Reviews (6)

James Bond, as written by Jules Verne
In Science Fiction Fandom this type of tale is called "steampunk", a term derived from "cyberpunk" and not entirely appropreate. Cyberpunk tends to be depressing, while steampunk is usually a romp. "The Wild Wild West" television show was steampunk (so was the movie, but who wants to remember THAT thing?). So were "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", and "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen". Where does "The Assassination Bureau" fit on this list? Well toward the top, of not at the very peak. The story is VERY loosely based on a peculiar short story of the same name by Jack London (lots of period Radical Politics, very little charm, and no Diana Rigg). Taking that as its starting point the film romps through double dealing in Edwardian London, rascality and raids in a period Parisian bordello, skullduggary and poisoning in Venice, the assassination of Benny Hill (in a bit part as a minor Balkan Prince), and ends with a duel and a bang.

Previously available only (so far as I know) on an EP videotape. A widescrean DVD almost HAS to represent an improvement. Is it greedy of me to hope that some commentary (by Rigg, perhaps) will be included? Probably.

In any case; one hell of a romp.

When spies were way cool!!!
Back in the pop culture-friendly 60's, the spy game flourished on the big screen. During that decade, one could take his/her pick of the adventures of James Bond, Derrick Flint, or Matt Helm. Even on the television, there was "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.", "The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.", "Honey West" (a private eye), "Amos Burke" (Gene Barry's former police chief turned secret agent), two classics starring Patrick McGoohan ("Secret Agent" and "The Prisoner"), "The Wild, Wild West", and the comic parody, "Get Smart".

This was also the time of the big-budgeted "chase" flick. Movies like "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World", "The Great Race", and "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines".

Well, "The Assassination Bureau" has a little bit of them all: tongue-in-cheek humor; a casting coup with "The Avengers" Diana Rigg and Oliver Reed, fresh from "Women in Love"; a pre-"Kojak" Telly Savalas (who had also been featured in the James Bond film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", along with Rigg); a rollicking score; and nifty special effects, especially the concluding battle on the airship.

In the words of that great statesman Austin Powers, "It's groovy, baby!"

"Surrender is no defeat--for a woman."
The film "The Assassination Bureau" is based on the novel by Jack London. It's a spoof of the action-adventure yarn, laced with gentle comedy--a period piece set in the early 1900s. The heroine, Miss Winter (Diana Rigg) is a prim-and-proper newspaper reporter who develops a theory that all of the seemingly random world-wide killings committed by anarchists are actually crimes conducted under contract by a group of hired assassins operating as The Assassination Bureau.

Miss Winter's theory interests Lord Bostwick (Telly Savalas), the owner of a large London newspaper, and he agrees to publish Miss Winter's story when she announces her intention of destroying the bureau by contracting the death of the bureau's organizer, Ivan Dragomiloff (Oliver Reed). After infiltrating the Assassination Bureau, Miss Winter offers the contract to Dragomiloff, and he, curiously enough, accepts. By accepting the contract, he hopes to test the efficiency of his operatives, and so, a game of cat and mouse ensues as Dragomiloff travels throughout Europe trying to assassinate his operatives before they [do away with] him.

This fast moving film takes Dragomiloff and Miss Winters to France, Italy, Germany, and Switzerland as they assassinate their way across Europe. Operatives include Phillipe Noiret as Monsieur Lucoville--puritanical crusader at home, and bordello owner by night, and Curt Jurgens stars as the splendid but crazed swordsman General von Pinck. Warren Mitchell (Alf Garnett of Till Death Do Us Part fame) plays Herr Weiss--the rather nervous Swiss assassin.

The sets are marvellous, and the romantic sparks between Diana Rigg and Oliver Reed ignite the screen. They are a wonderful contrast to one another--Rigg is the suffragette who hopes that her career as a newspaperwoman will strike a great blow for women everywhere. Reed as Dragomiloff cuts a powerful, potent figure, and even Miss Winter can't resist his charms. Their on-screen chemistry is quite powerful. This film is a smooth, pleasant, entertaining diversion and is reminiscent of films such as "The Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines," and "The Great Race"--displacedhuman

very droll - fast paced and witty
Lively and quick-witted humor make this a really fun little movie to watch. I'll refrain from discussing the plot or scenes, because the less you know about it before watching, the better.

Oliver Reed, in a departure from the dark and menacing roles we usually see, is charming and debonair in this rather zany comedy. Diana Rigg is delightful (surely a little over-acting can be forgiven in a comedy?), and Telly Selvas surprisingly light touch is just right for his role.

The pace drops off a bit in the second half, and the comedy becomes broader and less subtle (yes, even slapstick as noted by another reviewer).

Still, taken as a whole, it's a clever, funny movie and very enjoyable.

The Assassination Bureau, Limited
I loved this movie as a boy thirty years ago and approached the video with some fear: would it be as enjoyable as I remembered it? No need to worry. The adult cringed a little at the pan-and-scan print, the crude editing, the overdone '60s shenanigans, and the incessant theme music. But the boy was as happy as ever. "The Assassination Bureau" is clever and witty, and the actors are clearly having a great time. Oliver Reed, normally a bit of a sourpuss, actually performs with humor and style for once. But the movie's greatest asset is Diana Rigg, the first actress I ever had a crush on. Maybe if you're a Baby Boomer like me, she'll always be the one for you. In this movie, as in the great neglected James Bond film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," she is droll and sexy and somehow very moving, and in both she has a particularly funny rapport with villain Telly Savalas, barely containing her disgust for him. All in all, highly recommended. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Crazy Slapstick Comedy
If you only like comedy films that are subtle and sophisticated, "Who Done It ? " is not for you. Personally, I found this movie to be consistently amusing, and I laughed out loud a number of times.

Benny Hill was one of Britain's most inventive comics, who achieved international stardom in the 70s and 80s through his zany television shows. In fact, television was Benny's medium--he did not make many movies.

"Who Done It ?"--released in 1956--features a young Benny in his first major starring role, and he makes the most of it. After losing his job at the Ice Capades, Benny decides to become a private detective, with the help of a surprisingly energetic bloodhound. He becomes involved with a pretty girl
( young and gorgeous Belinda Lee ), and a group of up-to-no-good Iron Curtain-type spies, led by stalwart British character actor, David Kossoff. Benny gets into one scrape after another, much to the continual annoyance of the police. There are various opportunities for Benny to "disguise" himself--a Hill trademark. Several setpieces stand out--posing as a "mad professor", Benny demonstrates a machine that "controls" the weather, with disastrous results--Benny and Belinda chasing the spies around a broadcasting convention at Earl's Court ( the whole film takes place in London )--the climactic race around a stock car track, reminiscent of the silent Keystone Cops movies.

Basil Dearden directs at a breakneck pace, and--yes--the plot is outlandish--the acting over the top--but if you like Benny and his antics, as I do, you'll love it.

Benny passed away suddenly about 12 years ago, and Britain lost one of it's brightest talents. In the biography included with this disc, it notes that a dying Charlie Chaplin spent many of his last days watching Benny's shows. Apparently, Milton Berle was a huge fan. If Chaplin and Berle thought Benny was funny, does it really matter what the rest of us think ? No comic could have more respected fans than these two "giants".

Another "bonus" with the DVD is a 30-minute, silent film Benny made in 1969, called "The Waiters"--Benny and a dim-witted sidekick are hired to cater a small party at an elegant country home. Would you want Benny to serve you food and drinks at a party ? If one of your guests is a curvaceous woman in a low-cut dress, would you want Benny within half a mile of her ?
Rhetorical questions both ! For you the viewer, this is a very entertaining half hour.

The picture quality for "Who Done It ?" is excellent--mono sound, of course. If you like goofy comedies--and Benny Hill in particular--Anchor Bay has given us another winner. Well done !

Who Done It? - Who Cares? Dum-Dum Wanna-Be Comedy
Benny Hill fans will enjoy this free-for-all nonsense about International espionage and a "secret weapon" developed by stereotypical Eastern-Block scientist. Benny, our likeable hero, is a "Inspector Clouseau" type amateur detective, ready to tackle his first assignment: impersonate the famous professor, as part of the secret plan for the bad guys to rule the world.

The story is "formula" and thin as a satin thread, but an extra large helping of "Benny Hill" slap stick, complete with lots of pretty girls and the obligatory Benny-in-drag scenes, make this predictable vehicle hobble along. The final car chase on (are you ready for this?) a race track is totally stupid, but what did you expect?

