The Odd Job
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''The Odd Job'' is a 1978 British comedy film starring
Monty Python Monty Python, also known as the Pythons, were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy ser ...
member
Graham Chapman Graham Chapman (8 January 1941 – 4 October 1989) was a British actor, comedian and writer. He was one of the six members of the Surreal humour, surrealist comedy group Monty Python. He portrayed authority figures such as The Colonel (Monty Py ...
. It tells the story of a man named Arthur Harris who is recently abandoned by his wife. He becomes so depressed that he hires an "odd job man" to kill him. Once his wife returns, Harris finds himself unable to cancel the contract.


Cast

*
Graham Chapman Graham Chapman (8 January 1941 – 4 October 1989) was a British actor, comedian and writer. He was one of the six members of the Surreal humour, surrealist comedy group Monty Python. He portrayed authority figures such as The Colonel (Monty Py ...
as Arthur Harris *
David Jason Sir David John White (born 2 February 1940), known professionally as David Jason, is an English actor. He has played Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'', Detective Inspector Jack Frost in the drama series '' A Touch ...
as The Odd Job Man * Diana Quick as Fiona Harris * Simon Williams as Tony Sloane * Edward Hardwicke as Inspector Black * Bill Paterson as Sergeant Mull * Michael Elphick as Raymonde *Stewart Harwood asa Bernard * Carolyn Seymour as Angie * Joe Melia as head waiter *
George Innes George Innes (born 8 March 1938) is a British actor. Stage career George Innes was born in Wapping, Stepney, East London on 8 March 1938, and he began his career on the stage with the Royal National Theatre, National Theatre of Great Britain ...
as caretaker * James Bree as Mr. Kemp * Zulema Dene as Mrs. Kemp *
Richard O'Brien Richard O'Brien (born Richard Timothy Smith; 25 March 1942) is a British-New Zealand actor, writer, musician, and television presenter. He wrote the musical stage show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' in 1973, which has since remained in continuous p ...
as Batch * Carl Andrews as taxi driver * Dave Atkins as milkman *John Judd as police driver *Nick Edmett as Police Constable *Toby Salaman as barman *Tiny Keeling as Boston Startler *David Hatton as old man *Anthony Milner as waiter *Mark Penfold as ambulanceman


Production

Following ''
Monty Python and the Holy Grail ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' is a 1975 British comedy film based on the Arthurian legend, written and performed by the Monty Python comedy group (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin) and ...
'' the members of Monty Python worked on separate projects.
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...
made ''
Fawlty Towers ''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, originally broadcast on BBC Two in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The series is set in Fawlty Towers, a dysfunctional fictional ...
'',
Eric Idle Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943) is an English actor, comedian, songwriter, musician, screenwriter and playwright. He was a member of the British comedy group Monty Python and the parody rock band the Rutles. Idle studied English at Pembroke Co ...
'' Rutland Weekend Television'',
Terry Jones Terence Graham Parry Jones (1 February 1942 – 21 January 2020) was a Welsh actor, comedian, director, historian, writer and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English, Jones a ...
and
Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television presenter. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. He received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, BAFTA Fellowship in 2013 and was knig ...
'' Ripping Yarns'',
Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam ( ; born 22 November 1940) is an American-British filmmaker, comedian, collage film, collage animator, and actor. He gained stardom as a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe alongside John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Pa ...
''
Jabberwocky "Jabberwocky" is a Nonsense verse, nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll about the killing of a creature named "the Jabberwock". It was included in his 1871 novel ''Through the Looking-Glass'', the sequel to ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' ...
'' and Graham Chapman ''The Odd Job''. The concept originated as an episode of the
London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT; now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV (TV network), ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00&nbs ...
/ ITV series '' Six Dates with Barker'' in 1971, written by Bernard McKenna, with
Ronnie Barker Ronald William George Barker (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as ''Porridge (1974 TV series), Porridge'', ''The Two Ronnies'', ...
as Arthur Harris and
David Jason Sir David John White (born 2 February 1940), known professionally as David Jason, is an English actor. He has played Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'', Detective Inspector Jack Frost in the drama series '' A Touch ...
as the Odd Job Man (who plays the same role in the feature film). Chapman admired the play and commissioned McKenna to turn it into a feature film script. Chapman raised the budget, which he said was half a million pounds. The role of the odd job man was originally intended for Chapman's friend,
Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 1946 – 7 September 1978) was an English musician who was the drummer for the rock band the Who. Regarded as one of the greatest drummers in the history of rock music, he was noted for his unique style of playing and ...
. Finance came in part from members of the rock groups
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
and
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
. Steve O'Rourke, Pink Floyd's manager, was an executive producer; so too was band manager Tony Stratton Smith. The original director was meant to be Cliff Owen but he broke his thigh and had to be replaced.
Peter Medak Péter Medák (born 23 December 1937) is a Hungarians in the United Kingdom, Hungarian-British film and television director. Early life Born in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary, Hungary, he was the son of Elisabeth (née Diamounstein) and Gyula Med ...
was selected; it was Medak's first feature since '' Ghost in the Noonday Sun''. Two weeks before filming, Medak went to visit Keith Moon in hospital "drying out" so he would be ready for the film. Medak became convinced that Moon would not be able to finish the movie and pressed for him to be replaced. He wrote, "I knew how much Keith was looking forward to the part in the film: I knew that I was right and they were wrong but should I just wave goodbye to the £50,000 I had already spent or make the film and take a chance on it making money? I chose the latter and still wish I hadn't." (Moon died on 7 September 1978). The film was shot in early 1978 at
Shepperton Studios Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of Pinewood Group, the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not ...
with
location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. When filmmaking professionals refer to shooting "on location", they are ...
around London.


Reception

The ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...
'' called it a "plodding farce". The '' Sunday Telegraph'' described it as "no good". ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' wrote "this unhappy film is like a stale Whitehall farce brought to the screen by Pearl and Dean; I've seen funnier advertisements for Indian restaurants." The film failed to find distribution in the US because distributors thought it was "too English". This prompted Medak to relocate to the US. Chapman and McKenna later collaborated again on ''
Yellowbeard ''Yellowbeard'' is a 1983 comedy film directed by Mel Damski and written by Graham Chapman, Peter Cook, Bernard McKenna (writer), Bernard McKenna, and David Sherlock, with an ensemble cast featuring Chapman, Cook, Peter Boyle, Cheech & Chong, M ...
''.


References


Notes

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External links

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''The Odd Job''
at Letterbox DVD {{DEFAULTSORT:Odd Job, The 1978 films Atlantic Entertainment Group films British comedy films 1970s English-language films Films directed by Peter Medak Films with screenplays by Graham Chapman Films scored by Howard Blake 1978 comedy films Films shot in London Films shot at Shepperton Studios Films set in London 1970s British films English-language comedy films