General and Lady Fitzadam live at a remote army outpost in Scotland, their last assignment before the General retires. The General is sent abroad and in his absence, Lady Fitzadam decides to... Read allGeneral and Lady Fitzadam live at a remote army outpost in Scotland, their last assignment before the General retires. The General is sent abroad and in his absence, Lady Fitzadam decides to convert their spacious estate into a fishing resort for American tourists.General and Lady Fitzadam live at a remote army outpost in Scotland, their last assignment before the General retires. The General is sent abroad and in his absence, Lady Fitzadam decides to convert their spacious estate into a fishing resort for American tourists.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe alternative title "The Playgirl and the War Minister" was a contrived attempt to cash in on the John Profumo political scandal, although the film has nothing to do with contemporary events.
- GoofsWhen Joan Greenwood is explaining the long distance phone calls to the Army barrack's switchboard, Ian Carmichael places a china plate on the desk twice.
- Quotes
Cpl. Sidney Green: This being a military establishment, maintained, as it were, by the War Office and we being military personnel, serving her Majesty the Queen, it would seem...
Lady Dodo Fitzadam: Yes Corporal?
Cpl. Sidney Green: Well, it would seem that some people - my Member of Parliament for instance - might ask awkward questions if he found out that Headquarters North-Western District were being used for strawberry teas for trippers.
Lady Dodo Fitzadam: I have no intention of serving strawberry teas to trippers but I see your point, so I'm afraid I'll have no alternative but to return all surplus staff to full parade ground duty...
- ConnectionsFeatured in Those British Faces: A Tribute to Dennis Price 1915-1973 (1993)
The title makes little sense and bares little relevance to the story but it is better than the cash in American title, which sought to increase its audience by claiming some relation to the infamous Profumo sex scandal of the period. With such a nonsensical title it was no surprise to find a rather simple and uninspiring comedy that is pretty bland and has no real appeal other than a collection of famous faces being present and some limited appeal to fans of the period. The plot is simplistic and merely a thin excuse for a lot of sudden costume changes and harmless flirting can they keep the ruse hidden? Can they keep the flirting from becoming something more serious? Can I manage to keep watching long enough to find out? The answer to the final question is 'yes', but only just. Without any laughs to really speak of it was hard to find a reason to keep watching other than sheer bloody-mindedness, which unfortunately I have! The plot goes exactly where you'd expect it to but it does so without really ever being interesting or entertaining.
The cast don't have the material to work with and it is only really their recognisable faces that have value. Ian Carmichael is OK and does OK with a much different accent from normal. Greenwood is unconvincing and her lack of real fight in her marriage makes the plot a bit more sobering than funny.
Cecil Parker is as strong as he usually is but has limited time, as indeed does the instantly recognisable Dennis Price. Liz Fraser plays on her looks as ever, but she is good looking and has a great figure here who can blame the film for taking the chance to get her down to her underwear, shame that her flirting and giggling actually isn't funny at all. The support cast all do their bit without really shinning more than once or twice, the only real surprise being a very young looking Derek Nimmo in a typically camp role.
Overall if someone can explain the title to me then I will not have totally wasted 90 minutes but as it stands I probably have done. The plot is pointless and the material gives the well-known cast nothing to really work with. The poor script and sub-par flirting all act to produce a laugh free event, which is something of a problem in a film that is selling itself as a comedy. Might appeal to fans of the actors but more than likely many viewers will have given up on this lame product before it has even reached the halfway point.
- bob the moo
- Oct 10, 2004
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Details
- Runtime1 hour 29 minutes
- Color