Given the 1960s mentality and the limited budgets available to produce a silly comedy, the objective was met. Today something similar would hope to recoupe it's investments in direct-to-video sales.***

Proof That Benny Hill Was A Great Comedian
Although I have watched the video 4 - 5 times, the most recent viewing was over a year ago. This is significant because it proves the memorably of the film. The film is well done. I must say there is no "obligatory endless complaining about rampant Socialism" so common to comedies of its era/place.

It has a fun chase at the end. There is a disastrous awards dinner. There are disguises too. It's a fun film. A note of caution: THERE ARE NO "BABES IN BIKINIS." It is a film with an actual plot ! Benny does exhibit many of his famous mannerisms, it's fun to look for them. I heartily recommend the film to fans of B&W Brit Comedies, and the "intellectual" Hill fan. :-D ... Read more

Amazon.com

While horror conventions may change from generation to generation, there are ideas that will scare us no matter what time period we inhabit. Dead of Night is a classic horror anthology that effectively plays on those timeless fears. Mervyn Johns stars as a man who has been summoned to a house with a group of strangers he has never met but has seen in his dreams. As they convene, he predicts certain events will happen as they do in his dreams, and when they do, the other guests relate their own experiences with the supernatural, including tales of a possessed mirror, a sinister ventriloquist's dummy, and an eerie premonition of death.Throughout the group meeting, the protagonist fears something horrible will happen to him, and we are left to wonder what it might be. The film's final, revelatory sequence offers an unexpectedly horrific surprise.It may have been made in 1945, but Dead of Night is still spooky. --Bryan Reesman ... Read more

Reviews (23)

Witness the birth of the horror anthology.
Granted much of Dead Of Night isn't going to hit home with a lot of people. It's old and, as such, doesn't strike a cord with our modern sensibilities (just watch the segment about the two golf players and you'll know what i mean). But in a way, that's good. It's like sitting around with your friends in the... ahem... dead of night and telling each other ghost stories. They may not have a lasting effect on you but when you're there, in the moment, they work under your skin. The movie is more fun than frightening. It also has the most amazing ending I have seen in a long time, more then a typical pay-off. It's like witnessing your own horrific nightmares all coming true at once. The last segment of the film is also it's strongest and deserves to be a classic all by itself, featuring Michael Redgrave as a ventriloquist fighting a losing battle with his evil dummy. This brief 15 minutes of film easily qualifies Dead Of Night as a classic of British horror.

ENGLISH SPOOKS
A popular and critical sensation in its time, DEAD OF NIGHT was the first horror film to be released in Britain since the beginning of WWII. It's a splendid anthology of occult stories told by five people in a country house visited by a young architect, who had anticipated the scene in a nightmare. Each recounts a bizarre personal tale, and after hearing the last, the architect strangles the sole remaining guest, a disbelieving psychiatrist. Awakened the next morning, the architect discovers he had dreamed it all.............Or has he? As a lifetime fan of ghost stories and the like, I recommend this movie highly; it's definitely of the best in the genre to this day. Essentially, it's a group of 5 (really four) horror stories loosely and cleverly linked together. The Christmas ghost story is good material a little weakly done; however the haunted mirror sequence (with Googie Withers) is first-rate; actually one of the most gripping ghost stories you'll see in any film. An antique mirror reflects the tortured life of the previous owner (who commited suicide) ......... The knockout finale, however is the brilliant and justly famous climatic ventriloquist sequence with Redgrave. The film evokes rather than depicts horror, and waves its symmetrical spell with the magic of a good script and good direction. Contributing in no small measure to the uncanny mood is the ominous, Wagnerian score by Georges Auric. who had written the music for Jean Cocteau's films. The whimsical golfing episode is ridiculously out of place and it could be completely omitted from all prints and one would never know the difference. There is an obscure 1945 British film entitled "A Place of One's Own" with James Mason and Margaret Lockwood which sounds interesting -a story of spirit possession; I hope it finds it's way to video soon!

Great Film, Horrible Quality
Each episode of this masterpiece conveys a sense of dread and impending horror. This is achieved by gradually turning reality askew until it's a nightmare. No need for chainsaws and chop-chop. Unfortunately, the print I received must have been pirated by a drunken one-armed lodger with Parkinson's Disease, sitting in a vibrating chair in a dumpy London flat while struggling to keep his Toys R Us video camera trained on the flickering blue screen of a 10-inch Dumont TV situated behind the dirty window of an apartment on the other side of the Thames during a foggy night.

The nightmare is real life
This is a classic. The film is very entertaining in its succession of paranormal stories that a psychiatrist questions systematically to propose explanations that are farfetched and have to be farfetched because he does not want to accept the idea that there may be some paranormal activities and events in the world. The whole range of such events is explored and leads to a very disquieting ending. What if what we consider the real world were nothing but an illusion, a nightmare, something happening in our own minds, something that only existed in our minds ? What if this dreamlike and nightmarish world became blocked on one particularly event ? What if psychosis were the real natural normal state of tle mind instead of what we generally call normality ? What if schizophrenia were nothing but enhanced consciousness and not some deranged illusion of the brain ? ETC. You will look at the world with different eyes after this film. You may even be tempted to go to sleep and finally enter the reality of a nightmare or just a plain dream. Do so and bring the reliefs of this nightmare or that dream into what you have so far considered and called the normal world. You will discover then that most people around you will consider you as a real nightmare and that you will consider them as either real dummies or real monsters from the dead of night. Anyway life will become a lot more interesting and fascinating.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

The Best Horror Film
You've seen the plots if you ever watched The Twilight Zone or half a dozen other series which generously stole the idea from Dead Of Night. But even if you are familiar with the tales, no film manages to invoke such fright as Dead Of Night.

A series of stories told by a group who are in an isolated English cottage on the moors, the suspense starts with the first tale and doesn't let up until the surprise, knock-out ending that beats them all.

Slightly Hitchcock in feel, the movie plays beautifully, even today, despite the lack of technological gimmickery.

Look for Sally Anne Howes in one of her first roles and a very young John Mills in the last tale.

Although the film does slow down with a comedic tale in the middle, it makes up for it with the John Mills episode.

Even if you are not a horror film fan, this movie will stun and fascinate you and is not to be missed. ... Read more

Reviews (27)

Problematic yet entertaining
Any film sporting a cast including Charlton Heston, Laurence Olivier, Richard Johnson, and Ralph Richardson has to be a winner, right? Errr, maybe. Take a look at the 1966 epic "Khartoum." It's got all the elements of a Hollywood blockbuster made in an era when big screen sagas dominated ticket sales. Bombastic musical score? Check. Big name actors? Check. Lush, atmospheric vistas beautifully and tastefully photographed? Check. "Khartoum" has all these elements, including a kingly run time of 134 minutes. So what went wrong? Depending on your viewpoint, everything or nothing. Personally, I sort of liked this movie about British General Charles "Chinese" Gordon's excursion to the Sudan to fight off an Islamic fanatic named the Mahdi. Then again, I've never seen "Lawrence of Arabia," the epic of epics I'm told this movie tried to shamelessly rip-off. I've got a degree in history, so I always like to sit down and watch Hollywood attempt to do historical pictures. My background, unfortunately, doesn't encompass nineteenth century British politics, so I had to look at the movie from a purely entertainment level. From that angle, "Khartoum" is intriguing.

At the beginning of the film we see a contingent of British army regulars and local Arab auxiliaries wiped out by the fanatical army of the Mahdi (Olivier). This Islamic warrior seeks to throw the British out of the Sudan, capture the Suez Canal, and then launch a jihad against the western world. Enter Prime Minister William Gladstone (Richardson) and his cabinet. These politicians are quite concerned about the Mahdi's militant overtures. The threat of losing their hold on the Suez could cause Gladstone to lose political power, and the public is having a field day about the lost army in the desert. Prime Minister Gladstone doesn't want to take a further risk by sending another army into the field. What will happen to him if that force disappears as well? Then Colonel J.D.H. Stewart (Johnson) comes up with a novel idea: why not send good old General Charles Gordon (Heston) down to the Sudan to straighten out matters? "Chinese" Gordon knows the ropes in the region since he helped abolish slavery in that part of the world a few years before. The Arabs just love this Brit, so why not make use of his talents to undercut the local support for the Mahdi? Gladstone rejoices, recognizing he has a way out of this sticky political predicament. He quickly convinces Gordon to undertake a secret mission into the Sudan.

