bloodworm

He looked a little limp wristed in the 1960 film The Angry Silence...

The one that gets away is always the biggest but not always the best !!

AndrewLA

I love this movie, and have great respect for Dearden, a much under-rated director whose time will surely come if ever anybody writes a book about him. But there is such a thing as overdoing the acclaim. THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN is not "Basil Dearden's" anything. If ever there was a collaboration between equals in British film, this is it, and you'd have to include the entire Allied group.

To say that Dearden's direction is "reinforced" by Forbes screenplay strikes me as the wrong way round. Dearden reinforced the screenplay. Everything is shot well enough (though I wouldn't call it exceptional photography), but it's the script and actors who make this one really work. Dearden did a good workmanlike job of directing. But if you read the original novel (much more dour and brutal in tone), you'll see that Forbes made a zillion changes, including the key ones of introducing humour to balance the suspense, developing quite different characters, and that metaphor of post-war Britain.

fred kite

yeh.......id forgot about that .....must get that film richard attenborough at his best

alan gowdy

Absolutely spot on Andrew. The dialogue is sparkling and the performances near-perfection.

stevie boy

what would the cost be to assemble such a cast now??
Hawkins/Patrick/Attenborough/Livesey/Bird/Alexander/Moore
and what a cameo by Coote, priceless and yes a superb film

NappieB

Wonderful comments - I heartily endorse all of them!!

Under the "Whatever happened to..." mantra, whatever became of Norman Bird? I last saw him in an episode of "Fawlty Towers" playing a guest reluctant to complain...

I always thought that he would be the perfect man to play H.G. Wells due to the striking physical similarity...

penfold

Unfortunately he died a couple of years ago. The commentary on the Network release of LoG is interesting; according to Brian Forbes and Nanette Newman, who obviously knew him well - and they're very effusive about his talent, his understatement - but during the war he was a tail-gunner in Lancasters, and came to acting quite late in life.

Bit of a Bay Window, what??

willan

It might be on another thread but League of Gentlemen is on Channel 4 next Monday 23rd of April 2007 in the afternoon

stevie boy

the last I saw of Norman was as a taxi driver in Attenboroughs film of Shadowlands. Good of Dickie to lend a mate a helping hand.

orpheum

2 things about this film.Firstly there is a scene with Norman Rossington discussing the flap that has been caused by the "General's" visit when he actually uses the f word.It comes about half way through.How on earth did this get past John Trevelyan i wonder.You can hear it for yourself as it is being shown on Channel 4 at 12.30pm on the 23rd April.

clive saunders

I'd like to make the case for 'League of Gentlemen'. Absolutely class film, great cast lead by the superb Jack Hawkins and Nigel Patrick, good plot and a twist in the tale. They certainly don't make 'em like that anymore!

What an absolute shower! Be seeing you!

Windthrop

I'll second that - a formidable mass of British talent in a civilised heist flick. Olly Reed even turns up as a camp drama student !

penfold

I'm not sure how much it was a 'Helping Hand' ...Norman Bird was rarely off the TV screens for forty years. More a case of Dickie knowing exactly who will do a good unshowy piece of work in a small but important role.

Bit of a Bay Window, what??

batman

I liked Norman Bird's performances as the farm hand in Whistle Down The Wind and as the bookshop owner in Victim. He was a brilliant at under playing, a real master.

Bats..

"Boom boom a baby .... Banham Zoo .... Banana pants! Hahahaha"

Hanseat

It is lovely to read so many glowing comments about "League of Gentlemen". It is one of my all-time favourites, ever since I first saw it. I was rather young back then, but still it burned itself forever into my memory and into my heart.