Wednesday, July 21, 2021

 'Fun at St. Fanny's (1956) - Maurice Elvey.

The little-seen, barely mentioned, frequently surreal, deliciously odd classroom farce 'Fun at St. Fanny's' is deserving of a little more appreciation since it is a consistently breezy, unpretentiously pratfall-filled, deep joy-inducing delirium! Talented film-maker Maurice 'Hindle Wakes' Elvey's frothily low brow, high scamping, belly-burstingly absurd 50s caper is a sublime comedic curio with its noisome music hall japery, groan-inducing puns, bizarre musical interludes providing an amusingly naïve flashback to a far more innocent age, and this unsophisticated, sweet-natured romp is boosted by a winningly eclectic cast, including Fred Emney, Cardew Robinson, Vera Day, Freddie Mills, and an especially mirthsome, tongue-twisting, syllable-slurping turn by the exquisitely eccentric comedy actor, and 'Small Faces' narrating legend Stanley Unwin, the boisterous nonsense also includes an early appearance by future national treasure Ronnie Corbett, and avid fans of cult 60s television might be interested to hear some early work from iconic composer Edwin 'The Saint' Astley. The irrepressibly silly 'Fun at St. Fanny's' is a refreshingly zesty gag-fest thoroughly deserving of its handsome BFI restoration.



 

No comments:

Post a Comment

The Rage (1997) - Sidney J. Furie. Dower Mindhunter agent Travis (Lamas) teams up with sexy/sparky FBI pistol Kelly McCord (Kristen Cloke) ...