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[struth]

Eye of the Needle, 1981. Director is Richard Marquand.





This movie is what led George Lucas to hire Richard Marquand to direct Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983). Lucas was mainly impressed how Marquand was able to finish a difficult production on time and on budget, a factor which was critical on a huge production like Star Wars. Lucas also had to hire someone who was not a member of the Hollywood director's union as he was having a dispute with the Director's Guild at the time.

This movie features World War II's large-scale counter-espionage deception activities conducted by the Allies to prevent Nazi Germans from discovering the location of Operation Overlord's D-Day Normandy landing place and to divert them from this area. The codename for this mission was Operation Fortitude which was part of a larger campaign which was codenamed Operation Bodyguard.

A blue Ford BB truck, registration number BUC 852 appears in the film. This is the same vehicle that appeared as Lance Corporal Jones's butcher's van in both the Dad's Army TV series and the 2016 Dad's Army film (which also featured Bill Nighy, and involved a German spy being picked up by submarine in the run-up to D-Day). According to the Ford Model A Register the vehicle is now the only Ford Model BB truck known to still exist.

[struth]

The Green Man, 1956.





This film had a long gestation. It began life as a play by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat called "The Body Was Well-Nourished", originally written in 1937, but not staged until 1940. At that time, the character of the assassin was a supporting role. The play lasted less than three weeks in London, although this was less due to unpopularity than to the Blitz. Launder and Gilliat were never quite satisfied with the play, and, after the war, revised and updated it, retitling it "Meet A Body". This was first staged in 1954 (produced by Laurence Olivier, who did not act in it), but the authors still felt it could be improved, and turned it into a film vehicle for Alastair Sim, who originally wanted to direct, or at least co-direct, it. He had some disagreements with Robert Day, so several scenes were directed either by Basil Dearden or by Launder and Gilliat themselves.

[Macca]

'An Ungentlemanly Act' (1992)

The invasion of the Falkland Islands in 1982. The incomparable Ian Richardson stars as Governor Sir Rex Hunt.

No idea how I've managed to be unaware of this TV film for so long. I didn't have a TV when it was first broadcast, but never seen it re-shown or even mentioned since. Which is very surprising since it is excellent. I've not watched anything this good for a long time. Very funny, realistic, and highly entertaining.

''The film was well-received on release and is generally considered to be an accurate and even-handed portrayal of events. It won the BAFTA Award for Best Single Drama the following year, and was later shown on television in Argentina.''

[Alex_UK]

'An Ungentlemanly Act' (1992)

The invasion of the Falkland Islands in 1982. The incomparable Ian Richardson stars as Governor Sir Rex Hunt.

No idea how I've managed to be unaware of this TV film for so long. I didn't have a TV when it was first broadcast, but never seen it re-shown or even mentioned since. Which is very surprising since it is excellent. I've not watched anything this good for a long time. Very funny, realistic, and highly entertaining.

''The film was well-received on release and is generally considered to be an accurate and even-handed portrayal of events. It won the BAFTA Award for Best Single Drama the following year, and was later shown on television in Argentina.''

I never knew this existed either! I’ve read loads on the Falklands War, and was glued to the TV when it happened as a 13 year old in 1982. Did you get it on DVD, Martin, or is it on one of the streaming services? Sounds right up my street.

[struth]

It was made a few years after the 'Tumbledown' film that was made for tv too. both very good.

[Macca]

I never knew this existed either! I’ve read loads on the Falklands War, and was glued to the TV when it happened as a 13 year old in 1982. Did you get it on DVD, Martin, or is it on one of the streaming services? Sounds right up my street.

It was shown on Forces TV channel the other night so I taped it. There is a DVD release too. If you are interested in the Falklands War I'd say that it's a required watch.

I was staying at a friend's house at the time of the invasion, his sister comes running in and says 'The Argentinians have just invaded the Falklands!'. I said 'What do you want me to do about it?'. She says 'Well isn't your father in Buenos Aires right now? I thought you might want to know.'

Doh!

As it turned out he was able to get a flight back to the UK that same night.

[Alex_UK]

Doesn’t look like it’s scheduled to be back on Forces TV any time soon, and DVD long out of print so silly money on eBay…. It’s available on the one streaming service I don’t have - BritBox - although I can do a free 7 day trial. Cheers for the heads up!

[struth]

A bit of a carry-on now with 'Carry On at Your Convenience', 1971.





Director Gerald Thomas wrote to actor Terry Scott about the cutting of his entire performance in the film by writing in a personal note to him: "...this is in no way any reflection on you or your performance but the film finished fifty minutes over length and we felt rather than cut your sequence down so that you were only on the screen for a flash it would be kinder to remove the entire scene as really it had no effect one way or the other on the story, such as it is".

The car that Sid Plummer (Sidney James) buys himself after he starts winning on the horses to replace his decrepit looking Ford 100E, is a 1971 Morris Marina 1.3 Deluxe Coupe in Bedouin, which is especially notable by the fact that the Marina was a brand new model in 1971 and the car in the film was one of the very first.

[Macca]

Time for a director's cut of that one then. A whole extra fifty minutes! It's a Carry On film, who cares whether the scenes advance the plot (such as it is)?

We could be missing out on a lot from the best ones (Doctor, Camping, Convenience, Cleo, Khyber).

Edit - I'll throw in 'Girls' as well, it's not that funny but the cat fight alone makes it a classic. Although they'd cut that whole scene last time I saw it.

[Alex_UK]

Love Convenience, close call between that and Screaming as my favourite.