This film was a strange choice for Michael Bentine, who had made a reputation for himself as a crazy, surreal comedian with a penchant for elaborate mechanical sets in TV programmes like It's A Square World. This gentle comedy, in which he takes a back seat and merely links a number of set pieces by prominent British actors and comedians of the 1960s is out of character, but nevertheless warm and enjoyable. Inevitably the humour has dated over the years, but it remains a valuable document of life in London as it became "swinging" and a chance to see many well-known artists who went on to greater things, and a few who didn't. To be enjoyed as a time capsule now, rather than cutting edge comedy.
22 Reviews
Great Cast, Characters, flimsy story....
tim-764-29185614 May 2012
If one was reviewing The Sandwich Man by the head alone and not the heart, then 5/10, possibly even 4/10 might be in order, here.
Being mid 40's, I can just recall Michael Bentine on TV when I was very young. These must have been repeats of his BBC shows 'It's a Square World' and whilst he appeared funny and weird, the material was, obviously, above me.
Now, on UK Gold, comes 1966's The Sandwich Man. As others have said, it's a time capsule of swinging London and its rainbow of colourful characters. From Dora Bryan to a real who's-who of every comic actor that even I'd heard of and have enjoyed and been brought up with. They're like an extended family!
Though many hang their heads in shame these days, the playful way that white actors played ethnics is a part of the package and it was FAR more innocent and affectionate than most folk ever realise. It's actually part of our television and film heritage, so enjoy and accept it for what it was THEN.
As my subject line says, the script definitely takes second fiddle, to the point where I wonder if there actually was one, or at least stuck to! And, the gags now have been so overdone and are so familiar through countless Carry On's and similar comic vehicles, that, really, they barely raise a titter these days. However, the idea of Bentine wearing a sandwich board and going round the locations, catching up with his friends is a good one and I have to admit, the Park scenes, toward the end, with the escaped sit-on mower was actually really funny and his final 'escape' will surprise you - it did me!
Still, I had fun watching it, looking out for the stars of yesterday and comparing a largely lost London with our society today.
Being mid 40's, I can just recall Michael Bentine on TV when I was very young. These must have been repeats of his BBC shows 'It's a Square World' and whilst he appeared funny and weird, the material was, obviously, above me.
Now, on UK Gold, comes 1966's The Sandwich Man. As others have said, it's a time capsule of swinging London and its rainbow of colourful characters. From Dora Bryan to a real who's-who of every comic actor that even I'd heard of and have enjoyed and been brought up with. They're like an extended family!
Though many hang their heads in shame these days, the playful way that white actors played ethnics is a part of the package and it was FAR more innocent and affectionate than most folk ever realise. It's actually part of our television and film heritage, so enjoy and accept it for what it was THEN.
As my subject line says, the script definitely takes second fiddle, to the point where I wonder if there actually was one, or at least stuck to! And, the gags now have been so overdone and are so familiar through countless Carry On's and similar comic vehicles, that, really, they barely raise a titter these days. However, the idea of Bentine wearing a sandwich board and going round the locations, catching up with his friends is a good one and I have to admit, the Park scenes, toward the end, with the escaped sit-on mower was actually really funny and his final 'escape' will surprise you - it did me!
Still, I had fun watching it, looking out for the stars of yesterday and comparing a largely lost London with our society today.
Dated but fascinating
darronboden5 April 2022
Bentine was right when he said it suffered from poor editing.
His character was the connecting thread on which to hang various short sketches or skits, some better than others.
Bentine's character is mostly a bystander to the action, mainly cut shots showing his reaction to what's going on, which is a shame as he's not really given a chance to shine.
His character was the connecting thread on which to hang various short sketches or skits, some better than others.
Bentine's character is mostly a bystander to the action, mainly cut shots showing his reaction to what's going on, which is a shame as he's not really given a chance to shine.
Dated string-of-sketches comedy film
Leofwine_draca7 December 2012
A bit of a strange little comedy, this. It's extremely episodic in nature, a string of slightly connected sketches centred around a sandwich man who wanders the streets of London and encounters various bizarre characters and situations along the way.
Some of it is good, but the bits that aren't funny tend to outweigh those that are. Some of the highlights include Norman Wisdom attempting to navigate his way around a gym and Bernard Cribbins appearing as an amateur photographer. There are also a LOT of familiar faces, mostly in one-scene cameos: Diana Dors, Ian Hendry, Harry H. Corbett, Ron Moody, Terry-Thomas, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Burt Kwuok, Dora Bryan. It's almost a who's who of the British comedy scene in the 1960s.