Gordon knows the score, but decides to go anyway. Stewart goes along as an assistant and as a spy for Gladstone. The General and Stewart sail up the Nile to Khartoum, where they plan on arranging resistance to the fanatics. Things go awry almost immediately, as a former slaver whose son Gordon killed refuses to help the British. Then the Mahdi's forces box the General into Khartoum. The city faces food and supply shortages that require Gordon to launch a few small attacks in the desert while Stewart remains behind to fortify the city with a moat. After he meets with the Mahdi and learns how dangerous the guy is, "Chinese" Gordon realizes he'll need the help of the British if he wants to hold the region. Across the desert go the messengers, but Gladstone stonewalls in London, claiming Gordon went to the Sudan on his own accord and thus must fix the mess himself. The prime minister even goes so far as to accuse Gordon of exaggerating the threat facing the city. Eventually, Gladstone sends forces to save Khartoum, but gives the leader of this army strict orders to drag his feet. Lots of politics here, folks, but it all makes sense when you see it. Gordon stands tall at the end when the Mahdi launches a massive offensive against Khartoum. The final battle scene is an intense one and helped elevate my overall impression of the film.

"Khartoum" does slightly drag in spots, namely when all the political wrangling between Gordon and Gladstone takes place, but it is still fun for viewers who like dialogue heavy films. Besides, it isn't as though there's no action going on-there just isn't enough to satisfy viewers who found other Hollywood epics so much fun. You want non-stop action, watch "Zulu." You want to think a little bit about the machinations behind the imperialism, give "Khartoum" a shot. A better argument of the inferiority of this film could easily be made concerning the other elements of the story. The performances tend towards the uneven, sadly, as Olivier hams it up as the bass voiced Mahdi. He's barely recognizable behind all that shoe polish make-up and thick beard. Heston imbues his depiction of Gordon with a certain wryness that occasionally appeals but too often feels out of place. Moreover, his British accent is the least convincing one I have heard in a long time. Richardson and Johnson don't have much to do in their roles, and don't get the amount of screen time allotted to Olivier and Heston. "Khartoum" works, ultimately, but with serious reservations.

The DVD version of the film contains only a trailer as an extra. The restored print looks great, and that brassy musical score booms wonderfully. I'm not sure I can recommend actually buying this movie. If you like films about the Middle East, the British Empire, or epics than I'm sure you would want to add this one to your collection. I suggest a discrete rental and then a decision. I can say that I would watch this film again, if for no other reason than to see that cool landmine device Gordon cooks up with a pistol and a length of primer cord. Enjoy!

"out of the vast, hot, African nowhere..."
Though the historical events in this film took place in 1884-85, there are aspects of it that remind one of today's headlines; this is a sadly underrated film, with a fantastic cast, massive battle scenes, and a beautifully written script about an extraordinary man.
There are scenes that take "artistic license", but the film is quite accurate in its facts on General Gordon; a military genius who hated war, a deeply religious man who worked to end slavery, and who fell in love with the desolate scorching sands and the people of the Sudan.

The pairing of Charlton Heston and Laurence Olivier is fabulous, and their scenes together are riveting. Heston is gaunt in this film, to closer portray the slightly built Gordon, and speaks with a subtle but excellent English accent; Olivier is the fanatic who calls himself The Mahdi ("The Expected One"), waging a holy war with his followers to destroy anyone who opposes his beliefs, with the aim of conquering the world for his fundamentalist faith.
Other wonderful performances come from Richard Johnson as Col. Stewart, Ralph Richardson as Prime Minister Gladstone, Nigel Green as Gen Wolseley, and Johnny Sekka is a delight as Gordon's servant Khaleel.

After British-led Egyptian forces are massacred by The Mahdi's insurgents, the British government asks Egypt to give up the Sudan, and General Gordon is called to evacuate the European and Egyptian civilians from the Sudan; he stays to ward off the terrorists and the siege of Khartoum takes place.
The sweeping panoramas of the desert and the Nile river are sumptuous (cinematography by Edward Scaife), and the Frank Cordell score is terrific, though it owes a bit to Maurice Jarre's music for "Lawrence of Arabia"; released 6 years earlier, "Lawrence" has some comparisons to this film, as they are both about adventurous men of courage who felt comfortable in Arab lands.
This film sparked my imagination and made me want to know more about Gordon's fascinating life and the history that surrounded him, and it is one I could watch repeatedly. Total running time is 134 minutes.
"...but there is this: A world with no room for the Gordons, is a world that will return to the sands".

One of Chuck's best
Before he was NRA junta chief and in between making movies where a planet of apes evolved from men and Soylent Green was people, Charlton Heston was a pretty damn fine actor. His performance is pre-"method" but commanding, and he definitely holds his own in all the scenes with Olivier.

This film is based on the actual seige and capture of Khartoum in the Sudan in 1884. The events are of couse slightly disorted (as usual) but the essence of the story is correct. I don't think the box office reciepts would have been too good if they actually showed Gordon (Heston's character) as being 5'2" in boots. The real story is rather chilling and sad but the film manages to make it inspiring to a point, the situation being one where victory may be impossible but heroism, a willingness to fight the "good fight", is not.

As to the quality of the disc itself, there are no extras except the trailer. The sound quality is merely ok, but the picture transfer is beautiful. A+ on that count. If you saw the recent film of "The Four Feathers" I would recommend this film over it. It is a little leisurely in pace ealy on but it is well crafted and very well written.

Unimpressive
This isn't Charleton Heston's best work by a long-shot. His acting is hardly convincing as General Charles Gordon. The cinematography is decent but there seems to also be an absence in character depth throughout the movie: there is also little action.

Epic movies about the colonial era in Africa are never easy: this movie just doesn't do it. The best role played in the movie was that of "The Mahdi" by Laurence Olivier, however, he is hardly a convincing moor. All of the scenes just seem to fall short in climax or tension for this sort of drama.

The failure of the movie also lies in its attempt to simplify the complexities of the time: the script writer failed to grasp te culture of the epoch and this is made evident in the movie. As a result, the dialogue is hollow and the action dull. Perhaps worth renting for those who are admirers of either Heston or Olivier but there isn't much to own here.

EXCELLENT!!
Excellent DVD transfer of one of the great epics of the 60's! I was shocked on how clean the print was with very few blemishes to be found. This is the best I've ever seen this movie look. If you love epics-BUY THIS TODAY! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Lesser-known Horror Anthology - Mediocre until the End
Dan Curtis, of Dark Shadows fame, created "Dead of Night" in order to follow up on his immensely popular "Trilogy of Terror." Like "Trilogy," "Dead of Night" consists of three horror stories, and also like "Trilogy," the first two stories are only mediocre. In each film, it is the third and final story that packs the most punch (and what a punch!).

The first story in "Dead of Night" involves a young man who comes into possession of a supernatural antique vehicle. This story was very slow-paced, uninspiring, and thoroughly forgettable. I cannot even recall the title.

The second story, "No Such Thing as a Vampire," starring Patrick MacNee, is much better. MacNee portrays a jealous husband seeking revenge on his wife's "secret" lover, a revenge exacted via the beliefs of the superstitious townsfolk.

The third story, "Bobby," a teleplay penned by the legendary Richard Matheson, is, as another reviewer put it, "paydirt." This genuinely frightening story involves a guilt-ridden mother who resorts to black magic to resurrect her drowned son, and is worth the price of this rather hard to find video by itself. It's classic short-story format horror and leaves a lasting impression. Dan Curtis tried to reinvent this tale with Lysette Anthony in "Trilogy of Terror II," but the remake comes nowhere near close to capturing the dark, claustrophobic horror of the original.

In short, if you're a horror fan, "Dead of Night" is certainly worth a look, particularly for the last tale.

1945 British Horror Classic
The "Dead of Night" pictured on the cover of the box as shown is for the 1945 British anthology film, NOT the made-for-televion 1977 film as reviewed in the two reviews I just read. There is a mix-up here. Which of the two films is actually for sale? The 1945 film is excellent. It has five different stories, each told by a different character. Each story has also been handled by a different director. The characters who tell these stories are all wrapped up in a sixth story which starts and ends the film.

Worth it for the last story alone!
I'd caught the last 15 minutes of this movie on television a few years ago, and spent some time and effort tracking it down. Being 41 myself, I well remember the wonderful old "ABC Tuesday Movie of the Week" telefilms of the 70's (and Wednesday MOW's and so on). This, I guess I'd missed the first time around.

Anyway, as "horror anthology" this isn't a success at all. I understand this was the pilot for a possible series of strange and unusual tales, so it isn't all horror. In fact, the first story is an interesting romantic time-travel tale, by noted writer Jack Finney. In that story, a man who restores a classic, antique car, is taken by that car back in time to before the car was wrecked. ...

