4.6
Captain S. Melly takes over as the new Commanding Officer at an experimental mixed sex air defence base. It's 1940 and England is under heavy bombardment, but the crew seem more interested in each other than the enemy planes above. Captain Melly plans to put a stop to all this, and becomes the target of a campaign to abandon his separatist ideals...
Kenneth Connor
Captain S. Melly
Windsor Davies
Sergeant-Major 'Tiger' Bloomer
Judy Geeson
Sergeant Tilly Willing
Patrick Mower
Sergeant Len Able
Jack Douglas
Bombardier Ready
Joan Sims
Private Jennifer Ffoukes-Sharpe
Melvyn Hayes
Gunner Shorthouse
Peter Butterworth
Major Carstairs
Peter Jones
Brigadier
Diane Langton
Private Alice Easy
Julian Holloway
Major Butcher
David Lodge
Captain Bull
Larry Dann
Gunner Shaw
Brian Osborne
Gunner Owen
Johnny Briggs
Melly's Driver
Vivienne Johnson
Freda
Patricia Franklin
Corporal Cook
John Carlin
Officer
Linda Hooks
Nurse
Michael Nightingale
Officer
Jeremy Connor
Gunner Hiscocks
Richard Olley
Gunner Parker
Peter Banks
Gunner Thomas
Richard Bartlett
Gunner Drury
Billy J. Mitchell
Gunner Childs
Peter Quince
Gunner Sharpe
Paul Toothill
Gunner Gale
Tricia Newby
Bombardier Murray
Louise Burton
A.T.S. Private Evans
Jeannie Collings
A.T.T. Private Edwards
Barbara Hampshire
A.T.S. Private Carter
Linda Regan
A.T.S. Private Taylor
Barbara Rosenblat
A.T.S.
Director
Gerald Thomas
Screenplay
David Pursall
Screenplay
Jack Seddon
July 21, 2023
5
I'm afraid that by 1976, this franchise had well and truly run it's course - and this puerile and really quite tacky attempt at a wartime comedy put a final nail in it's coffin. Funnily enough, the innuendo-ridden character names look better on paper than they do when mentioned on screen - as illustrated by Kenneth Connor's lead character "Capt. S. Melly" who, alongside his sergeant-major "Bloomer" (Windsor Davies) spend their time trying to keep the men and women from their platoon from getting into any hanky panky. Trousers are constantly up and down, knickers fly from flagpoles, there are even tunnels used in attempt to lift this from the comedy doldrums but unfortunately they just don't work. It's way too predictable and the innocent cheekiness of the earlier films has been replaced by a rather crass degree of smuttiness that just makes this a bit crude. Joan Sims tries hard to bring back some semblance of the old days, but by the end you really do realise just how much better Messrs. James/Hawtrey/Williams and Hattie Jacques actually were at delivering a light-hearted comedy with an hint of naughtiness. I'd just give this a miss, sorry.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00