Sadly, the film's distinctive lack of plotting, Michael Bentine's rather insipid lead character and the proliferation of dated humour make THE SANDWICH MAN rather difficult to sit through these days, although nostalgia buffs might enjoy seeing the spacious and relatively traffic-free London of yesteryear.
Some of it is good, but the bits that aren't funny tend to outweigh those that are. Some of the highlights include Norman Wisdom attempting to navigate his way around a gym and Bernard Cribbins appearing as an amateur photographer. There are also a LOT of familiar faces, mostly in one-scene cameos: Diana Dors, Ian Hendry, Harry H. Corbett, Ron Moody, Terry-Thomas, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Burt Kwuok, Dora Bryan. It's almost a who's who of the British comedy scene in the 1960s.
Sadly, the film's distinctive lack of plotting, Michael Bentine's rather insipid lead character and the proliferation of dated humour make THE SANDWICH MAN rather difficult to sit through these days, although nostalgia buffs might enjoy seeing the spacious and relatively traffic-free London of yesteryear.
Who is the intended audience?
siobhan-rouse25 December 2006
I enjoyed this film very much - in a simple-minded sort of way. It's a very strange mixture of different types of comedy, in fact you could guess that the "script", such as it is, was written to fit whichever film and TV actors Micheal Bentine could persuade to do turns for him.
There are some longeurs, especially a sequence about a heavy-handed motorcycle cop, but never mind because a few minutes later another famous face pops up to amuse us. My favourite characters were the Sikh jazz musicians ("De Sihkers" - groan !) and Norman Wisdom's Irish priest, who tries to instruct a group of boys about gymnastics. Half the fun is in realising that in today's politically correct world, characters like these would never reach the screen - more's the pity. Incidentally, I can imagine Spike Milligan coming up with both the above stereotypes, so maybe the falling out between him and Bentine was more to do with personalities than material.
This film seems to have been made entirely on location around London (and I spotted Tolworth Tower in the escapologist sequence, which is near where I grew up), and you can tell it was made in a great hurry with very little money.
But who was the intended audience? Surely in 1966, at a time when adult cinema-goers were getting used to more sophisticated and subversive films, this one couldn't have held much appeal. In fact its resemblance to the Children's Film Foundation shorts (also funded by the Rank organisation) makes me think that this was intended to be shown at "Saturday morning picture shows" for kids. There is nothing here that a child couldn't understand (though I'm not so sure about the comment,"He's buying me a black jacket, not a red one ! He's kinky, not a communist!"). And what on earth are those wrestlers at the very end all about ???
This film is now available on DVD, curiously in 4:3 picture ratio - is this the only print available ? and it's 90 minutes of innocent fun. If you're still not sure what sort of comedy it is, think:
The Beatles' film "Help". The TV silent classic "The Plank". "Some mothers do 'ave 'em"
Recommended
There are some longeurs, especially a sequence about a heavy-handed motorcycle cop, but never mind because a few minutes later another famous face pops up to amuse us. My favourite characters were the Sikh jazz musicians ("De Sihkers" - groan !) and Norman Wisdom's Irish priest, who tries to instruct a group of boys about gymnastics. Half the fun is in realising that in today's politically correct world, characters like these would never reach the screen - more's the pity. Incidentally, I can imagine Spike Milligan coming up with both the above stereotypes, so maybe the falling out between him and Bentine was more to do with personalities than material.
This film seems to have been made entirely on location around London (and I spotted Tolworth Tower in the escapologist sequence, which is near where I grew up), and you can tell it was made in a great hurry with very little money.
But who was the intended audience? Surely in 1966, at a time when adult cinema-goers were getting used to more sophisticated and subversive films, this one couldn't have held much appeal. In fact its resemblance to the Children's Film Foundation shorts (also funded by the Rank organisation) makes me think that this was intended to be shown at "Saturday morning picture shows" for kids. There is nothing here that a child couldn't understand (though I'm not so sure about the comment,"He's buying me a black jacket, not a red one ! He's kinky, not a communist!"). And what on earth are those wrestlers at the very end all about ???
This film is now available on DVD, curiously in 4:3 picture ratio - is this the only print available ? and it's 90 minutes of innocent fun. If you're still not sure what sort of comedy it is, think:
The Beatles' film "Help". The TV silent classic "The Plank". "Some mothers do 'ave 'em"
Recommended
Unfunny & unsophisticated even for its time.
simonwilkin5 January 2023
Despite a promising cast, there is no plot line, just a series of 1950s style comedy sketches thinly stitched together. It has the slapstick nature of Children's Film Foundation films, but with none of the humour.
