''The Supergrass'' is a 1985 British

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 Peter Richardson (who also plays a major role) who also wrote the screenplay with Pete Richens. The film stars

Adrian Edmondson Adrian Charles Edmondson (born 24 January 1957) is an English actor, comedian, musician, writer and television presenter. Part of the alternative comedy boom in the early 1980s, he and his comedy partner Rik Mayall starred in the television sitc ...

Jennifer Saunders Jennifer Jane Saunders (born 6 July 1958) is an English actress, comedian, singer, and screenwriter. Saunders originally found attention in the 1980s, when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Royal Central School ...

Dawn French Dawn Roma French (born 11 October 1957) is a British actress, comedian and writer. She is known for writing and starring on the BBC sketch comedy series '' French and Saunders'' (1987–2007) with her best friend and comedy partner Jennifer Sa ...

, Keith Allen,

Nigel Planer Nigel George Planer (born 22 February 1953) is a British actor, writer and musician. His television credits include playing Neil in the sitcom '' The Young Ones'' and Ralph Filthy in the sitcom '' Filthy Rich & Catflap'', as well as narrating th ...

Alexei Sayle Alexei David Sayle (born 7 August 1952) is an English actor, author, stand-up comedian, television presenter and former recording artist. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement in the 1980s. He was voted the 18th g ...

Ronald Allen Ronald John Allen (16 December 1930 – 18 June 1991) was an English actor. He is best known for playing David Hunter in the long-running ITV soap opera '' Crossroads'', a role he played from 1969 to 1985. Early life Allen was born in Reading ...

, and

Robbie Coltrane Anthony Robert McMillan (30 March 195014 October 2022), known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor. He gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He was appointe ...

. ''The Supergrass'' was the first feature-length film by the 1980s

alternative comedy Alternative comedy is a term coined in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era. The phrase has had different connotations in different contexts: in the UK, it was used to describe ...

group

The Comic Strip The Comic Strip are a group of British comedians who came to prominence in the 1980s. They are known for their television series ''The Comic Strip Presents...'', which was labelled as a pioneering example of the alternative comedy scene. The c ...

. The soundtrack to the film featured original music from

Keith Tippett Keith Graham Tippetts (25 August 1947 – 14 June 2020), known professionally as Keith Tippett, was a British jazz pianist and composer. According to AllMusic, Tippett's career "...spanned jazz-rock, progressive rock, improvised and contemporar ...

, plus music from

P. P. Arnold Patricia Ann Cole (born October 3, 1946), known professionally as P. P. Arnold, is an American-born British-based soul music, soul singer. She began her career in 1965 as an The Ikettes, Ikette with the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. The following yea ...

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress. She began her Model (person), modelling career in New York State, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves St ...

, and

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

, among others.

Plot

After returning from a holiday at

Hope Cove Hope Cove is a small seaside village within the civil parish of South Huish in South Hams district, Devon, England. It is located west of Salcombe and south west of Kingsbridge. It has two beaches, and is sheltered by the headland of Bolt Tai ...

in the

West Country The West Country is a loosely defined area within southwest England, usually taken to include the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Bristol, with some considering it to extend to all or parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and ...

, Dennis Carter (

) tries to impress a girl by untruthfully boasting of being a drug smuggler. The girl is unimpressed; however, he is overheard by the police, who persuade him to become a

supergrass Supergrass are an English rock band formed in 1993. For the majority of the band's tenure, the line-up consisted of brothers Gaz (lead vocals, guitar) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn (bass, backing vocals) and Danny Goffey (drums, ...

and inform on his associates. The more Dennis lies, the bigger the hole he digs for himself.

Cast

as Dennis Carter *

as Lesley Reynolds * Peter Richardson as Harvey Duncan *

as Det. Sgt. Troy *

as Gunter * Keith Allen as Wong *

as Andrea * Daniel Peacock as Jim Jarvis *

as Commander Robertson *

as Motorbike Cop *

Michael Elphick Michael John Elphick (19 September 1946 – 7 September 2002) was an English film and television actor. He played the eponymous private investigator in the ITV series '' Boon'' and Harry Slater in BBC's ''EastEnders''. He was nominated fo ...

as Constable Collins * Patrick Durkin as Constable Franks * Marika Rivera as Bed and Breakfast Landlady * Al Pillay as Mary * Kevin Allen as Shop Assistant

Versions

The version of the film initially released in the cinema ran 107 minutes, which was subsequently released on VHS running to 103, due to PAL speed-up. The film was screened by

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

on 13 March 1988, as a prelude to the fourth series of ''The Comic Strip Presents'', but this was a version cut down to 93 minutes 26 seconds, equivalent to 97 minutes 20 seconds in the cinema, so missing some nine minutes 49 seconds. All subsequent VHS and DVD releases, including the "complete" ''Comic Strip'' box set, use the shorter cut-down version.BBFC: The Supergrass 01/12/99
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References

External links

* 1985 films 1985 comedy films 1985 directorial debut films 1980s police comedy films 1980s police procedural films British comedy films British police films The Comic Strip 1980s English-language films Films directed by Peter Richardson (British director) 1980s British films English-language crime comedy films {{1980s-UK-comedy-film-stub