The second story, is about a man using his village's fear of vampire legends to dispatch his own enemies - not much interest or tension there.

The third story - aha! PAYDIRT!!!

This is the story worth waiting for, the story you want to see, the story like no story you've ever seen before, and that will keep you jumping throughout. I'll tell you nothing about it - you'll have to buy this video to see it yourself, and believe me - you'll be glad you did!

If You Liked Trilogy of Terror...
People who like horror anthologies should enjoy this made for TV feature. In 1975 Trilogy of Terror was a success so Dan Curtis directed this follow up although it is not as well known. There are three stories about a trip into the past involving an antique car, a vampire and a woman who brings her drowned son back from the dead. A cast of familiar faces include Ed Begley Jr, Anjanette Comer, Horst Bucholz, Patrick Macnee, Elisha Cook Jr, Joan Hackett and Lee H.Montgomery. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great War Drama!!!
Micheal Redgrave stars as a WW2 German concentration camp escapee wh assumes the identity of a dead British Officer in a P O W camp who must correspond with the dead mans estranged wife but as the German catch on he must escape and if he reaches England, what will his reception be?This is a great War Drama!!! ... Read more

Amazon.com

An amiable knockoff of the Ealing comedy style, The Smallest Show on Earth (1957) starts with aspiring novelist Bill Travers and his "nice gel" wife Virginia McKenna inheriting a cinema from a hitherto unknown uncle and discovering that it isn't the sumptuous modern Grand, which specializes in those "smash 'em in the face, knock 'em over the waterfront" pictures, but the decrepit Bijou, known locally as "the fleapit." The initial plan, set up by lawyer Leslie Phillips, is to sell off the cinema to the owner of the Grand so he can knock it down to make a car park, but our heroes are put off by the arrogant bullying of the rival manager (Francis De Wolff) and succumb to the inept charms of the crazed, aged staff--drunken projectionist Peter Sellers, doddering commissionaire Bernard Miles, and dotty ticket lady Margaret Rutherford (who joined the team as a piano accompanist).

In the 1950s there was a run of gentle British comedies in which outmoded and broken-down local institutions (steam trains, tugboats, vintage cars) were saved by collections of committed eccentrics who despised the new-fangled bus services or soulless council bureaucracies and were willing to resort to a little larceny (in this case, arson). The Smallest Show slots in perfectly with the cycle, getting laughs from the Bijou's already outmoded program of scratchy Westerns and desert dramas (which increase ice cream sales) and sentiment over the staff's midnight screenings of silent movies that remind them of better days. It's likeable rather than hilarious, with Sellers and Miles buried under crepe hair and fake wrinkles competing to out-dodder each other and losing the picture to the inimitable Rutherford, who doesn't have to fake her eccentricity. Pinup June Cunningham is the glamorous usherette and Sid James plays her annoyed dad.--Kim Newman ... Read more

Reviews (5)

"He died in a pub."
In the British comedy, "The Smallest Show on Earth" Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna are teamed together as newlyweds Matt and Jill Spencer. Matt receives news that he's inherited a cinema from his uncle Simon, so the Spencers head off to Sloughborough (the home of a pungent glue factory) to claim the inheritance. The Bijou cinema is a dilapidated place known locally as the fleapit. The Bijou cannot rival Sloughborough's only other cinema--the palatial Grand--in fact the owner of the Grand wants to buy the Bijou and tear it down in order to build a parking lot.

Along with the Bijou, the Spencers also inherit the Bijou's staff--there's old Tom--the janitor and doorman--Mrs. Fazazkalee (Margaret Rutherford), and Percy Quill--the projectionist (Peter Sellers). At first the Spencers hope to sell the Bijou, but when Hardcastle, the owner of the Grand, tries to drive a hard bargain, the Spencers decide to open the Bijou once again.

"The Smallest Show on Earth" is a charming film. The superior cast really makes the film sparkle. Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers were a successful screen team and starred together in "Born Free". Peter Sellers is at his quirky best in the role as the projectionist, and the three elderly Bijou employees enjoy a lively rivalry that they abandon to save the Bijou. Sid James appears in a tiny role, and Leslie Phillips plays local solicitor, Mr. Carter. The Bijou cinema really steals the film. When the Spencers see the cinema, Matt says "my uncle actually charged people to go in there?" Viewers are supposed to see the Bijou as a terrible dump, but the beauty of the crumbling old cinema cannot be diminished. The best scenes occur as films play in the Bijou, and the audiences participate in some quite unique and rather alarming ways. If you are a fan of early British comedy, you will enjoy this film. The quality of the film was excellent--displacedhuman.

A sweet era recalled in humor.
'THE SMALLEST SHOW ON EARTH' may not have been exactly that since there were certainly smaller, but it was a case of a fictional small "electric theatre" (the British way of differentiating a movie theatre from a legitimate theatre or 'music hall,' as they designated their version of the American vaudeville). This delightful British film is as heart warming and sometimes hilarious as the other reviewers here describe, but it is the wonderful interaction between the story, the sets, and the actors that balance the film and make it a classic. This 19th century 'kinema' was styled in the manner of the traditional British 'music hall' of live performers, but held the earliest of projection equipment (hence the double entendre about projectionist Peter Sellers' 'equipment.') Such asides will be over the heads of the kiddies, but the pleasant pacing and careful dialogue of the actors will please the adults for whom this comedy is intended.

The story of a young couple inheriting a cinema and finding that it is not quite the money-maker they imagined would have been prosaic were it not for the clever settings and the three fossils who maintained the old "Bijou" (French for 'jewel'). If it were ever a jewel, it had lost its luster as the years passed and patrons flocked to the newer nearby movie palace, the 'Grand.' Desperate to keep their jobs, the 'fossils' (veteran scene-stealers: Peter Sellers, Margaret Rutherford, and Bernard Miles) took pains to refresh the old place to please new owner Bill Travers, a too seldom used actor of mild presence but uniquely suited to this role. The character of the Bijou's "commissioner" (doorman, janitor, and boiler keeper) Miles in the end tries too hard and creates the only jarring note in the film, which is otherwise tender and memorable. The device of having latter day elevated trains roar past the cinema was inspired and created some memorable scenes, as when the building sways to the slow start up of the train, or when Bill Travers' character is almost rattled off the ladder as he attempts to relight the old roof sign. There are many wonderful sight gags and other fine bits that one will long remember.

For those who also like old theatres, it may be of interest to know that the exterior of the Bijou was actually a set created at the meeting of two existing elevated train bridges on Christchurch Ave. at the Kilburn LT station in London. The interior was a also a set, but so well done that you would swear that you were in a real 19th century 'opera house.' The design is thought to be derived from the real Palace of Varieties at Camberwell. The movie palace with the pipe organ - the Grand -- was actually the Gaumont Palace (later the Odeon, now Apollo) in Hammersmith, London. And the use of the fictional name of "Sloughborough" for the town is another little joke since it means 'low place or mire.' These details can be confirmed in the journal of the British "Cinema Theatre Association's" magazine "PICTURE HOUSE," No. 19, Winter 93-94, pages 37 and 38, (where there are photos in this and the previous issue) furnished to this reviewer courtesy of Mr. Brian J. Hall of England.

One reviewer said that the only flaw was that the story was too short and I must concur in that, and that is the only real flaw I can find in the film as well. There is a difficulty, however, in appreciating the quality of the film from the most common versions of the VHS-NTSC format videos now available. Amazon lists two ASIN numbers of versions made by the same French Canadian firm, Madacy, which produced them in EP speed, rather than the usual SP speed that allows for quality. Since Amazon never indicates the speed of a tape, I cannot tell if their third variation produced by 'VCI Classics (American Prudential)' is also in this slow speed of poor quality. Not only is the image poor, but the sound is downright difficult to understand! Amazon's sister company, The Internet Movie Data Base (www.IMDB.com), now lists two CD versions about to be released, and we can but hope that they were made from restored masters and are the pleasure that the original film is.

