The_Late_Peter_Cook

One of the first television situation comedies to get the cinema treatment, “Till Death…” avoids the trap of being just an extended television episode which befalls many other adoptions, by opening out the story. It is more a prequel than merely being the “film of the show”, showing us the history of the Garnett family, from just before the start of the Second World War to the ‘present day’ of 1969, taking in the 1966 World Cup on it’s way.

It is the wartime sequence of the movie (it roughly takes up the first 45 minutes of the film) which for me is the highlight of the picture. You really do get a proper sense of time and place and it gives off an intriguing mixture of nostalgia and realism. The credit mainly goes to the director, Norman Cohen, who gives what could have been a static television-style play, a real cinematic treatment.

The script by Johnny Speight is generally excellent and (as far as I know) isn’t just a re-packaging of old television material. Ironically the movie falters when it moves to ‘twenty or so years later” and changes into the more familiar setting of the series. That said Rita’s wedding is a memorable set-piece, moving between drama and comedy (and very uncomfortable viewing at times, due to Garnett’s racism).

It’s Mitchell’s movie, of course. It’s a credit to the actor’s talents that that you can’t help liking Alf, despite the fact that Speight’s script constantly under-cuts and mocks the character.

It’s an oddly bitter-sweet movie, as a community which had survived the Blitz is eventually disbanded, with the Garnett family exiled to a bleak modern concrete tower block. There is a real sense of loss here and it is this which places it a few notches up from the normal television spin-off. It’s a pity that this movie will always be over-shadowed by its more controversial small screen incarnation and seen just as one of many (largely poor in some critic‘s eyes) ‘television spin-offs‘, as it deserves a wider audience. It also showcases a rather brilliant title song, by Ray Davies, which any fan of The Kinks should check out.

Bob M.

I agree with your post entirely. Another T.V. spin off that succeeded on the big screen was Dad Army. (In my humble opinion).
The mixture of comedy and deadly earnest was spot on. The Captain (Arthur Lowe) who is a frustrated bank manager, given his chance to command men, the men, who come together superbly, mocking their leader silently. The last few scenes in the church were done wonderfully. The men backing their leader totally.
The Captain finally gets the respect he has yearned for years.
I can't see a big screen spin off of My Family, can you?

"How about dat, a? How about dat?

samkydd

I cannot understand why My Family was allowed on the small screen even!

I've got an LP downstairs which is the original soundtrack from the film Til Death Us Do Part with snippets of dialogue amongst the music, but I've yet to see the film.

"...the chairman of Littlewoods stores made a Keynote speech!"

Stephen Pickard

How did "The Garnet Saga" measure up? I'm disappointed that Anchor Bay didn't include it on the dvd with the original, like they did with the Steptoe and Son features.

Stephen Pickard

Steve Crook

Till Death Us Do Part, the movie, was very good. It had all the cast from the TV series and gave a lot of very good history as to how they got to where we see them in the TV series.

The Garnett Saga (1972) was very poor in comparison. It was written by Johnny Speight and had Warren Mitchell as Alf and Dandy Nichols as Else. But Rita was played by Adrienne Posta and Mike was played by Paul Angelis. They tried to boost its appeal with guest appearances from lots of people like George Best, Eric Sykes, Arthur Askey and others. But it was still very poor (especially in comparison to the first film).

Steve

Wetherby Pond

Porridge (1979) is another one where the feature film spin-off is a very pleasant surprise - in fact, I'd rate it above the others being discussed here.

It probably helped that it's based on a more "cinematic" subject to begin with (prison films having a long and honourable history) and that Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais actually had some big-screen experience, so it didn't look anything like as fish-out-of-water as rather too many sitcom blow-ups.

sanndevil

My Masters Degree in Film thesis was entitled "The Rise and Fall of the Seventies British Sitcom Spin-off Movie", so I had the opportunity(!!!) to watch virtually all of the 27 spin-offs which spanned the decade (I bent the rules to include Till Death which was 1969).

I have to admit I didn't like TILL DEATH - it struck me as two TV episodes pasted together, and quite frankly wasn't that funny. My favourite was THE LIKELY LADS which covered the terrain of social injustice, sexual revoution, gender politics and even made me laugh! Favourite scene is where Terry is fishing down by the canal, and Bob turns up. Terry says "I'd offer you a can of beer but I've only got 6 left!". Well, it tickled me

samkydd

I enjoyed The Likely Lads film, it was something you could have enjoyed without necessarily having followed the TV series. Many of the others seemed to be 30 minute sitcoms with an awful lot of padding, predictable plots, a bit of location shooting, and freedom from the TV censors to show a bit of tit and buttock in the inevitable striptease show!

The modern version is the TV Christmas Special, and many suffer from the same failings as the cinema released ones from the 1970s in my opinion.

It would be nice if they could come up with a decent 30 minute sitcom even (or if it's a commercial channel, 18 minutes)!

"...the chairman of Littlewoods stores made a Keynote speech!"

Wetherby Pond

Hand on heart, I think there have been as many bona fide sitcom classics premiered in the last five years as there've been in any other equivalent period of British television history - The Office, Black Books, Green Wing, The League of Gentlemen, Nathan Barley, Nighty Night, Phoenix Nights and the criminally underrated Trevor's World of Sport - an across-the-board critical hit that was unceremoniously dumped into a graveyard slot because the BBC overestimated its slow-burn appeal.

I'd also argue that The Kumars At No.42 and The Keith Barret Show are technically sitcoms too. And stateside there's Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Granted, there's been a lot of crap produced over the same period, but 'twas ever thus.

Steve Crook

You can definitely add Coupling (2000-4) to that list.
And maybe Border Cafe (2000) as well.

I agree, there are some great shows out there. But as we get more and more TV channels there is also a lot of dross made to fill them and unless you're selective with your viewing you'll finish up only seeing the rubbish.

But as you say Wetherby, 'twas ever thus. Even when there was just the BBC offering TV shows they still made some terrible ones. It's the same with all forms of entertainment and the arts. Cinema, magazines, books, theatre, not all of it is wonderful - and it never was.

Steve

mysteriesofedgarwallace

I enjoyed Till Death Us Do Part, Porridge and Dad's Army.

The Dad's Army film was really the stories of the first few eps. glued together.