The main character is little more than incidental to the various going's on. Many of the caricatures seem dated, even for the time, especially when you remember this is the era of films likeThe Pink Panther & The Italian Job.
I struggle to understand how it ever got to production and am even more perplexed that anyone actually went to see it at the cinema. Watchable only if you want a snapshot of mid sixties London streets.
The main character is little more than incidental to the various going's on. Many of the caricatures seem dated, even for the time, especially when you remember this is the era of films likeThe Pink Panther & The Italian Job.
I struggle to understand how it ever got to production and am even more perplexed that anyone actually went to see it at the cinema. Watchable only if you want a snapshot of mid sixties London streets.
One of cinema's genuine one-offs. (possible spoiler in penultimate paragraph)
the red duchess26 February 2001
Warning: Spoilers
It's very rare that a film makes me genuinely happy, especially as I wasn't expecting anything from it. 'Sandwich' is a virtually forgotten comedy, full of a lovable and naive optimism, but it has dated much better than acknowledged (kitchen-sink) British classics of the era. The plot is agreeably simple, a serene 'Ulysses', as we follow a day in the life of a sandwich man, Horace Quilby, walking through London, passively plying his firm's wares, encountering a variety of eccentric locals on the way. What marks this day out from the usual routine is that Horace , a pigeon fancier, has a bird due home from a race; hopes and fears for her fuel his peregrinations.
Michael Bentine is one of the less famous Goons, and there is very little of their absurdist aesthetic here, although a sequence involving a drunken stockbroker running amok in Hyde Park points towards Monty Python. This film is less a comedy than an anthology of comedy - each new character Horace meets represents a different kind of comedy, be it verbal, situation, slapstick, farce etc. (perhaps mirroring 'Ulysses'' mode of narration). The film is packed with many famous TV and film comedians, including Terry-Thomas, Norman Wisdom and Harry H. Corbett.
This comedy can be seen as a counterpart to Patrick Keillor's 'London'. Horace is a Benjaminian flaneur, someone who has the time to ramble through the city, exploring its by-ways as well as its more famous sights. It would be understandable if any viewer switched off the film after a couple of minutes when the first characters seem to be upsetting racial stereotypes, but that would be to misunderstand the film. Every character is a stereotype, fixed in a certain place or image, except for Horace, who navigates this city and its peoples.
His freedom reveals the breadth and variety of the city, as he meets aristocrats and workers, priests and bhangra-jazz players, models and housewives, as well as traversing on land and water, or travelling in vehicles and walking. The film is all about connection, the fruitful chaos that makes up city life when different cultures, attitudes etc. collide. The film both celebrates and contains this chaos - Horace may observe and enjoy it, but he is also instrumental in repairing ruptures, and the end is a very moving celebration of a multi-cultural society, espeecially poignant in hindsight, when we remember the horrors of racism and Enoch Powell's 'rivers of blood' in the upcoming decade.
London has rarely looked more beautiful, not in the Swinging sense, just as a city in the sunshine, with its gorgeous parks, gleaming rivers, picturesque buildings. Like 'Ulysses' or 'Berlin - Symphony of a City', the film narrates a day in the life, in this case expressing a sense of organic wholeness. Don't come to this film for bellyaches, although the park (with a malevolent lawnmower) and river sequences are hysterical; 'Sandwich' is more of an amiable, loving poem, a time capsule of a period that probably never was.
Michael Bentine is one of the less famous Goons, and there is very little of their absurdist aesthetic here, although a sequence involving a drunken stockbroker running amok in Hyde Park points towards Monty Python. This film is less a comedy than an anthology of comedy - each new character Horace meets represents a different kind of comedy, be it verbal, situation, slapstick, farce etc. (perhaps mirroring 'Ulysses'' mode of narration). The film is packed with many famous TV and film comedians, including Terry-Thomas, Norman Wisdom and Harry H. Corbett.
This comedy can be seen as a counterpart to Patrick Keillor's 'London'. Horace is a Benjaminian flaneur, someone who has the time to ramble through the city, exploring its by-ways as well as its more famous sights. It would be understandable if any viewer switched off the film after a couple of minutes when the first characters seem to be upsetting racial stereotypes, but that would be to misunderstand the film. Every character is a stereotype, fixed in a certain place or image, except for Horace, who navigates this city and its peoples.
