Up Pompeii (1971)

Director:

Bob Kellett

Writers:

Sid Colin (screenplay)
Talbot Rothwell (idea)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

It's Ludicrus Maximus - When the Forum Loses Its Decorum!

Plot:

Roman slave Lurkio inadvertently becomes the possessor of a scroll naming the proposed assassins of the Emperor Nero...

Plot Keywords:

Innuendo | Roman Empire | Orgy | Female Nudity | Breaking The Fourth Wall

Cast

Frankie Howerd	...	Lurcio
Michael Hordern	...	Ludicrus Sextus
Barbara Murray	...	Ammonia
Patrick Cargill	...	Nero
Lance Percival	...	Bilius
Julie Ege	...	Voluptua
Bill Fraser	...	Prosperus Maximus
Rita Webb	...	Cassandra
Bernard Bresslaw	...	Gorgo
Adrienne Posta	...	Scrubba
Madeline Smith	...	Erotica
Royce Mills	...	Nausius
Ian Trigger	...	Odius
Aubrey Woods	...	Villanus
Hugh Paddick	...	Priest

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | UK:15 (video rating) (1989) | UK:AA (original rating) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Elstree Film and TV Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Anglo-EMI

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: In the same 'News of The World' DVD, Actors Warwick Sims and Jonathan Dennis are credited in the main titles but omitted from the end titles.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Lurcio: [during the opening credits when Frankie Howerd is displayed in small letters] Oh come on, bigger!
Lurcio: [the name gets bigger] Don't be ashamed of it!
Lurcio: [now bigger] Bigger!
[now even bigger]
Lurcio: Bigger!
Lurcio: [the name is now very large, and most of it has disappeared] Alright, don't go mad!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Seriously Funny: An Argument for Comedy" (1996)

Soundtrack:

Up Pompeii

Naughty Naughty!

Frankie Howerd will be forever remembered as the creator of the knowing glance. He develops a relationship with the audience that lets us know that he thinks this stuff is bad too. Somehow that allows us to forgive the corny puns, lame jokes and sexist humour. "Just bear with me," he seems to be saying, "It'll all be over soon." Somehow it all worked, and Up Pompeii managed to rise above its seventies comedy contemporaries to become a classic.

The film perhaps lacks the freshness of the TV series due to the loss of the studio audience. Howerd was able to react to them in a way that made the whole show appear to be improvised. This was of course down to his genius, as everything was very well rehearsed. Despite this it's still a very enjoyable film. My only complaint is that Hammer starlet Madeline Smith is not in it more!