P.S.: Two years before the movie "Majestic" (starring Jim Carrey) debuted, the director wrote on the THEATRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY'S web site that he was searching for information about historic theatres for his forthcoming unnamed movie. This reviewer responded with information and said that the description of it he gave sounded something like "The Smallest Show on Earth." He responded that he was amazed that anyone remembered the 1956 British film, but that it was an inspiration for his movie. Look closely at the lobby in "Majestic" and you will see it clearly resembles that in the 'Bijou,' even if the facades were much different. These films turned out very differently, but at least the architecture rewards lovers of theatres.

lesson in what acting is all about
THE SMALLEST SHOW ON EARTH, the Bijou movie house, is well worth watching for its'lesson in what acting is all about. The enigmatic title is the only puzzlement of the movie. Otherwise, you get entertainment the British plain acting way that only the British seem to know how to do it. "Smallest" is a simple, delightful plot of what might go wrong with the best laid plans of inheritance when the legatees need to put an over-the-hill movie house back in business to compete with an up-to-date rival. You are tenderly entertained, then, by the actors Rutherford, Sellers, and Bernard Miles who were former employees and a threesome tossed into the plot as part of the inheritance. Margaret Rutherford was the deceased's "courtesan" ticket-seller bookkeeper who found a way to keep the old theater operating by taking in, as admission ticket "money," chickens, eggs, and such bookkeeping entries. She also is wise to the dipsy sot up there in the projection booth, Peter Sellers. Despite his penchant for booze he manages to make the ancient projectionist equipment function; equipment manufactured and carried over from Tudor times I would guess. Sellers did not cotton well to Margaret Rutherford. His major complaint was her bad behavior, suggesting thus that the new owner ought to not sack her, but could " . . . say something rude and nasty to her." Bernard Miles,urban relative of the village idiot, janitor and doorman aspired to continue working, but only if he could have a u-nee-form; one like the doorman in the competing movie house [with white gloves tucked under the left shouler epaulette, you see]. A good story also includes something inanimate object that actually plays a role. In this production, that "actor" is the thundering Britrail locomotive driven train that rattles the Bijou movie house, projection equipment and moviegoers, hilariously shaken--not stirred. The Bijou itself is a vestigial of Britain's lust for theater complete with organ that played musical strains for the silent movies, and a section in the back where young couples learned some of the facts of life. Theaters like this, originally opera houses and music halls, still exist in the Notting Hill section of London. Besides all of this location nostalgia, the characters are funny . . . gove'ner.

Good movie but beware the inferior print
The one-star rating refers to this particular version. The film itself is a pleasant British comedy about a young couple's adventures with an ancient movie theater and its ancient staff. However, this is an extended-play tape of a bootleg-quality print with inferior picture and sound, and fans of the film will definitely be disappointed by the video presentation.

Smallest Show on Earch well titled
Marginally affecting in a gentle 50's way, but ultimately can't overcome the torpid pacing. A bit too gentle for my tastes. Virginia McKenna is, as always, worth the watching ... Read more

Amazon.com

The League of Gentlemen is a sardonic crime drama in which Jack Hawkins plays an embittered retired army officer who recruits seven fellow ex-soldiers to carry out a bank raid with military precision. The film presents an England between post-war austerity and the more liberated 1960s where traditional moral certainties were rapidly being discarded; a London where ex-officers left on the scrapheap at war's end could justify turning their military experience to armed robbery. Unfortunately the tale is neither particularly amusing or thrilling, with an overlong central detour via an army camp prefacing the exciting heist and a largely anti-climactic ending. Nevertheless Hawkins effectively subverts his heroic officer type from The Cruel Sea (1953) and The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), and there’s excellent support from a great cast including Nigel Patrick, Richard Attenborough and Roger Livesey.

Bryan Forbes not only wrote the cynical screenplay but co-starred with wife Nanette Newman in her first significant screen role. More influential than truly classic, The League of Gentlemen has lent its name to a modern BBC comedy and an "Extraordinary" comic strip-turned-movie, and proved the template for heist films ever since, including both versions of The Italian Job (1969 and 2003). --Gary S. Dalkin ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The thinking person's 'Ocean's Eleven'
An underappreciated British classic full of wit and irony. A cadre of ex-servicemen seek to escape their dreary, pinched lives in postwar Britain by reuniting for one last 'mission'.

A classic!
Funny, sharp witted, well-made. A clear influence on THE DIRTY DOZEN. Nigel Patrick is a stand-out. Roger Livesy steals the film with his imitation of a General. British life is well-observed; "Bunny" is a high-light. Don't miss this!

Brilliant 60's movie about a well planned bank robbery
Great acting throughout, fantastic lighting and overall quality. This movie will keep you in suspense until the end credits. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

THE TRAGIC PRINCESS OF CELLE...
This is a lavish British film that attempts to tell the truly tragic tale of a German Princess who would go on to become the wife and captive princess of the uncouth boor who would one day be crowned as George I of England.

William of Celle and his wife Eleanore had a beautiful, pampered daughter, Sophia Dorothea. His younger brother, Ernest Augustus, ruled in the rival principality of Hanover. He was married to Sophia, daughter of the King of Bohemia. Together they had a number of children, the oldest of whom was George Lewis, an ugly, coarse, and boorish man, born to be a soldier, rather than a statesman or diplomat.

There came a time when Sophia Dorothea, as a result of some underhanded political intrigues, was forced into a loveless marriage with her
first cousin, George Lewis, much to her and her mother's despair and dismay. George Lewis was also not thrilled with the match, given as he was to coarser delights. Sophia Dorothea, however, tried to make the most of her unpleasant situation, buoyed by her own innate charm and disposition.

In the end, however, Sophia Dorothea became undone by her love for the dashing Count Konigsmarck of Sweden. Through the political machinations and intrigues of the jealous and sexually insatiable Countess Clara von Platen, her father-in-law's long time mistress and Konigsmarck's spurned lover, Sophia Dorothea and Count Konigsmarck were betrayed. Ruined, Sophia Dorothea ended her days as a captive princess, the tragic and pitied Princess of Celle. George Lewis would go on to undeserved heights as George I of England, and the house of Hanover would become a force with which to be reckoned.

This film gives a decent account of the tragedy that befell Sophia Dorothea, played with dainty and delicate sensibility by Joan Greenwood. Stewart Granger was never more handsome as the dashing adventurer, Count Konigsmark. Francoise Rosay gives an excellent performance as Sophia, the Electress of Hanover. Daughter of the King of Bohemia and wife of Ernest Augustus, the Elector of Hanover, she always kept her eye on the prize, the throne of England. Peter Bull gives a good account of himself as the boorish and unattractive Hanoverian Prince, George Lewis, the future King of England. It is Flora Robson who steals the show, however, as the aging and wicked doyenne of political intrigue, Countess Clara von Platen, infusing the character with a compelling pathos.

The one shortcoming of the film is that a viewer who may be unfamiliar with the underpinnings of this true life story may find themselves a little lost, as the film touches on many aspects of the story but fails to fully flesh them out. Still, those with a penchant for historical dramas, as well as those who are interested in Hanoverian history will appreciate this otherwise enjoyable period piece.

Fabulous film!!!
You cannot find better performances than Granger"s, Robson's and Greenwood's in this tragic tale of love found and lost. Eerie things abound, and the cast is up to the mark with all of the doings. Dramatic as hell, great cinemnatography, a real rare treat. Forget the other reviews on this page.

Lavish drama of Hanoverian plot to rule Britain
Fine British drama of the Hanoverian plot to take over the British crown, placing George I on the throne. Fine acting from all concerned. Joan Greenwood as the discarded queen who finds solace in the arms of a young guardsman (Granger). The acting trophy goes to Flora Robson who should have netted a Supporting Oscar nom for her finely shaded ruthless, yet human, spy and intriguer. The extremely lavish sets and costumes are stunning. Oscar nom for Art Direction. ... Read more

Description

A cinematic milestone, Victim was one of the first films to deal seriously and openly with homosexuality.Basil Dearden's (The League of Gentlemen) taut thriller focuses on a bisexual lawyer (Dirk Bogarde, The Servant, The Woman in Question) who risks his marriage and reputation to prosecute a ring of blackmailers that targets gay men.Made when British law still outlawed "homosexual acts," Victim was a risk to the careers of all those involved, but screenwriters Janet Green and John McCormick skillfully avoided both sensationalism and stereotypes.Victim marked a turning point for matinee idol Bogarde, who moved from lightweight to serious, attention-getting roles.Shot on location in London with an impeccable cast, Dearden's stylish film helped forge a new realism in British cinema. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Haunting and challenging film . magnificent!
In the early sixties it's hard for you to get a film so brave like this one. Bogarde is a homosexual who lives in the closet.
And this fact will be sparkling point , thrugh he'll be blackmailed .
In one of the excellent lines of this amazing script Bogarde staes: The fear is the oxygen of the extorsion.
Watch this brave film . Bogarde shows us he was an actor of depth and substance . After he would make The servant (see my review) where he would play a top notch performance under Joseph Losey' s direction. This movie may be well considered as the masterpiece of Basil Dearden.
And remind that Advise and consent , that unforgettable film of Otto Preminger deals with similar argument. Both of them belongs the same year.