His freedom reveals the breadth and variety of the city, as he meets aristocrats and workers, priests and bhangra-jazz players, models and housewives, as well as traversing on land and water, or travelling in vehicles and walking. The film is all about connection, the fruitful chaos that makes up city life when different cultures, attitudes etc. collide. The film both celebrates and contains this chaos - Horace may observe and enjoy it, but he is also instrumental in repairing ruptures, and the end is a very moving celebration of a multi-cultural society, espeecially poignant in hindsight, when we remember the horrors of racism and Enoch Powell's 'rivers of blood' in the upcoming decade.
London has rarely looked more beautiful, not in the Swinging sense, just as a city in the sunshine, with its gorgeous parks, gleaming rivers, picturesque buildings. Like 'Ulysses' or 'Berlin - Symphony of a City', the film narrates a day in the life, in this case expressing a sense of organic wholeness. Don't come to this film for bellyaches, although the park (with a malevolent lawnmower) and river sequences are hysterical; 'Sandwich' is more of an amiable, loving poem, a time capsule of a period that probably never was.
Dated & unfunny even when first released
dray4529 August 2018
There's something wrong with people's critical judgement if they give this film such high ratings. If this mindless piece of puerile, childish comedy warrants the highest rating, what rating do they give classic British comedy films such as THE LADYKILLERS, I'M ALL RIGHT JACK, GENEVIEVE or PASSPORT TO PIMLICO? There's no equivalence.
THE SANDWICH MAN was dated and unfunny when it was first released. Sadly it was the sort of moronic comedy film which the British film industry would churn out in the 1960s/70s along with all those cheap looking films based on TV sitcoms which gave the industry a bad name. If I could give less than 1 star I would.
THE SANDWICH MAN was dated and unfunny when it was first released. Sadly it was the sort of moronic comedy film which the British film industry would churn out in the 1960s/70s along with all those cheap looking films based on TV sitcoms which gave the industry a bad name. If I could give less than 1 star I would.
A forgotten curiosity but an interesting historical document
andrew-87-90440121 January 2012
I was surprised that I had never seen this film before. I particularly enjoy films of the period, perhaps in part for the nostalgia of seeing the world that I was born into. This captures the period very well, appearing to have been filmed entirely on location.
The story is a little dull and not particularly funny, but does contain some interesting cameos. In the opening minutes, a collection of racial minority characters are introduced but thankfully it doesn't stray into the politically incorrect stereotypes much of 60s and 70s film and television did, and ends up being an early introduction to multicultural Britain
I would highly recommend this film to anyone interested in seeing a nicely shot, high quality representation of 60s London, but as a comedy, it's average and it's not particularly entertaining.
The story is a little dull and not particularly funny, but does contain some interesting cameos. In the opening minutes, a collection of racial minority characters are introduced but thankfully it doesn't stray into the politically incorrect stereotypes much of 60s and 70s film and television did, and ends up being an early introduction to multicultural Britain
I would highly recommend this film to anyone interested in seeing a nicely shot, high quality representation of 60s London, but as a comedy, it's average and it's not particularly entertaining.
Of historical value only.
plan9912 April 2022
A series of not very funny sketches joined together by the wanderings of the sandwich man. Michael Bentine took very little part in the comedy action which probably explains why it failed at the box office, an audience would expect the star to be involved in most of the action. The black convertible car in the park scene looked like a Ferrari which today would be worth a lot of money.
A real 'feel-good' comedy
enochsneed17 January 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Not having seen this film since about 1975 (it seemed to turn up regularly on BBC2 on Saturday afternoons) but remembering it with great affection, I took a leap of faith and bought the DVD.
I am very glad I did because the rosy glow of my nostalgia is reflected in the film. Yes, there are characters who could be seen as 'racial stereotypes' in the opening scenes. But we should remember that the Asian musicians with their 'bat-bat-ding-ding' voices are first-generation immigrants (one belonged to the 4th Bombay Boy Scout troop) so naturally they speak with an accent. Their dialogue, however, reflects a 'melting pot' approach to race (one calls the other 'meshugge' and says his football team is 'in dead schtuck' - Yiddish phrases). In another scene a Turkish carpet seller does a deal with a Jewish fish porter (who pays him in fish) and calls him "Goldberg effendi". This is a world where people can rub along together and not get hysterical about their superficial 'differences'. Horace himself works for a company called 'Finkelbaum and O'Casey'.
The cast is amazing. How were people as diverse as Diana Dors and Donald Wolfit persuaded to take part in this film? Of all the characters encountered by Horace Quilby I think my heart goes out to Norman Wisdom's priest (played with a very good Irish accent by the way), trying desperately to impress his young athletes with his own skill and (in true Wisdom fashion) failing miserably, each little 'peep' of his whistle signalling another defeat.
