A medieval tale with Pythonesque humour: After the death of his father the young Dennis Cooper goes to town where he has to pass several adventures. The town and the whole kingdom is threatened by a terrible monster called 'Jabberwocky'. Will Dennis make his fortune? Is anyone brave enough to defeat the monster?
Michael Palin
Dennis Cooper
Harry H. Corbett
Squire
John Le Mesurier
Passelewe
Warren Mitchell
Mr. Fishfinger
Max Wall
King Bruno the Questionable
Rodney Bewes
The Other Squire
John Bird
1st Herald
Bernard Bresslaw
The Landlord
Deborah Fallender
The Princess
Derek Francis
Bishop
Annette Badland
Griselda Fishfinger
Kenneth Colley
1st Fanatic
Jerold Wells
Wat Dabney
Gorden Kaye
Sister Jessica
David Prowse
Red Herring / Black Knight
Roger Pratt
Man Living in Barrel
Simon Williams
The Prince
Derrick O'Connor
Flying Hogfish Peasant
Peter Cellier
1st Merchant
Frank Williams
2nd Merchant
Antony Carrick
3rd Merchant
Bryan Pringle
Guard at the Gate
John Sharp
Sergeant at the Gate
Graham Crowden
Fanatics' Leader
Janine Duvitski
Fanatic
Christopher Logue
Spaghetti Eating Fanatic
Brenda Cowling
Mrs Fishfinger
Brian Glover
Armourer
Derek Deadman
Apprentice Armourer
Tony Aitken
Flagellant
Roy Evans
Ratman
Bill Gavin
Old Man with Petition
Harold Goodwin
1st Peasant
Hilary Sesta
Scrubber
Sheridan Earl Russell
Kevin Fishfinger
Alexandra Dane
Landlord's Wife
Terry Gilliam
Man with Rock
Paul Curran
Mr Cooper Snr
Terry Jones
Poacher
Neil Innes
2nd Herald
Director, Screenplay
Terry Gilliam
Screenplay
Charles Alverson
June 4, 2023
5
The biggest problem I have with this is that, well, it just isn't very funny! It centres on Michael Palin's "Dennis Cooper" - a man who determines that to win the hand of his true love "Griselda" (Annette Badland) he must enter the vile and filthy city of King "Bruno the Questionable" (Max Wall) and prove his worth with some magnificent deed of derring-do. The deed, well that is to rid the kingdom of a pesky dragon - "the Jabberwocky". Right from the get-go, the would be fairy tale romance is so implausible as to go from mildly amusing at first to downright irritating after about ten minutes. Thereafter, a cast of British theatrical stalwarts and comedians do try to keep this film vaguely entertaining, but the humour is just far too contrived and piecemeal. Palin works hard, but the exhaustion in having to stretch this thinnest of stories out for 1¾ hours is writ large on his face until, by the end, even he looks like he is thinking - "Please, let's just get this over with". "Star Wars" fans might spot "Darth Vader" himself and from a star-spotting perspective, there is some value in the film but otherwise it is a poorly conceived and executed attempt at a fantasy adventure and my money was always on the dragon!
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00