Taut, well played film
A landmark film in 1961, it brought homosexuality out into the open. Well written by Janet Green and John McCormick, the plot tells of a blackmail ring that involves the lives of many "victims". Peter McEnery is a young gay man who is blackmailed and is desperate to avoid his blackmailers and the police. Dirk Bogarde, in a daring move career wise, plays the closeted barrister Melville Farr who had a brief liasion many years ago with McEnery.
When McEnery needs his help, Bogarde rebuffs him which results in tragedy for the young man. As character after character become embroiled in this crime their lives start a downward spiral. Everyone in the film becomes a victim of this heinous crime.
Filmed in black and white against a grey London winter, the cinematography sets the right mood. Dirk Bogarde took quite a risk to play Melville Farr. Homosexuality was still very taboo and could have broken his career. Instead it opened up many more serious parts for him. His performance is intense and very downplayed. Sylvia Syms, as his loving wife, matches Bogarde's performance in quality. Her part could have become a bit melodramatic but Syms and director Basil Dearden avoided that pitfall.
This film also reminds viewers of the narrow thinking that prevailed in the early 60's. This was before Stonewall and Gay Liberation. In England you could be imprisoned for many years. The law was repealed in 1966. It is thought that this film was innovative in getting the repeal.

A bonus to the DVD is an interview with Dirk Bogarde.

Taut, well-acted, entertaining thriller
Don't let the title mislead you. Victim is about a man who is anything but helpless. Dirk Bogarde, in a career-defining role, plays a highly respected, but closeted, attorney who risks his marriage and reputation to bring to justice an elusive blackmail ring terrorizing gay men (exposure then meant not only disgrace but prison), and which caused the young man he loved to commit suicide. In the early 1960s, director Basil Dearden's Victim was perhaps the most daring film yet to appear on the British screen. A surprise hit at the box office, many regard it as the work that finally stirred Parliament to begin amending Britain's draconian laws against "homosexual acts."

Historical importance aside, Victim still holds up as a taut and entertaining thriller, with excellent performances and some striking cinematography. After more than 40 years, actor Dirk Bogarde's protagonist remains one of the screen's few out and out gay heroes. He gives a richly nuanced, and powerful, performance. The film uses an unusual structural device: Melville Farr (Bogarde) and Jack Barrett (hauntingly played by Peter McEnery), the young man who loves him and whom he loves, never appear together onscreen. In fact, the first quarter of the film involves Jack's increasingly frantic attempts to contact the nervous Farr, who dodges him every way he can. While that "non-meeting" certainly upped the comfort level for many, it also provides a unique dramatic strength. Here absence is powerful in its suggestiveness. And as the film unfolds, we never forget that Farr's single-minded mission - in his role as part lovesick man, part avenging angel - is to bring to justice the blackmailers who drove Jack to kill himself.

As played by the handsome Peter McEnery, Jack comes across as a likable guy, unpretentious and authentic. We never doubt his feelings for Farr, or his genuine affection for the middle-aged men in love with him. And although Jack dies within the first half hour, he dominates the film, causing not only Farr but, on some level, the audience to ask, What injustice caused this affable young man to kill himself?

And that puts all of British society, both gay and straight, on trial. But it also causes the film's only dramatic limitation when, in the second half, polemics takes over. It tries to show the broad impact of homophobia on the widest possible socioeconomic range of characters, from both the straight and gay worlds. There are simply too many people, representing too many permutations of class and taste. However, there are some very powerful scenes, especially between Farr and his wife Laura (played with emotional complexity by the beautiful Sylvia Syms), as they work out the new contours of their marriage. But overall the film's second half was less effective than its first.

In the opening hour, Dearden brilliantly used cinematic means - expressive lighting, slightly off-kilter compositions, propulsive narrative rhythms, and jazzy music - to explore character and theme (all captured superbly in the DVD transfer). In the first half, I saw and felt what it was like to live in that tense world, while in the second half, I heard characters tell me about it.

Still, I highly recommend this film, not only for its historical importance to both GLBT cinema and rights, but because it is an engrossing, well acted and often strikingly shot film. And although the legal and social situation of GLBT people has improved markedly in the past four decades, there is still much emotional truth and insight in this landmark film.

Daring crime thriller
Victim stands firmly in the crime thriller category, but the conventions of the genre are merely the occasion for a political plea to legalize homosexuality. It is a plea passionately and effectively delivered, albeit grounded in contemporary misguided assumptions, ie. that homosexuality is a perversion that is nevertheless incurable and ought to be tolerated as a compassionate concession to a tragic inevitability.

As a thriller it is interesting enough, though the characters are shallow, since their development is clearly subordinated to the socio-political message the film is trying to get across. This is compensated for by excellent production values, the style of which clearly belongs to the new wave of British realism in the mid-50s to '60s. Bogarde and Price also deliver fine performances.

ten-letter word
This film from the Rank organisation directed by Basil Dearden was a landmark in cinema history as allegedly the first to mention the ten-letter word "homosexual" (though the use of "queer" reads as more of a shock). "Gay" had got a lot of usage, in the 20's in innocence, and in the 30's with subtext, but it says something about the sexual prudism of American society that it was the British, of all people, to be the ones to open an adult conversation on the subject. The screenplay by Janet Green and John McCormick uses the thriller form to uncover the blackmail of homosexuals, since the laws that existed to prosecute practicing homosexuals was known as the "blackmailer's charter". The victims of both the legal system and the homophobic blackmailers presente here are all men, with no mention of whether this law also applied to lesbians, though presumably the offence they could be convicted of is less associated with women (and not uncommon in heterosexual behaviour). Since the writers make the main character a barrister, it's clear that the intention is law reform, but this ambition doesn't stop them from using cliched phrases, such as "horrid imaginings", "It used to be witches", "unfortunate devils", "They're good for a laugh but I hate their guts", "The invert is part of nature", and "I find love in the only way I can". The best line is delivered by a Noel Coward-ish actor (his character named is amusingly obscured by the sound of a passing tea trolley), "the rage of Caliban on seeing his own reflection in the mirror", but the worst is ironically delivered by the actor delivering the most interesting performance as a victim, with Charles Lloyd Pack's "Nature played me a dirty trick". Lloyd Pack gives "I'm going to be sensible" a funny intonation. An incriminating photograph of the barrister Dirk Bogarde with a "boy" he has in his car but has rebuffed, is never seen, which is a pity since we are told "there is as much pain in both faces". The screenplay also features a McGuffin subplot, and an odd cruising policeman (one wonders how far he would go with his spying) , but the lead blackmailer is given some nice touches with a motobike, s/m clothing, a fondness for boxing and classical music, and a framed picture of Michelangelo's David. What is interesting is how the writers condemn women as the worst type of homophobes, while at the same time giving Bogarde's wife (Sylvia Syms) such depth of feeling, probably as an acknowledgement that of the couple, she is one who has been deceived the most. Whilst I could have done without making her a teacher of "difficult children", the scene where Bogarde's involvement is exposed has her playing the prosecutor to his witness, with his climactic "I wanted him" yelled in shameful anger and along the same lines as his "If it was love why should I want to stamp it out?" In a role Bogarde declared altered his screen career for the better, he wears aged makeup and sports grey hair, apparently since a man at 40 has entered decay (or is just 40 year old closeted male homosexuals?), and whilst the barrister role allows him a dignified manner, I liked his smile upon being made aware of being in the same room as three less closeted male homosexuals, and the look on his face when he is asked if he knew the boy he had been seeing was homosexual and he replies "Yes, I had formed that impression". It's hard to imagine who the film-makers thought the audience for this film was, since the main character's denial of his sexual impulses insults gays, and as Pauline Kael said in her review to be found in I Lost it at the Movies, it also "gives a black eye to the heterosexual life, with the unwarranted assumption that that if homosexuality wasn't a crime, it would spread and heterosexuality would be unable to survive in a free market". ... Read more

Reviews (5)

"He died in a pub."
In the British comedy, "The Smallest Show on Earth" Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna are teamed together as newlyweds Matt and Jill Spencer. Matt receives news that he's inherited a cinema from his uncle Simon, so the Spencers head off to Sloughborough (the home of a pungent glue factory) to claim the inheritance. The Bijou cinema is a dilapidated place known locally as the fleapit. The Bijou cannot rival Sloughborough's only other cinema--the palatial Grand--in fact the owner of the Grand wants to buy the Bijou and tear it down in order to build a parking lot.

Along with the Bijou, the Spencers also inherit the Bijou's staff--there's old Tom--the janitor and doorman--Mrs. Fazazkalee (Margaret Rutherford), and Percy Quill--the projectionist (Peter Sellers). At first the Spencers hope to sell the Bijou, but when Hardcastle, the owner of the Grand, tries to drive a hard bargain, the Spencers decide to open the Bijou once again.

"The Smallest Show on Earth" is a charming film. The superior cast really makes the film sparkle. Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers were a successful screen team and starred together in "Born Free". Peter Sellers is at his quirky best in the role as the projectionist, and the three elderly Bijou employees enjoy a lively rivalry that they abandon to save the Bijou. Sid James appears in a tiny role, and Leslie Phillips plays local solicitor, Mr. Carter. The Bijou cinema really steals the film. When the Spencers see the cinema, Matt says "my uncle actually charged people to go in there?" Viewers are supposed to see the Bijou as a terrible dump, but the beauty of the crumbling old cinema cannot be diminished. The best scenes occur as films play in the Bijou, and the audiences participate in some quite unique and rather alarming ways. If you are a fan of early British comedy, you will enjoy this film. The quality of the film was excellent--displacedhuman.

A sweet era recalled in humor.
'THE SMALLEST SHOW ON EARTH' may not have been exactly that since there were certainly smaller, but it was a case of a fictional small "electric theatre" (the British way of differentiating a movie theatre from a legitimate theatre or 'music hall,' as they designated their version of the American vaudeville). This delightful British film is as heart warming and sometimes hilarious as the other reviewers here describe, but it is the wonderful interaction between the story, the sets, and the actors that balance the film and make it a classic. This 19th century 'kinema' was styled in the manner of the traditional British 'music hall' of live performers, but held the earliest of projection equipment (hence the double entendre about projectionist Peter Sellers' 'equipment.') Such asides will be over the heads of the kiddies, but the pleasant pacing and careful dialogue of the actors will please the adults for whom this comedy is intended.

The story of a young couple inheriting a cinema and finding that it is not quite the money-maker they imagined would have been prosaic were it not for the clever settings and the three fossils who maintained the old "Bijou" (French for 'jewel'). If it were ever a jewel, it had lost its luster as the years passed and patrons flocked to the newer nearby movie palace, the 'Grand.' Desperate to keep their jobs, the 'fossils' (veteran scene-stealers: Peter Sellers, Margaret Rutherford, and Bernard Miles) took pains to refresh the old place to please new owner Bill Travers, a too seldom used actor of mild presence but uniquely suited to this role. The character of the Bijou's "commissioner" (doorman, janitor, and boiler keeper) Miles in the end tries too hard and creates the only jarring note in the film, which is otherwise tender and memorable. The device of having latter day elevated trains roar past the cinema was inspired and created some memorable scenes, as when the building sways to the slow start up of the train, or when Bill Travers' character is almost rattled off the ladder as he attempts to relight the old roof sign. There are many wonderful sight gags and other fine bits that one will long remember.

For those who also like old theatres, it may be of interest to know that the exterior of the Bijou was actually a set created at the meeting of two existing elevated train bridges on Christchurch Ave. at the Kilburn LT station in London. The interior was a also a set, but so well done that you would swear that you were in a real 19th century 'opera house.' The design is thought to be derived from the real Palace of Varieties at Camberwell. The movie palace with the pipe organ - the Grand -- was actually the Gaumont Palace (later the Odeon, now Apollo) in Hammersmith, London. And the use of the fictional name of "Sloughborough" for the town is another little joke since it means 'low place or mire.' These details can be confirmed in the journal of the British "Cinema Theatre Association's" magazine "PICTURE HOUSE," No. 19, Winter 93-94, pages 37 and 38, (where there are photos in this and the previous issue) furnished to this reviewer courtesy of Mr. Brian J. Hall of England.

One reviewer said that the only flaw was that the story was too short and I must concur in that, and that is the only real flaw I can find in the film as well. There is a difficulty, however, in appreciating the quality of the film from the most common versions of the VHS-NTSC format videos now available. Amazon lists two ASIN numbers of versions made by the same French Canadian firm, Madacy, which produced them in EP speed, rather than the usual SP speed that allows for quality. Since Amazon never indicates the speed of a tape, I cannot tell if their third variation produced by 'VCI Classics (American Prudential)' is also in this slow speed of poor quality. Not only is the image poor, but the sound is downright difficult to understand! Amazon's sister company, The Internet Movie Data Base (www.IMDB.com), now lists two CD versions about to be released, and we can but hope that they were made from restored masters and are the pleasure that the original film is.

P.S.: Two years before the movie "Majestic" (starring Jim Carrey) debuted, the director wrote on the THEATRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY'S web site that he was searching for information about historic theatres for his forthcoming unnamed movie. This reviewer responded with information and said that the description of it he gave sounded something like "The Smallest Show on Earth." He responded that he was amazed that anyone remembered the 1956 British film, but that it was an inspiration for his movie. Look closely at the lobby in "Majestic" and you will see it clearly resembles that in the 'Bijou,' even if the facades were much different. These films turned out very differently, but at least the architecture rewards lovers of theatres.

lesson in what acting is all about
THE SMALLEST SHOW ON EARTH, the Bijou movie house, is well worth watching for its'lesson in what acting is all about. The enigmatic title is the only puzzlement of the movie. Otherwise, you get entertainment the British plain acting way that only the British seem to know how to do it. "Smallest" is a simple, delightful plot of what might go wrong with the best laid plans of inheritance when the legatees need to put an over-the-hill movie house back in business to compete with an up-to-date rival. You are tenderly entertained, then, by the actors Rutherford, Sellers, and Bernard Miles who were former employees and a threesome tossed into the plot as part of the inheritance. Margaret Rutherford was the deceased's "courtesan" ticket-seller bookkeeper who found a way to keep the old theater operating by taking in, as admission ticket "money," chickens, eggs, and such bookkeeping entries. She also is wise to the dipsy sot up there in the projection booth, Peter Sellers. Despite his penchant for booze he manages to make the ancient projectionist equipment function; equipment manufactured and carried over from Tudor times I would guess. Sellers did not cotton well to Margaret Rutherford. His major complaint was her bad behavior, suggesting thus that the new owner ought to not sack her, but could " . . . say something rude and nasty to her." Bernard Miles,urban relative of the village idiot, janitor and doorman aspired to continue working, but only if he could have a u-nee-form; one like the doorman in the competing movie house [with white gloves tucked under the left shouler epaulette, you see]. A good story also includes something inanimate object that actually plays a role. In this production, that "actor" is the thundering Britrail locomotive driven train that rattles the Bijou movie house, projection equipment and moviegoers, hilariously shaken--not stirred. The Bijou itself is a vestigial of Britain's lust for theater complete with organ that played musical strains for the silent movies, and a section in the back where young couples learned some of the facts of life. Theaters like this, originally opera houses and music halls, still exist in the Notting Hill section of London. Besides all of this location nostalgia, the characters are funny . . . gove'ner.

Good movie but beware the inferior print
The one-star rating refers to this particular version. The film itself is a pleasant British comedy about a young couple's adventures with an ancient movie theater and its ancient staff. However, this is an extended-play tape of a bootleg-quality print with inferior picture and sound, and fans of the film will definitely be disappointed by the video presentation.

Smallest Show on Earch well titled
Marginally affecting in a gentle 50's way, but ultimately can't overcome the torpid pacing. A bit too gentle for my tastes. Virginia McKenna is, as always, worth the watching ... Read more

Reviews (5)

"He died in a pub."
In the British comedy, "The Smallest Show on Earth" Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna are teamed together as newlyweds Matt and Jill Spencer. Matt receives news that he's inherited a cinema from his uncle Simon, so the Spencers head off to Sloughborough (the home of a pungent glue factory) to claim the inheritance. The Bijou cinema is a dilapidated place known locally as the fleapit. The Bijou cannot rival Sloughborough's only other cinema--the palatial Grand--in fact the owner of the Grand wants to buy the Bijou and tear it down in order to build a parking lot.