Despite the black eye and bloody nose (following a very misguided attempt to box with a 10 year-old boy) the priest still ends up laughing at himself and seeing the funny side of life. That is what 'The Sandwich Man' encourages us all to do: take it easy, don't get angry and frustrated, we're all in the same boat so we may as well make the best of it - even if the boat is the 'Titanic'.
"Life's a jest and all things show it; I thought so once, but now I know it."
I am very glad I did because the rosy glow of my nostalgia is reflected in the film. Yes, there are characters who could be seen as 'racial stereotypes' in the opening scenes. But we should remember that the Asian musicians with their 'bat-bat-ding-ding' voices are first-generation immigrants (one belonged to the 4th Bombay Boy Scout troop) so naturally they speak with an accent. Their dialogue, however, reflects a 'melting pot' approach to race (one calls the other 'meshugge' and says his football team is 'in dead schtuck' - Yiddish phrases). In another scene a Turkish carpet seller does a deal with a Jewish fish porter (who pays him in fish) and calls him "Goldberg effendi". This is a world where people can rub along together and not get hysterical about their superficial 'differences'. Horace himself works for a company called 'Finkelbaum and O'Casey'.
The cast is amazing. How were people as diverse as Diana Dors and Donald Wolfit persuaded to take part in this film? Of all the characters encountered by Horace Quilby I think my heart goes out to Norman Wisdom's priest (played with a very good Irish accent by the way), trying desperately to impress his young athletes with his own skill and (in true Wisdom fashion) failing miserably, each little 'peep' of his whistle signalling another defeat.
Despite the black eye and bloody nose (following a very misguided attempt to box with a 10 year-old boy) the priest still ends up laughing at himself and seeing the funny side of life. That is what 'The Sandwich Man' encourages us all to do: take it easy, don't get angry and frustrated, we're all in the same boat so we may as well make the best of it - even if the boat is the 'Titanic'.
"Life's a jest and all things show it; I thought so once, but now I know it."
Spot the Stars
jonathangardiner-775689 August 2018
Unfunny 60s period piece
njb-6341313 February 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The Sandwich Man was probably pretty unfunny even when it debuted in 1966, and is worth a look these days if only for its London locations (spot the poster for The Who in the brief Soho scene!) and the truly bizarre end titles. The film boasts a large cast of (mostly) long-dead British actors and comedians in what is essentially a vehicle for ex-Goon Michael Bentine, who spends much of the film walking round London as the titular Sandwich Man with a stupid grin on his face. For some reason, it reminds me of a British effort to make a star-studded comedy along the lines of 'Its a mad, mad, mad, mad world': mercifully, it doesn't attempt to emulate the length of that film. The plot, as far as it goes, follows Horace Quilby (Bentine) on a typical work day as he traipses round the West End with a 'sandwich' board that advertises a local tailoring shop slung over his shoulders. To add spice (!) to the story, he is also a pigeon racing enthusiast and is eagerly awaiting the return of his favourite pigeon Esmerelda, who is racing from Bordeaux back to London. To be fair, the first 30 minutes are pleasant enough and showcase parts of London that are now long lost under high-rise developments: the bpmbed-out docklands of the East End where Quilby lives, Billingsgate fish market and such like (and there's a good visual gag where Diana Dors walks though the market, singing the praises of TVs Dr Kildare to Anna Quayle, intercut with scenes of the fishmongers gutting fish). The film also depicts the multicultural society, based on successive waves of immigration, that thrived in such areas, though the racial stereotypes come thick and fast. There's some amusing character turns from telly stalwarts such as David Lodge, Bernard Cribbens, Roger Delgado (Dr Who's original 'Master') and Ian Hendry. But then the film starts to slump badly. First, we get far too much of the perennially unfunny Norman Wisdom as an Irish priest running a Boys Club gymnasium, and then a succession of cameos by the Great and the Good of British Light Entertainment which sadly fail to showcase their talents particularly well: there's a rather silly scene featuring Terry-Thomas in shorts as a scoutmaster on 'Bob-a-job' week; Harry H Corbett as a floor manager at the London Palladium putting on his best Harold Steptoe voice, no doubt to please his TV fans, and Stanley Holloway pops up as a horticultural expert in Hyde Park (probably the best vignette of the lot). Even Fred Emney - someone else who I never found funny - is squeezed into the film, doing his usual 'grumpy fat man' schtick of raising one eyebrow then the other. Eventually, having reunited two quarrelling lovers along the way, Mr Quilby makes it back home later that evening only to find that Esmerelda has only gone and won the bloomin' race. Cor, stone the crows! Cue impromptu street party and cut to the scene-stealing end credits - shots of two men wrestling in the ring, intercut with close ups of a 60s 'dolly bird': the highlight of a rather dull film.
