Apart from starring in Bitter Springs in 1950 this was Grinders last involvement with Ealing.It is likely that they tried to build him up as their star comedian after they lost George Form by.Grinder was more of a stage comedian where he could ad lib to his hearts content.It is strange to see Harry Watt as the director.Not surprisingly this was his only comedy.It has some rather good musical numbers,the standout being Caesar's wife sung by Frances Day with some rather tissue,for the period,lyrics.It is strange that this was called Fiddlers Three bearing in mind that Sailors Three was released.4 years earlier and there is only one fiddlers,Nero.
6 Reviews
Fantasy, Comedy, and Tommy - what more could you want?
dfarmbrough28 April 2001
A really funny movie, with the central premise of Stonehenge being a time machine really taking this out of the realms of the ordinary wartime comedy films. Trinder is great in this, as he is in everything, but its the cameraderie and the science-fiction aspect that make this a really great film. Watchable again and again.
FIDDLERS THREE (Harry Watt, 1944) ***
Bunuel197618 April 2011
To begin with, I had acquired a number of Tommy Trinder musical comedy vehicles but this is actually the first one I checked out, even if it is officially a sequel to SAILORS THREE (1940)! The result was surprisingly satisfactory and, even more so, remarkably inspired: in fact, it even treats an inherent lack of originality (being the old 'transported to ancient times' routine, probably dating from Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court") as a joke – when a Roman the heroes meet mentions a Mr. Eddie Cantor having 'visited' them previously (in the 1933 ROMAN SCANDALS; there is even a play on the latter title when Trinder loses a sandal in Poppea's private quarters and Nero – played by Francis L. Sullivan – organizes a Cinderella-type 'contest' to find its proprietor and get even with him!).
The time-travel incident occurs during a stormy night at Stonehenge and also involves fellow sailor Sonnie Hale and a girl they save from the clutches of a lecher. They first come across a Roman legion (headed by James Robertson Justice) and, subsequently, they are captured and taken to the market-place to be sold at auction – however, here we get a jab at the slowness of transport in this era when they take a whole year to arrive, by which time Trinder and Hale's features are well hidden under a mass of facial hair! They end up at the Palace where, predictably, Hale has been purchased as a woman (later on, the star himself turns up at an orgy doing an incongruous Carmen Miranda impersonation!) and Trinder as a sort of prophet (for which ruse the Emperor's exploits as laid down in the history books suddenly comes in handy)...although, funnily enough, it takes him a long time to foretell the one act Nero is most notorious for today i.e the burning of Rome!
The finale, then, has the trio being inventively thrown to the lions (they stand in the above section of a compartment, with the floor slowly opening under their feet to reveal the hungry felines below) but another providential storm comes to their rescue, and they are soon back where we started (except that they should logically be in whatever has taken the place of the arena in the present day!). While there are a few too many songs, these are admittedly rather good (with lyrics co-written by future director Robert Hamer!) – one of them even has Poppea giving us the low-down on a number of Roman Emperors she had 'known' and, yet another, is warbled by her black maidservant! By the way, the same year saw the release of a similarly-themed film (and which I also own) from this country i.e. TIME FLIES: this had another Tommy, Handley, turning up during the reign of Elizabeth I; while the title of the film under review refers to nothing in particular, there was later an unrelated Three Stooges short in 1948 that went under the same moniker!
The time-travel incident occurs during a stormy night at Stonehenge and also involves fellow sailor Sonnie Hale and a girl they save from the clutches of a lecher. They first come across a Roman legion (headed by James Robertson Justice) and, subsequently, they are captured and taken to the market-place to be sold at auction – however, here we get a jab at the slowness of transport in this era when they take a whole year to arrive, by which time Trinder and Hale's features are well hidden under a mass of facial hair! They end up at the Palace where, predictably, Hale has been purchased as a woman (later on, the star himself turns up at an orgy doing an incongruous Carmen Miranda impersonation!) and Trinder as a sort of prophet (for which ruse the Emperor's exploits as laid down in the history books suddenly comes in handy)...although, funnily enough, it takes him a long time to foretell the one act Nero is most notorious for today i.e the burning of Rome!
The finale, then, has the trio being inventively thrown to the lions (they stand in the above section of a compartment, with the floor slowly opening under their feet to reveal the hungry felines below) but another providential storm comes to their rescue, and they are soon back where we started (except that they should logically be in whatever has taken the place of the arena in the present day!). While there are a few too many songs, these are admittedly rather good (with lyrics co-written by future director Robert Hamer!) – one of them even has Poppea giving us the low-down on a number of Roman Emperors she had 'known' and, yet another, is warbled by her black maidservant! By the way, the same year saw the release of a similarly-themed film (and which I also own) from this country i.e. TIME FLIES: this had another Tommy, Handley, turning up during the reign of Elizabeth I; while the title of the film under review refers to nothing in particular, there was later an unrelated Three Stooges short in 1948 that went under the same moniker!
Sweet F.A.
AAdaSC2 May 2010
Tommy (Tommy Trinder), Lydia (Diana Decker) and The Professor (Sonnie Hale) are transported back in time to the Roman Empire under the rule of Emperor Nero (Francis L Sullivan) via a lightning flash at Stonehenge. We follow their plight as Tommy becomes Nero's soothsayer while Lydia and the Professor become part of Nero's harem. Can our gang make it back to the present...?
Unfortunately, this film is just tedious nonsense. Francis L Sullivan puts in an amusing portrayal of Nero, Frances Day as "Poppaea" has the glamour role and Trinder and Hale are nice enough in their roles, but the film just gets boring. There are way too many instantly forgettable songs crammed in and Decker's performance makes her come across as unpleasant and moody. I laughed at the beginning when Trinder said "Blimey, another government housing scheme gone wrong" on arriving at Stonehenge, and again when the entertainment list was being read to Nero and we could look forward to "Lisa the strip-teaser from Pisa". But that's pretty much it on the humour front apart from Sullivan's portrayal of Nero.
At the beginning we see Trinder and The Professor riding on a bike singing "Sweet Fanny Adams" - very appropriate for this film.
Unfortunately, this film is just tedious nonsense. Francis L Sullivan puts in an amusing portrayal of Nero, Frances Day as "Poppaea" has the glamour role and Trinder and Hale are nice enough in their roles, but the film just gets boring. There are way too many instantly forgettable songs crammed in and Decker's performance makes her come across as unpleasant and moody. I laughed at the beginning when Trinder said "Blimey, another government housing scheme gone wrong" on arriving at Stonehenge, and again when the entertainment list was being read to Nero and we could look forward to "Lisa the strip-teaser from Pisa". But that's pretty much it on the humour front apart from Sullivan's portrayal of Nero.
At the beginning we see Trinder and The Professor riding on a bike singing "Sweet Fanny Adams" - very appropriate for this film.
So bad
D-C-S-Turner25 February 2021
Slapdash comedy.
rmax30482326 October 2011
Warning: Spoilers
I guess even Tommy Trinder needs a stronger story than can be found in this musical comedy. Two sailors pick up a pretty girl and ride their bicycle into Stonehenge on Midsummer Night. An electrical storm strikes and they're whisked back to the days of the Roman occupation of Britain, where they're taken for Druids and shipped back to Nero's Rome, the men to be sacrificed, the pretty girl to be sold into you-know-what.
The absurdities are interrupted from time to time by brief musical numbers lacking in wit. The girl is Diana Decker as Lydia. She's quite attractive. And Nero is Francis X. Sullivan, who appears to be in drag and looks a little like Goering.
But it's a mad sort of thrown-together affair, with the two sailors trading secrets in Pig Latin and so forth. If it's funny, it's funny in a silly way, like the "Carry On" series. Nothing is to be taken seriously. I didn't find it that amusing but maybe I'm developing a kidney stone or something, and I can understand why others might enjoy it more. I'm not a fan of the Three Stooges either.
The absurdities are interrupted from time to time by brief musical numbers lacking in wit. The girl is Diana Decker as Lydia. She's quite attractive. And Nero is Francis X. Sullivan, who appears to be in drag and looks a little like Goering.
But it's a mad sort of thrown-together affair, with the two sailors trading secrets in Pig Latin and so forth. If it's funny, it's funny in a silly way, like the "Carry On" series. Nothing is to be taken seriously. I didn't find it that amusing but maybe I'm developing a kidney stone or something, and I can understand why others might enjoy it more. I'm not a fan of the Three Stooges either.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