Along with the Bijou, the Spencers also inherit the Bijou's staff--there's old Tom--the janitor and doorman--Mrs. Fazazkalee (Margaret Rutherford), and Percy Quill--the projectionist (Peter Sellers). At first the Spencers hope to sell the Bijou, but when Hardcastle, the owner of the Grand, tries to drive a hard bargain, the Spencers decide to open the Bijou once again.

"The Smallest Show on Earth" is a charming film. The superior cast really makes the film sparkle. Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers were a successful screen team and starred together in "Born Free". Peter Sellers is at his quirky best in the role as the projectionist, and the three elderly Bijou employees enjoy a lively rivalry that they abandon to save the Bijou. Sid James appears in a tiny role, and Leslie Phillips plays local solicitor, Mr. Carter. The Bijou cinema really steals the film. When the Spencers see the cinema, Matt says "my uncle actually charged people to go in there?" Viewers are supposed to see the Bijou as a terrible dump, but the beauty of the crumbling old cinema cannot be diminished. The best scenes occur as films play in the Bijou, and the audiences participate in some quite unique and rather alarming ways. If you are a fan of early British comedy, you will enjoy this film. The quality of the film was excellent--displacedhuman.

A sweet era recalled in humor.
'THE SMALLEST SHOW ON EARTH' may not have been exactly that since there were certainly smaller, but it was a case of a fictional small "electric theatre" (the British way of differentiating a movie theatre from a legitimate theatre or 'music hall,' as they designated their version of the American vaudeville). This delightful British film is as heart warming and sometimes hilarious as the other reviewers here describe, but it is the wonderful interaction between the story, the sets, and the actors that balance the film and make it a classic. This 19th century 'kinema' was styled in the manner of the traditional British 'music hall' of live performers, but held the earliest of projection equipment (hence the double entendre about projectionist Peter Sellers' 'equipment.') Such asides will be over the heads of the kiddies, but the pleasant pacing and careful dialogue of the actors will please the adults for whom this comedy is intended.

The story of a young couple inheriting a cinema and finding that it is not quite the money-maker they imagined would have been prosaic were it not for the clever settings and the three fossils who maintained the old "Bijou" (French for 'jewel'). If it were ever a jewel, it had lost its luster as the years passed and patrons flocked to the newer nearby movie palace, the 'Grand.' Desperate to keep their jobs, the 'fossils' (veteran scene-stealers: Peter Sellers, Margaret Rutherford, and Bernard Miles) took pains to refresh the old place to please new owner Bill Travers, a too seldom used actor of mild presence but uniquely suited to this role. The character of the Bijou's "commissioner" (doorman, janitor, and boiler keeper) Miles in the end tries too hard and creates the only jarring note in the film, which is otherwise tender and memorable. The device of having latter day elevated trains roar past the cinema was inspired and created some memorable scenes, as when the building sways to the slow start up of the train, or when Bill Travers' character is almost rattled off the ladder as he attempts to relight the old roof sign. There are many wonderful sight gags and other fine bits that one will long remember.

For those who also like old theatres, it may be of interest to know that the exterior of the Bijou was actually a set created at the meeting of two existing elevated train bridges on Christchurch Ave. at the Kilburn LT station in London. The interior was a also a set, but so well done that you would swear that you were in a real 19th century 'opera house.' The design is thought to be derived from the real Palace of Varieties at Camberwell. The movie palace with the pipe organ - the Grand -- was actually the Gaumont Palace (later the Odeon, now Apollo) in Hammersmith, London. And the use of the fictional name of "Sloughborough" for the town is another little joke since it means 'low place or mire.' These details can be confirmed in the journal of the British "Cinema Theatre Association's" magazine "PICTURE HOUSE," No. 19, Winter 93-94, pages 37 and 38, (where there are photos in this and the previous issue) furnished to this reviewer courtesy of Mr. Brian J. Hall of England.

One reviewer said that the only flaw was that the story was too short and I must concur in that, and that is the only real flaw I can find in the film as well. There is a difficulty, however, in appreciating the quality of the film from the most common versions of the VHS-NTSC format videos now available. Amazon lists two ASIN numbers of versions made by the same French Canadian firm, Madacy, which produced them in EP speed, rather than the usual SP speed that allows for quality. Since Amazon never indicates the speed of a tape, I cannot tell if their third variation produced by 'VCI Classics (American Prudential)' is also in this slow speed of poor quality. Not only is the image poor, but the sound is downright difficult to understand! Amazon's sister company, The Internet Movie Data Base (www.IMDB.com), now lists two CD versions about to be released, and we can but hope that they were made from restored masters and are the pleasure that the original film is.

P.S.: Two years before the movie "Majestic" (starring Jim Carrey) debuted, the director wrote on the THEATRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY'S web site that he was searching for information about historic theatres for his forthcoming unnamed movie. This reviewer responded with information and said that the description of it he gave sounded something like "The Smallest Show on Earth." He responded that he was amazed that anyone remembered the 1956 British film, but that it was an inspiration for his movie. Look closely at the lobby in "Majestic" and you will see it clearly resembles that in the 'Bijou,' even if the facades were much different. These films turned out very differently, but at least the architecture rewards lovers of theatres.

lesson in what acting is all about
THE SMALLEST SHOW ON EARTH, the Bijou movie house, is well worth watching for its'lesson in what acting is all about. The enigmatic title is the only puzzlement of the movie. Otherwise, you get entertainment the British plain acting way that only the British seem to know how to do it. "Smallest" is a simple, delightful plot of what might go wrong with the best laid plans of inheritance when the legatees need to put an over-the-hill movie house back in business to compete with an up-to-date rival. You are tenderly entertained, then, by the actors Rutherford, Sellers, and Bernard Miles who were former employees and a threesome tossed into the plot as part of the inheritance. Margaret Rutherford was the deceased's "courtesan" ticket-seller bookkeeper who found a way to keep the old theater operating by taking in, as admission ticket "money," chickens, eggs, and such bookkeeping entries. She also is wise to the dipsy sot up there in the projection booth, Peter Sellers. Despite his penchant for booze he manages to make the ancient projectionist equipment function; equipment manufactured and carried over from Tudor times I would guess. Sellers did not cotton well to Margaret Rutherford. His major complaint was her bad behavior, suggesting thus that the new owner ought to not sack her, but could " . . . say something rude and nasty to her." Bernard Miles,urban relative of the village idiot, janitor and doorman aspired to continue working, but only if he could have a u-nee-form; one like the doorman in the competing movie house [with white gloves tucked under the left shouler epaulette, you see]. A good story also includes something inanimate object that actually plays a role. In this production, that "actor" is the thundering Britrail locomotive driven train that rattles the Bijou movie house, projection equipment and moviegoers, hilariously shaken--not stirred. The Bijou itself is a vestigial of Britain's lust for theater complete with organ that played musical strains for the silent movies, and a section in the back where young couples learned some of the facts of life. Theaters like this, originally opera houses and music halls, still exist in the Notting Hill section of London. Besides all of this location nostalgia, the characters are funny . . . gove'ner.

Good movie but beware the inferior print
The one-star rating refers to this particular version. The film itself is a pleasant British comedy about a young couple's adventures with an ancient movie theater and its ancient staff. However, this is an extended-play tape of a bootleg-quality print with inferior picture and sound, and fans of the film will definitely be disappointed by the video presentation.

Smallest Show on Earch well titled
Marginally affecting in a gentle 50's way, but ultimately can't overcome the torpid pacing. A bit too gentle for my tastes. Virginia McKenna is, as always, worth the watching ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Moore please!
If anyone had any doubts that Roger Moore could act, they were dispelled by this movie. The film was virtually ignored when it was first released, which now seems like a giant missed opportunity. The former Saint and future 007 is just brilliant in the role of a businessman on the verge of a major nervous breakdown. It is hugely refreshing to see him stop all the "man of action" nonsense and play a different kind of role. The other nice thing about the movie is that it is full of ensemble British actors doing what they do best -- acting bloody well! The script is well written and Basil Dearden's direction keeps the suspense brimming nicely. I remember this being shown on TV (the Monday night film on BBC1, a highlight of the week)in 1972 or so, just after Moore had finished with The Persuaders! and before he'd made Live and Let Die. It was a refreshing slice of entertainment and it has not lost its flavour -- if anything age has improved it. It's just a shame old Roger didn't do more work like this, but perhaps that makes it even more a thing to treasure. The DVD is worth the money for the commentry alone. My one criticism is about the R1 encoding. Why didn't the distributors negotiate for a Region 0 release? Currently this film is not available anywhere else but the US -- a nonsense as it is a piece of English film-making that now resides in a