Of its period
chrischapman-4754530 April 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Others have already described it as typical of its age - you can see signs of non-PC scripting and cheap production that went on to almost kill the British film industry in the 1970's. Nevertheless it is a fascinating colour view of London in the 1960's with some excellent cameos from some big names in British comedy who presumably needed the money...
Two questions - is that Eric Idle playing the cox in the rowing boat and was a scene deleted involving Bert Kwouk (surprisingly low down in the credits) and his Italian ice cream van?
Two questions - is that Eric Idle playing the cox in the rowing boat and was a scene deleted involving Bert Kwouk (surprisingly low down in the credits) and his Italian ice cream van?
So many National Treasures in one film...
graham-939-9716354 April 2022
Worth a six just to see London how it was in the 1960's...
So many National Treasures in one film...
Sadly most of them are long gone... Think Bernard Cribbins is the only one left in 2022...
Quirky and worth a watch on a miserable winter afternoon...
"A fair day's walk for a fair day's pay"
richardchatten4 April 2022
Practically the only one of Michael Bentine's films that wasn't just a fleeting cameo is not really very funny but certainly charming; joyously portraying London's diversity in gleaming sixties colour in the days when buses still had conductors.
Ironically for a film crammed with well-known funnymen like Norman Wisdom and Terry-Thomas the most amusing scenes actually involve Ian Hendry.
Ironically for a film crammed with well-known funnymen like Norman Wisdom and Terry-Thomas the most amusing scenes actually involve Ian Hendry.
"More tea for Charlie!"
ShadeGrenade22 June 2009
Warning: Spoilers
As another reviewer has noted, 'The Sandwich Man' seemed to turn up with alarming regularity on Saturday afternoons on B.B.C.-2 in the '70's. It was made at a time when British film comedy was changing; the family-friendly Norman Wisdom and 'St.Trinians' knockabout farces were giving way to ruder, more adult-oriented fare. The director, Robert Hartford-Davis ( known mainly for exploitation pictures ) co-wrote the movie with its star, ex-Goon Michael Bentine.
Anyone who went expecting this to be like 'Its A Square World' would have been disappointed. It basically consists of sketches, linked by Bentine ( in the role of pigeon fancier 'Horace Quilby' ) as he wanders around London wearing sandwich boards advertising a firm called Finkelbaum and O'Casey. Most of the time he is detached from the madness around him. He encounters, amongst others, Norman Wisdom as a boxing priest, Stanley Holloway as a park gardener, Harry H.Corbett as a theatre manager, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Fred Emney as a pair of drunken toffs, Terry-Thomas as a scout master, Ian Hendry as a motorcycle cop, Michael Medwin as a sewer man, Ronnie Stevens as a bowler-hatted drunk, Ron Moody as a rowing coach, and Bernard Cribbins as a camp photographer.
There is a sub-plot involving a Sikh band called 'De Sikhers' trying to get to a jazz festival ( they arrive to find the venue has been closed down by the police ) and Suzy Kendall and David Buck play a couple of lovely young things who have fallen out because she refuses to give up her modelling career once they are married.
A lot of the gags work, others do not. The style of humour shifts every few minutes; from slapstick ( an out-of-control lawn mower terrorises a park ) to surrealism ( Buck's car must have come from 'Q Branch' as it takes to the Thames at the end and passes under Tower Bridge ) and back again. At one point, Quilby encounters a man sitting on a magic carpet which rises into the air ( as magic carpets are wont to do ). It turns out said carpet is resting on the prongs of a fork-lift truck. And what about the scene in Billingsgate market where a pair of women ( Diana Dors and Anna Quayle ) discuss medical soap operas while we see fish being gutted? My favourite gag has David Lodge as a foreman in charge of a gang of workmen digging a hole. He asks for tea, but by the time the cup reaches him, the men have shaken it about so much it is empty.
It is a family film, though undermined slightly by the bizarre closing credits which feature over-cranked footage of wrestlers and close-ups of girls' bottoms which look as though they belong in a different movie.
What 'The Sandwich Man' does rather well, even when it is not particularly funny, is exploit the Swinging London phenomenon of the time. You feel that London in the year 1966 was the best time and place in human history to have existed. That alone is enough to earn it a place in my collection.
