The Navy Lark – 1959 | 82 mins | Comedy | B&W

Plot Synopsis

Nautical comedy based on the long-running BBC radio series. Co-scripted by the series’ creator Laurie Wyman, the film emerges as the usual mixture of broad services’ farce and skulduggery, briskly directed by Gordon Parry to undemanding Carry-On style comic effect. Leslie Phillips makes the transition from the original radio cast, and he’s joined by familiar actors Cecil Parker, Ronald Shiner and Gordon Jackson.

A small naval station on the isle of Boonzey off the coast of Portsmouth is home to inshore minesweeper HMS Compton captained by Cmdr Stanton (Cecil Parker). Charged with recovering WWII mines, very few exist so the redundant crew, including Lt. Pouter (Leslie Phillips), Chief Petty Officer Banyard (Ronald Shiner) and Seaman Johnson (Gordon Jackson), enjoy a laidback life of relaxing, smuggling and various money-spinning wheezes until interfering Capt. Povey (Nicholas Phipps) attempts to have them declared surplus to requirements and closed down.

The crew attempt to preserve their cushy life of jolly japes by first requesting accommodation for a fictitious Pullson’s Fulminator, but when the determined Povey sees through that ruse they warn of an outbreak of Yellow Fever on Boonzey – but again Povey unmasks their scheming. As a last throw of the dice the crew invent a revolution and persuade the locals to pose as guerrillas.