''Cuckoo Patrol'' is a 1967

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Duncan Wood Wilfred Duncan Wood (24 March 1925 – 11 January 1997) was a British comedy producer, director and writer, who has been described as "the founding father of the British sitcom, British TV sitcom". Wood's best-known achievements were to pro ...

and starring

Freddie Garrity Frederick Garrity (14 November 1936 – 19 May 2006) was an English singer and actor. He was best known as the frontman of Freddie and the Dreamers from 1959 until his retirement in 2001. Biography Born in Crumpsall, Manchester, the elde ...

Victor Maddern Victor Jack Maddern (16 March 1928 – 22 June 1993) was an English actor. He was described by ''The Telegraph'' as having "one of the most distinctive and eloquent faces in post-war British cinema." Life and career Born in Seven Kings, ...

John Le Mesurier John Le Mesurier (, born John Elton Le Mesurier Halliley; 5 April 191215 November 1983) was an English actor. He is probably best remembered for his comedic role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the BBC television situation com ...

and

Kenneth Connor Kenneth Connor (6 June 1918 – 28 November 1993) was a British stage, film and broadcasting actor, who rose to national prominence with his appearances in the ''Carry On'' films. Early life Connor was born in Highbury, Islington, London, t ...

. The screenplay was by Lew Schwarz. It was produced in 1965 but held back for two years.

Plot

A group of Boy Scouts get separated from Wick, their adult leader, on their way to a group meeting. A string of loosely-connected events ensue. At first they are trapped in the back of a furniture lorry. When they eventually get out they are closer to their destination than they think, but thanks to poor map reading they head in the wrong direction. A car passing loses a suitcase labelled "The Silver Supermen". This results in them taking the place of two wrestlers in a tag match and surprisingly winning. Struggling to establish camp, they are helped by a group of girl guides and end singing around the campfire until their leader Brown Owl takes the girls off. Fearing punishment, they pack up camp and leave. Their handcart is in the middle of the road and blocks the car of two bank robbers. In suggesting a diversion the car is wrecked and they offer to carry the men's gear on their cart. Soon after, they unknowingly help crack a safe at a sports good store. The

gelignite Gelignite (), also known as blasting gelatin or simply "jelly", is an explosive material consisting of collodion-cotton (a type of nitrocellulose or guncotton) dissolved in either nitroglycerine or nitroglycol and mixed with wood pulp and Potassi ...

owned by the burglars gets thrown around before one boy opens the safe with a karate chop. They realise that a real crime is being committed after the bank-robbers threaten them with a gun, and bombard the crooks with tennis balls before the police arrive. The next morning they arrive safely at the group meeting on a tractor. The cart on the back blows up as the gelignite was still there. The boys laugh on the roof of the bus as Wick searches for them while holding a blade.

Cast

as himself * Bernie Dwyer as himself * Derek Quinn as himself * Pete Birrell as himself * Roy Crewdson as himself *

as Wick, scout leader *

as Gibbs, senior scout leader *

as Dicko, bank robber *

Arthur Mullard Arthur Ernest Mullard ( né Mullord; 19 September 1910His obituary in ''The Times'' gives his date of birth as 10 November 1910 but conflicts with the birthdate given in his death registration. His year of birth appears as 1908, 1910, 1912 and 19 ...

as Yossle, bank robber *

Ernest Clark Ernest Clark MC (12 February 1912 – 11 November 1994) was a British actor of stage, television and film. Early life Clark was the son of a master builder in Maida Vale, and was educated nearby at St Marylebone Grammar School. After leaving ...

as Mr. Marshall *

Basil Dignam Basil Dignam (24 October 1905 – 31 January 1979) was an English character actor. Basil Dignam was born in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire. Before the acting, he tried many jobs, from a company clerk to a journalist. He acted on film and ...

as Mr. Snodgrass * Michael Brennan as Superman No.1 * Neil McCarthy as Superman No.2 *

Peggy Ann Clifford Peggy Ann Clifford (23 March 1921 in Poole, Dorset – 26 May 1986, in Kensington), was an English film, stage, and television character actress. She was born Peggy Anne Hamley Champion. Her mother's maiden name was Clifford. She appeared in tw ...

as Brown Owl, Girl Guide leader * Jack Lambert as police Inspector * Patsy Snell as Girl Guide *

Cheryl Molyneaux Cheryl is a feminine given name with multiple origins. The name might have originated as a combination of the name Beryl with the prefix ''Cher-'' from the French ''chérie'', meaning ''darling'' (from the past participle of the verb ''chérir'' ...

as Girl Guide * Georgina Patterson as Girl Guide * Sandra Hampton as Girl Guide * Carmel Dene as Girl Guide * Vic Wise as Moley * Jo Gibbons as Jo * Lou Marco as referee * Dominic Pye as black gorilla * Bill Turney as black gorilla *

Roger Avon Roger Avon (23 November 1914 – 21 December 1998) was an English stage, film and television actor born in Jarrow, County Durham. Some of his television appearances include ''Hancock's Half Hour'', ''Dad's Army'', '' When the Boat Comes In'' ...

as policeman *

Victor Platt The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

as van driver * Dan Cornwall as van driver * Anthony Buckingham as Owly * John Ross as Jumbo

Music

The film contains three songs: "The Cuckoo Patrol", "It Wasn't Me", and "Seems Like Things are Turning Out Fine Again", with music and lyrics by Frederick Garrity.

Critical reception

Kine Weekly ''Kinematograph Weekly'', popularly known as ''Kine Weekly'', was a trade paper catering to the British film industry between 1889 and 1971. Etymology The word Kinematograph was derived from the Greek ' Kinumai ', (to move, to be in motion, to ...

'' said "Kid's matinee stuff this, presented with a fresh and pleasing ingenuity and one or two songs." ''

Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "A plotless and quite incredibly unfunny farce, with the further embarrassment of a team of grown men, Freddie and The Dreamers, impersonating moronic boy scouts." The film's

tag line In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, so ...

, "Based on a story outline by

Freddie and the Dreamers Freddie and the Dreamers were an English beat band that had a number of hit records between 1962 and 1965. The band's stage act was enlivened by the comic antics of Freddie Garrity, who would bounce around the stage with arms and legs flying ...

", was described by ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' as "terrifying".

Releases

The film was released on DVD in 2012 by Renown Pictures.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0195619 1967 films British musical comedy films 1967 musical comedy films British black-and-white films Films shot at MGM-British Studios 1960s English-language films 1960s British films English-language musical comedy films