''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. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). 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 TV sitcom". His best-known achievements were to produce all of Tony Ha ...

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 eldes ...

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 perhaps best remembered for his comedic role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the BBC television situation ...

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, ...

. It was produced in 1965 but held back for two years. 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, s ...

, "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 1963 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 ...

", has been described in ''

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 publishe ...

'' as "terrifying".

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. In fear of facing punishment, they pack up camp and leave. Their handcart is in the middle of the road and two bank robbers have their car blocked. 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 Marshall and Snodgress, 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 saltp ...

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 ...

as Yossle, bank robber *

Ernest Clark Ernest Clark (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 sch ...

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 Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Among ...

as Girl Guide * Cheryl Molyneaux as Girl Guide * Georgina Patterson as Girl Guide * Sandra Hampton as Girl Guide * Carmel Dene as Girl Guide *

Vic Wise Vic (; es, Vic or Pancracio Celdrán (2004). Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (5ª edición). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 843. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9. «Vic o Vich (viquense, vigitano, vigatán, ausense, ausetano, ausonense) ...

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), ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * Victor (1993 film), ...

as Van Driver * Dan Cornwall as Van Driver * Anthony Buckingham as Owly * John Ross as Jumbo

References

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 {{musical-comedy-film-stub