The Big Freeze

Bob Hoskins - Sidney
Eric Sykes - Mr Blick
Eila Roine - Matron
Donald Pleasence - Soup slurper
Raija Laakso - Louise
Sonja Lumme - Pretty nurse
John Mills - Dapper man
Spike Milligan - Der Schauspieler

Eric Sykes final directorial effort is this near-silent comedy short starring Sykes himself, Bob Hoskins, John Mills and Spike Milligan. The film is entirely in the mould of Sykes’ earlier classic shorts including The Plank and Rhubarb, but the ensemble of fellow tv farceurs are absent this time and many of the comic situations are contrived and lacking a lightness of touch.

A bumbling father and son plumbing business, Blick and Sons (Eric Sykes and Bob Hoskins), go to a nursing home for retired actors on the coldest day of the year to deal with frozen pipes. What should be a simple task turns out to be a major bother, and they encounter a collection of colourful residents including a Hitler impersonator (Spike Milligan) and an helpful aristocratic actor (John Mills).