British Comedy Films 1960-1980

[Gilliam89]

I am about to start an extremely long and detailed essay on the British comedy film, though only dating between 1960-1980, and how much television was a huge impact on the nations film market.

I have the usual suspects such as the Carry On's, the handfuls of spin-offs from sitcoms and I also have picked a few of my more obscure favourites to talk about (Sir Henry At Rawlinson End, Rentadick, The Sandwich Man, No Sex Please We're British etc).

Does anybody know of tons more? All help would be exeedingly grateful

Knowone seems to want to write about this part of our heritage, sometimes excluding it as embarrasing and not worthy of any critical approach, despite the fact that it often made more profit than some of the larger blockbusters (I constantly think of On The Buses and Diamonds Are Forever).

List as many as you can and that would be ace :)

[Jason Leonard]

You must include the Monty Python films, very entertaining, also there were quite a few Terry Thomas films (Its a Mad, mad, mad,mad,mad,mad world!), there was also a couple of Morecambe & Wise films, That Riviera Touch etc. Hope this helps.

[Harleybloke]

The Italian Job?

'The Great St.TriniansTrain robbery' just scrapes in doesn't it?

Peter Sellars? Lionel Jefferies? Bernard Cribbins? Check their filmographys out. Might be worth a shout. And there's Dick Emery, Warren Mitchell, if you're lucky, Cannon & Ball don't make it in.....................

[FilmBuffuk]

How about the Pink Panther films? Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom et al?

Not forgetting the Tony Hancock films.......

[AdrianTurner]

Originally Posted by Gilliam89 Knowone

Now, that's funny. A real British comedy.

[Gilliam89]

Thanks for your help so far folks. It seems to best way I've been able to find stuff is to trawel through actor filmographys. I came up with some obscure classics when I looked at work from Peter Cook and Spike Milligan.

Thanks everybody

[Windthrop]

One section for your essay could point out the general fact that Brit film comedies drifted from stage comedies to sitcom adaptations during that period.

[Angerr]

How about "Porridge"? I saw the film last year in TV while on a visit in Britain, it was hillarious. It's based on TV series which, unfortunately, I haven't seen.

[Mr Cosmo]

Include THE RISE AND RISE OF MICHAEL RIMMER which utilized the talents of Python and Cook and Frost who produced it - importamt landmark film as it moved away from comedian type films to something different.
Boulting Brothers films with their various targets e.g. HEAVENS ABOVE, ROTTEN TO THE CORE, FAMILY WAY.
Two Alf Garnett films and sex comedies starting with "Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush" which ended up trawling the depths.
All of the TV spinoffs like ON THE BUSES, MAN ABOUT THE HOUSE, LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR, PLEASE SIR etc
As for Cannon & Ball - as Bob Monkhouse said "They write their own scripts - some of it's Cannon's but most of it's Ball's".

[DB7]

Meet Mr Lucifer might be a good point of reference if examing the impact of tv on feature films; despite it being a 50s production. Many of those I find most enjoyable from these decades weren't features but the many short (often 'silent) comedies.

[Carmel]

There's also Nearest and dearest, Its your funeral, For the love of Ada the 2 steptoe and son films.