Anyone who went expecting this to be like 'Its A Square World' would have been disappointed. It basically consists of sketches, linked by Bentine ( in the role of pigeon fancier 'Horace Quilby' ) as he wanders around London wearing sandwich boards advertising a firm called Finkelbaum and O'Casey. Most of the time he is detached from the madness around him. He encounters, amongst others, Norman Wisdom as a boxing priest, Stanley Holloway as a park gardener, Harry H.Corbett as a theatre manager, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Fred Emney as a pair of drunken toffs, Terry-Thomas as a scout master, Ian Hendry as a motorcycle cop, Michael Medwin as a sewer man, Ronnie Stevens as a bowler-hatted drunk, Ron Moody as a rowing coach, and Bernard Cribbins as a camp photographer.
There is a sub-plot involving a Sikh band called 'De Sikhers' trying to get to a jazz festival ( they arrive to find the venue has been closed down by the police ) and Suzy Kendall and David Buck play a couple of lovely young things who have fallen out because she refuses to give up her modelling career once they are married.
A lot of the gags work, others do not. The style of humour shifts every few minutes; from slapstick ( an out-of-control lawn mower terrorises a park ) to surrealism ( Buck's car must have come from 'Q Branch' as it takes to the Thames at the end and passes under Tower Bridge ) and back again. At one point, Quilby encounters a man sitting on a magic carpet which rises into the air ( as magic carpets are wont to do ). It turns out said carpet is resting on the prongs of a fork-lift truck. And what about the scene in Billingsgate market where a pair of women ( Diana Dors and Anna Quayle ) discuss medical soap operas while we see fish being gutted? My favourite gag has David Lodge as a foreman in charge of a gang of workmen digging a hole. He asks for tea, but by the time the cup reaches him, the men have shaken it about so much it is empty.
It is a family film, though undermined slightly by the bizarre closing credits which feature over-cranked footage of wrestlers and close-ups of girls' bottoms which look as though they belong in a different movie.
What 'The Sandwich Man' does rather well, even when it is not particularly funny, is exploit the Swinging London phenomenon of the time. You feel that London in the year 1966 was the best time and place in human history to have existed. That alone is enough to earn it a place in my collection.
as a picture of how London was 40 odd years ago, absolutely indispensable
christopher-underwood15 July 2009
My score is generous, don't get to imagining that this is anything like as funny as the makers intended or the cast suggests. It's just that it all has such a good feel to it and as a picture of how London was 40 odd years ago, absolutely indispensable. The release date of 1966 and references in the trailer, imply that this movie embodies the nebulous concept of, 'Swinging London'. The truth is, however, that this movie is just on the cusp. It may be that it took a couple of years to put together and almost completely misses out except for a couple of little touches including a mostly hidden very short dress glimpsed in the last of Bernard Cribbins' photo sessions. Significant also in that the lovely girl being photographed is Suzy Kendall, more or less at the start of her career and set to make many classic, cult and giallo films. Everybody else with the possible exception of Ian Hendry is on the wane. As the 'swinging sixties' take a hold, all of these lovable old characters will disappear, being far too representative of the 50s for the groovy boys and birds. Michelangelo Antonioni seemed to capture the coming wave in the same year's, 'Blow Up' and that is either because he was particularly perceptive or that being an outsider, gave him greater perspective to spot the changes. in any event a must see film for anyone interested in the stars or the city.
A lovely old English comedy
walker4-17 April 2016
This is quite a strange and eccentric movie and parts of it will look very strange to modern audiences.
In particular, the racial stereotyping which nowadays will be regarded by many as 'politically incorrect' to say the least.
The humour is rather zany but you need to remember that Michael Bentine was a member of the Goons: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0298349/ which itself was rather surreal.
I think that this is a gem of English cinema.
It contains lots of old English character actors, most of whom are, sadly, no longer with us.
Most of the performances are of the 'cameo' type, lasting only a few minutes.
It is set in the Swinging Sixties and shows London at the time. Because London was like that (although not as eccentric!).
Many people nowadays will consider the movie to be 'lame' but it is enjoyable for those with an interest in social history and the actors of the time.
In particular, the racial stereotyping which nowadays will be regarded by many as 'politically incorrect' to say the least.
The humour is rather zany but you need to remember that Michael Bentine was a member of the Goons: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0298349/ which itself was rather surreal.
I think that this is a gem of English cinema.
It contains lots of old English character actors, most of whom are, sadly, no longer with us.
Most of the performances are of the 'cameo' type, lasting only a few minutes.
It is set in the Swinging Sixties and shows London at the time. Because London was like that (although not as eccentric!).
Many people nowadays will consider the movie to be 'lame' but it is enjoyable for those with an interest in social history and the actors of the time.
