husband has any Negro blood. She responds that she's not sure, but he does keep a lot of strange things in jars in the attic. Very non-PC, but it's all in good fun.

The weirdness of this film is made all the more bizarre by its seemingly normal cast. The behaviour of each member of the family is eccentric in the extreme. It's not side splitting funny, rather I can't believe they've done that funny. Eric Sykes is a comic genius, who can just make me laugh by just being there, the rest of the family aren't particularly funny but it's their eccentric behaviour which makes them so outrageous. George Cole and Peggy Mount are legends. To say that this film inspired Pythons, maybe, although it's a lot weirder than python humour for the time. It certainly showcases British eccentricity and sets the tone for the comic acts that followed.