''Nearest and Dearest'' is a 1972 British comedy film directed by John Robins and starring

Hylda Baker Hylda Baker (4 February 1905 – 1 May 1986) was an English comedian, actress and music hall performer. Born and brought up in Farnworth, Lancashire, she is perhaps best remembered for her role as Nellie Pledge in the Granada ITV sitcom ' ...

and

Jimmy Jewel James Arthur Thomas Jewel Marsh (4 December 1909 – 3 December 1995),Gifford, Denni''The Independent'', 5 December 1995. Note: This obituary wrongly gives the year of birth as 1912, which is contradicted by the Ben Warriss obituary. Retrie ...

. A spin-off from the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

sitcom ''

Nearest and Dearest ''Nearest and Dearest'' is a British television sitcom that ran from 1968 to 1973. A total of 45 episodes were made, 18 in monochrome (black & white) and 27 in colour. The series, produced by Granada Television for the ITV network, starred Hyl ...

'' (1968–1973), it was written by Roy Bottomley and Tom Brennand and produced by

Hammer Films A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as wi ...

in conjunction with a film subsidiary of

Granada TV ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend Television was its ...

. Baker and Jewel are feuding brother and sister Nellie and Eli Pledge, owners of Pledge's Purer Pickles.

Plot

On their father's death, Eli and Nellie Pledge inherit a pickle factory in

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. The town is northeast of Nelson, Lancashire, Nelson, northeast of Burnley and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. The ...

, in the north of England. The warring siblings struggle to keep the decrepit "Pledge's Purer Pickles" afloat, hampered by severe lack of funds, zero business acumen and by having inherited a workforce that is a decade beyond retirement age. While Nellie works hard to keep the business going, Eli prefers to indulge in the delights of beer, cigarettes, gambling and women. The annual Summer holiday is soon upon them and the entire factory is closed down. Nellie takes Eli to a

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

boarding house run by landlady Mrs. Rowbottom, whose eyes light upon bachelor Eli. Eli though, only has eyes for the younger Freda. Eli's attempts to further his financial ambitions by marrying off Nellie to a colleague in the pickling business are challenged when Vernon Smallpiece is snatched from the altar by bailiffs for non-payment of his debts.

Cast

as Nellie Pledge *

as Eli Pledge *

Joe Gladwin Joseph Gladwin (22 January 1906 – 11 March 1987) was an English actor, best known for his roles as Fred Jackson in Coronation Street, Stan Hardman in '' Nearest and Dearest'', and Wally Batty in the world's longest-running sitcom, ''Last o ...

as Stan *

Edward Malin Edward Ernest Malin (23 October 1894 in Stoke Newington, London – 1 March 1977 in Ealing, London) was an English actor. He was the youngest of seven children of John Malin (1850–1921), a purse maker in a fancy leather works, and Mar ...

as Walter *

Madge Hindle Madge Hindle (born 19 May 1938) is an English retired actress, known for her roles in British television shows. Career Hindle was born in Blackburn, Lancashire. Her break came when her friend, playwright Alan Bennett, asked her to appear in his 1 ...

as Lily *

Norman Mitchell Norman Mitchell Driver (27 August 1918 – 19 March 2001), known professionally as Norman Mitchell, was an English television, stage and film actor. Born in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire, his father was a mining engineer and his mother ...

as Vernon Smallpiece * Pat Ashton as Freda *Bert Palmer as Bert * Peter Madden as the court bailiff *

Norman Chappell Norman Chappell (31 December 1925, Lucknow, India – 21 July 1983) was an English character actor, known for numerous roles in television and film. Biography Born in India during the British Raj, Chappell appeared mainly in television series as ...

as man on the bus *

Yootha Joyce Yootha Joyce Needham (20 August 1927 – 24 August 1980), known as Yootha Joyce, was an English actress best known for playing Mildred Roper opposite Brian Murphy in the sitcom '' Man About the House'' (1973–1976) and its spin-off '' George ...

as Mrs Rowbottom * John Barrett as Joshua Pledge * Carmel Cryan as club hostess *Sue Hammer as Scarlet O'Hara *Janie Collinge as Vinegar Vera *

Donald Bisset Donald Bisset (30 August 1910 – 10 August 1995), was an English actor. He also wrote stories for children which he mostly illustrated himself. They have been translated into 16 languages. Selected filmography * ''Murder in the Cathedral'' ...

as vicar * Kerry Jewel as Claude *Adele Warren as Mimi la Vere, stripper *

Nosher Powell George Frederick Bernard Powell (15 August 1928 – 20 April 2013), credited as Nosher Powell, Freddie Powell, or Fred Powell, was an English actor, stuntman and boxer. He is best known for his work in the ''James Bond'' film series, most ...

as bouncer

Music

The theme music for the TV series, composed by

Derek Hilton Derek Redvers Hilton (3 February 1927 – 11 July 2005) was an English musician and composer who worked for most of his professional career as Music director, musical director at ITV Granada, Granada Television. He is mostly remembered for his ...

, was turned into a song for the film. It was performed by Hylda Baker who also wrote the lyrics.

Critical reception

The 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: "Some venerable double entendres compete for belly laughs with Hylda Baker's malapropisms in this latest TV-sired offering. The movie still manages to come out as an interminable compilation of dirty seaside postcards, and the cosy domestic smuttiness of it all looks very tatty when hammed up over-large for the big screen." ''The

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

Guide to Films'' gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Responsible for some of Hammer's most grisly horrors, Michael Carreras was perhaps a surprise choice to produce this spin-off from the long-running ITV comedy series. Released the year before this fondly remembered sitcom departed our screens, it provides a worthy record of the word-mangling sniping between Hylda Baker and Jimmy Jewel as they try to suppress their sibling rivalry and make a go of their father's pickle factory. Bawdy entertainment."

Sky Movies Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema on ...

said, "a kind of bumper bundle of seaside postcard jokes, with acting honours going to Jimmy Jewel, underrated as a character actor, and Yootha Joyce, who pops up as Mrs Rowbottom."

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0282783 1972 comedy films 1972 films Films based on television series Hammer Film Productions films British comedy films 1970s English-language films 1970s British films