More Tea For Charlie ....
shelleywhitney6126 January 2012
I have to agree with the last reviewer; this is an indispensable document of social history. London, Britain just doesn't look, sound or behave like that anymore.
However, as a comedy, it's a slow burner. Episodic in structure, it consists of a series of linked vignettes as our hero, wonderfully played by the incomparable Michael Bentine, wonders around London with his sandwich board advertising Finkelbaum and O' Casey Gent's Overcoats. It's not a barrel of laughs, but it IS funny in a gentle, unassuming way. One reservation would have to be uncomfortable portrayal of the Asian characters who pop up regularly. They're very much in the mould of the old "goodness gracious me" racial stereotypes that fortunately have died out now.
Highlights include Warren Mitchell as a fortune teller, a mercifully restrained Norman Wisdom as an Irish Priest not very confidently trying to run a sports session at a boys club and the amphi-car at the end.
However, as a comedy, it's a slow burner. Episodic in structure, it consists of a series of linked vignettes as our hero, wonderfully played by the incomparable Michael Bentine, wonders around London with his sandwich board advertising Finkelbaum and O' Casey Gent's Overcoats. It's not a barrel of laughs, but it IS funny in a gentle, unassuming way. One reservation would have to be uncomfortable portrayal of the Asian characters who pop up regularly. They're very much in the mould of the old "goodness gracious me" racial stereotypes that fortunately have died out now.
Highlights include Warren Mitchell as a fortune teller, a mercifully restrained Norman Wisdom as an Irish Priest not very confidently trying to run a sports session at a boys club and the amphi-car at the end.
Wonderful example of historical humour
derekbenefield9 August 2018
Dont know how I missed this till now fits in with 'ThePlank', 'Day at the seaside' etcwith two Ronnies but not quite as good. You have be accept it historical humour as some bits would not be acceptable by some people. The mower and river sequences are very good cosidering what tricks were at there disposal in 1966
It's a mad, mad, mad, mad London!
mark.waltz6 September 2022
Warning: Spoilers
A typical day in the life of a sandwich board man (Michael Bentine) results in lots of hilarity and cameos by a plethora of British entertainers of all sorts, starting off with a very funny opening of various ethnicities coming out of their flats on their way to do what they do do. You'll see them throughout the film as all sorts of obstacles befell them, in hysterically funny ways for the audience but not for the victim.
Bentine observers a good portion of these, living nearby them, and friendly when they encounter each other. The fish market shows the viewer how the catch of the day are prepared (not very pretty, that's for sure), and another que has people running elsewhere when an obvious disgusting smell reaches their noses. An encounter with a policeman has boy scout master Terry-Thomas finding himself in trouble just by trying to be helpful. Diana Dors and Anna Quayle are very funny fondling fish over a typical female conversation, another situation where being in the wrong place at the wrong time causes unintentional trouble for the well meaning Bentine.
Then there's Dora Bryan as a cockney landlady ("Keep your pecker up!", stated with complete innocence), "Oliver's" Ron Moody, "My Fair Lady's" Stanley Holloway and Wilfred Hyde White and music hall legend Norman Wisdom popping on and off, with each sequence giving the audience some very funny visuals that shouldn't be spoiled by mentioning them. It's dated comedy for sure (definitely of the "Carry On!" variety), but a good giggle never hurt anyone, and in the turbulent 60's, films like these were quite necessary. There are enough easy to figure out references for Americans to understand, and it's a very playful spoof of daily British life to create laughs at the innocent expense of the subjects they parody.
Bentine observers a good portion of these, living nearby them, and friendly when they encounter each other. The fish market shows the viewer how the catch of the day are prepared (not very pretty, that's for sure), and another que has people running elsewhere when an obvious disgusting smell reaches their noses. An encounter with a policeman has boy scout master Terry-Thomas finding himself in trouble just by trying to be helpful. Diana Dors and Anna Quayle are very funny fondling fish over a typical female conversation, another situation where being in the wrong place at the wrong time causes unintentional trouble for the well meaning Bentine.
Then there's Dora Bryan as a cockney landlady ("Keep your pecker up!", stated with complete innocence), "Oliver's" Ron Moody, "My Fair Lady's" Stanley Holloway and Wilfred Hyde White and music hall legend Norman Wisdom popping on and off, with each sequence giving the audience some very funny visuals that shouldn't be spoiled by mentioning them. It's dated comedy for sure (definitely of the "Carry On!" variety), but a good giggle never hurt anyone, and in the turbulent 60's, films like these were quite necessary. There are enough easy to figure out references for Americans to understand, and it's a very playful spoof of daily British life to create laughs at the innocent expense of the subjects they parody.
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