Frankie Howerd Movies

Gilbert & Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore opens with the crew of the Pinafore busily and boisterously sprucing up the deck for the arrival of Sir Joseph Porter, a high-ranking admiral. They pause only to buy wares from the peddler called Little Buttercup and then return happily to work. But not all are so happy. Ralph Rackstraw, "the smartest lad in all the fleet," is in love with the Captain's daughter, Josephine, who has been promised to Porter. In spite of this -- and the fact that Josephine and he are far apart in terms of class -- Ralph pursues her, and she eventually confesses her own love for him. The two young lovers plan to elope, but the Captain learns of her plans and puts a halt to them. Porter, furious at Ralph's impertinence, has him imprisoned. At that moment, Buttercup reveals a tremendous secret: Many years in the past, she had been given charge of two babies, one of good family and one of lower status. These turn out to be Ralph and the Captain -- but Buttercup further reveals that she had accidentally switched them. Thus, Ralph is of noble birth and the Captain comes from poverty -- and therefore, Josephine is also of the lower class and no longer a fit mate for Porter. However, the newly-ennobled Ralph has no such reservations, and gladly takes Josephine to be his wife. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

Manic British comedian Frankie Howerd transferred his Up Pompeii format from ancient Rome to the Arabian Nights milieu, and the result was the sidesplitting sitcom Whoops Baghdad. This time around, Howerd was cast as Ali Oopla, bondservant and bodyguard to the Wazir of Baghdad (Derek Francis). While the rest of the cast played the various plot intrigues "straight," Howerd went through his customary paces, dispensing anachronistic cockney insults around the streets of Baghdad, pausing periodically to address the audience, and shamelessly ogling the series' abundant supply of scantily clad harem girls. The six-episode Whoops Baghdad was originally telecast from January 25 to March 1, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a conservative Catholic priest representing the Pope is sent to Ireland to settle down a few influential radical priests whose doctrine is contrary to standard church guidelines. AKA The Conflict. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The British farce Naughty Knights was originally shipped out as Up the Chastity Belt. Raucuous comedian Frankie Howerd, who laid waste to Roman history in the zany TV series Up Pompeii, is the star. The film's medieval adventures, involving a noble knight and his stupid serf, are punctuated by ample displays of female breasts, abdomens and thighs. As in Howerd's earlier projects, the supporting cast plays straight while the star makes snide, anachronistic comments directly at audience. This soft-core nonsense is perhaps best appreciated by fans of Frankie Howard; his suprisingly stellar supporting cast includes Bill Fraser, Anna Quayle and Eartha Kitt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An extremely low budget -- shot on an obvious studio set and featuring cheap and grainy stock footage -- only adds to the hilarity in this 1970 entry in the "Carry On" series. Series stalwarts Sidney James and Joan Sims star, as the gang head deep into the Amazon in search of an endangered species of bird. There they must contend with a tribe of Amazons and a horny gorilla. As if that weren't enough, they find themselves pursued by ravenous headhunters who must have seen all the "Carry On" troupe's routines one too many times. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Cartoonist Ronald Searle's delightfully diabolical private-school girls are back in action in The Great St. Trinian's Bank Robbery. Comedian Frankie Howerd plays the head of a train-robbery gang who cleverly hides the loot from their biggest haul (presumably the infamous "Great Train Robbery" of 1963) in a deserted old mansion. The gang waits the traditional seven years for the statute of limitations to run out then returns to the mansion to dig up their $7 million booty. Unfortunately, the joint has been converted into the new site for St. Trinian's School for Girls. Even more unfortunately (for the crooks, but not the audience) those "girls" are all holy terrors. The film's climax occurs during a riotous Parents' Day ceremony, which predictably segues into a wild train chase. Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery might have been funnier had Alastair Sim, the star of the first three "St. Trinian's" entries, made a return appearance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The star of this slapstick comedy is not a person but an antique Bentley sports car, the source of several misadventures. Murdoch Troon (Stanley Baxter) is a simple civil servant who has his heart set on romancing Claire (Julie Christie in an early role), the daughter of wealthy businessman Charles Chingford (James Robertson Justice). As a part of his scheme to appear irresistible, Murdoch takes driving lessons so he will be able to impress Claire in the Bentley. Both the lessons and his driving test produce moments of hilarity, and as might be expected, there cannot be a movie featuring a car without a wacky, wild chase. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Able-bodied seaman Albert Tufnell (John Meillon) plans to marry Shirley Hornett (Vera Day), and the ceremony is about to take place -- when a telegram arrives from an officer aboard his ship, advising that marriage is impossible for Tufnell at that moment. Shirley's battle-ax of a mother (Marjorie Rhodes) doesn't know the facts behind the telegram but assumes the worst, and won't even discuss what to do about the wedding, even as she tries to live down the humiliation of a ceremony stopped midway through. Albert and his best friend, Carnoustie Bligh (Graham Stark), try to sort it all out, but even the arrival of an officer from their ship (Dennis Price) with an explanation only makes matters more complicated. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

A bellboy gets sweet revenge upon the employers at the hotel where he once worked after he inherits a lot of money in this lively British comedy. The sweetest revenge of all comes when he and the other lackeys team up to scam the wealthy, who look down upon them, hoping to get them to finance his attempt to buy the posh establishment. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Music professor Alec Guinness rents a London flat from sweet old lady Katie Johnson. He tells her that, from time to time, several other musicians will visit in order to rehearse. In truth, Guinness can't play a note, nor can his visitors: he's a criminal mastermind, holding court over a gang of thieves, including the likes of punkish Peter Sellers, homicidal Herbert Lom and punchdrunk Danny Green. The gang uses Guinness' flat as headquarters as they conceive a daring 60,000 pound robbery. After pulling off the job, the gang stuffs the loot in a railway station locker. To avoid detection, Guinness convinces the ever-trusting Johnson to pick up the money. Through a series of comic complications, Johnson returns home with a police escort, with neither the woman nor the bobbies suspecting that she's carrying a fortune in her suitcase. Mistakenly believing that Johnson has ratted on them, the gang reluctantly plans to eliminate her. The Ladykillers won an Oscar nomination for William Rose's screenplay, and a BFA award for veteran character actress Johnson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Irene Dunne made her final film appearance in the frothy fantasy It Grows on Trees. Looking at least two decades younger than her 52 years, Dunne plays Polly Baxter, the ebullient wife of Phil Baxter (Dean Jagger). Miracle of miracles, two of the trees in Polly's backyard garden begin sprouting paper currency! Assuming that it's genuine mazumah, Polly goes on a spending spree, and also pays off the long-standing mortgage on the house. The money-yielding trees soon become a nationwide sensation, drawing thousands of interested parties to the Baxters' tiny backyard. A major setback is inevitable, but the manner in which the dilemma is solved is both clever and logical. When it isn't concentrating on the plot proper, It Grows on Trees offers some amusing jibes at the U.S. Treasury Department, the IRS, and small-town pretentiousness. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide