Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan display their comic talents in this brilliant short. Full of sight gags and inspired puns, this film is guaranteed to keep you laughing. If you get a chance to see this inspired lunacy, take advantage of it, as it is not available on DVD or VHS and is rarely shown anywhere. You may not get a second chance.
10 Reviews
Skit on the Scotland Yard series
malcolmgsw19 January 2016
I was rather surprised to see that none of the other reviewers noticed that this short was a skit on the Scotland Yard series introduced by Edgar Lustgarten and made coincidentally at the same studios,Merton Park.The giveaway is the file being extracted from the cabinet at the beginning.I suppose that you can call this a Goons film even if Harry Secombe and Michael Bentine weren't in this.I cannot say that The Goons were great favourites of mine.I find their films tedious except this one which is funny.Part the problem being Spike Milligans tendency to overactive.Some really funny one liners..So all in all funnier than Edgar Lustgarten.
Absolutely the funniest skit ever put together by man
Marta16 April 1999
This is 40 minutes of total insanity. Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Dick Emery are the ultimate comedy group; I'm in the US and it's difficult to get more of the Goon Show episodes, but I'd kill for it after watching this. All Spike has to do is look at the camera and squint his eyes, and I can't stop laughing.
The plot is just there to hang the insanity on. Peter is Superintendent Quilt, Scotland Yard's ace detective; Spike plays his devoted assistant, Brown. They are brought in to solve the disappearance of the fabulously rare Mukkinese Battle Horn from a museum. During the investigation, when Spike says "Look, sir, an impression of a heel!", and points to the floor at a footprint in only the way Spike can point, Peter says "Very clever, Brown, but we've no time for your impressions now." A rock is thrown through a window; attached to it is a note with "Al Smith, window repairs" on it. Spike holds Peter's hat up, and Peter walks out from underneath it to engage in swordplay; Spike suddenly looks surprised, looks inside the hat and says "My God, he's disappeared!"
This is a sample of the silly jokes that they do through the entire thing, but they are completely fresh when done by this group. Everyone plays four or five roles in this, and all do a great job. Peter plays the Police Commissioner, Jervis; Police Superintendent Quilt; and the ancient owner of a pawn shop. Spike plays Sergeant Brown; Mr. White, the museum night watchman (who also plays the mysteriously alluring belly dancer in Maxie's, and succeeds in charming Sellers before he/she lifts her veil); the bleating voice of Minnie, the pawn shop owner's wife; and Catchpole Burkington, star of silent films who blunders into the police headquarters looking for the unemployment office. Dick Emery plays the day watchman at the museum, who gets a-walloped on the head a gazillion times during the robbery; Mr. Nodule, curator of the museum; Mr. Such, manager of Maxie's place; and Maurice Ponk, a weird little man who accidentally burns down his log cabin (on which the insurance had expired the day before) and then is shown to us as a truly complete idiot.
They end up the investigation in café called Maxie's Place, where Nodule is unmasked as the head of an international ring of Mukkinese Battle Horn smugglers. Peter and he have a sword fight using a minestrone-drenched gun and a broken sword, and then Peter wounds Nodule. He rolls around on the floor, vowing to live though the script says he has to die. Suddenly the three Musketeers show up, and Brown joins in the fracas, shouting "Excalibur!". The fight continues, till Peter and Spike are thrown from the place covered in bruises and with torn clothes. As we hear horn music in the background, they vow to continue to search for the Mukkinese Battle Horn. They walk right by a street musician playing the (surprise!) Mukkinese Battle Horn, trying to beg money for the Mukkinese old soldiers home, and don't pay a bit of attention. The musician gives us a sly smile, and the credits role. Those are not even quite the end of the show.
I don't know where this can be found since our copy was off cable 16 years ago, but if you ever run across it, buy it, or anything else by the Goons. Everything they made was a lot of fun.
The plot is just there to hang the insanity on. Peter is Superintendent Quilt, Scotland Yard's ace detective; Spike plays his devoted assistant, Brown. They are brought in to solve the disappearance of the fabulously rare Mukkinese Battle Horn from a museum. During the investigation, when Spike says "Look, sir, an impression of a heel!", and points to the floor at a footprint in only the way Spike can point, Peter says "Very clever, Brown, but we've no time for your impressions now." A rock is thrown through a window; attached to it is a note with "Al Smith, window repairs" on it. Spike holds Peter's hat up, and Peter walks out from underneath it to engage in swordplay; Spike suddenly looks surprised, looks inside the hat and says "My God, he's disappeared!"
This is a sample of the silly jokes that they do through the entire thing, but they are completely fresh when done by this group. Everyone plays four or five roles in this, and all do a great job. Peter plays the Police Commissioner, Jervis; Police Superintendent Quilt; and the ancient owner of a pawn shop. Spike plays Sergeant Brown; Mr. White, the museum night watchman (who also plays the mysteriously alluring belly dancer in Maxie's, and succeeds in charming Sellers before he/she lifts her veil); the bleating voice of Minnie, the pawn shop owner's wife; and Catchpole Burkington, star of silent films who blunders into the police headquarters looking for the unemployment office. Dick Emery plays the day watchman at the museum, who gets a-walloped on the head a gazillion times during the robbery; Mr. Nodule, curator of the museum; Mr. Such, manager of Maxie's place; and Maurice Ponk, a weird little man who accidentally burns down his log cabin (on which the insurance had expired the day before) and then is shown to us as a truly complete idiot.
They end up the investigation in café called Maxie's Place, where Nodule is unmasked as the head of an international ring of Mukkinese Battle Horn smugglers. Peter and he have a sword fight using a minestrone-drenched gun and a broken sword, and then Peter wounds Nodule. He rolls around on the floor, vowing to live though the script says he has to die. Suddenly the three Musketeers show up, and Brown joins in the fracas, shouting "Excalibur!". The fight continues, till Peter and Spike are thrown from the place covered in bruises and with torn clothes. As we hear horn music in the background, they vow to continue to search for the Mukkinese Battle Horn. They walk right by a street musician playing the (surprise!) Mukkinese Battle Horn, trying to beg money for the Mukkinese old soldiers home, and don't pay a bit of attention. The musician gives us a sly smile, and the credits role. Those are not even quite the end of the show.
I don't know where this can be found since our copy was off cable 16 years ago, but if you ever run across it, buy it, or anything else by the Goons. Everything they made was a lot of fun.
Excellent Goon Humour
oiyou27 July 2001
Basically, this is the nearest you're going to get to a filmed Goon Show (1950's British radio programme). A lot of the jokes are lifted directly from Goon Shows. It's a pity Harry Secombe wasn't in it but Dick Emery is excellent. Peter Sellers excels as Quilt, Commissioner Gervaise and Henry Crun running a pawn shop (with Minnie off screen telling him there's someone knocking at the door). Milligan plays Brown or White depending which bit of the film (I think that was a re-write error) but it's Eccles. He also does a superb silent actor looking for the labour exchange skit and is the Police Sergeant assisting Inspector Quilt (and, of course the voice of Minnie Bannister). Dick Emery plays the museum curator and Maurice Ponk ("nothing to do with the story but we wanted you to see what a real idiot looks like"). It's long while since I've seen this film so I can't be certain but I think Emery plays Plackett (Willium Mate), the museum guard though it might be Sellers as the character was most often played by him on radio and the "they kept walloping me on the head" bit is from The Missing Prime Minister/10 Downing St and Sellers played Mate in both those radio shows
If you can't find the film on video, at least get some Goon Show CDs or tapes. The BBC and EMI both released some. The BBC set with 1985 on it is my favourite. The EMI one with Dishonoured is another good choice (featuring The Dance of the Seven Army-Surplus Blankets)
If you can't find the film on video, at least get some Goon Show CDs or tapes. The BBC and EMI both released some. The BBC set with 1985 on it is my favourite. The EMI one with Dishonoured is another good choice (featuring The Dance of the Seven Army-Surplus Blankets)
The Goons Greatest Film Escapade!
egleg_loombucket27 June 2005
Shamefully hidden behind the acknowledgement "Down Among The Z Men" has as being the only major Goon film, Case of the Mukkinese Battlehorn, being only a third in length, is a vast superior. Devised by Peter Sellers and starring himself, Spike Milligan and Dick Emery (filling out Harry Secombes shoes) the story twists and turns about quite incomprehensibility, but the comedy is completely at the floor ALL THE TIME. You've heard of people saying the films a-laugh-a-minute? Well, Case of the Mukkinese Battlehorn is the only time I've known it be true. Any fan of comedy, not just Goons, would see this and appreciate it.
Memorable One Liners
gordon_leek5 July 2002
I well remember a couple of one liners from this film, in the scene were the roc goes through the window a Scotland Yard Milligan is asked what he can deduce from the clue. "Well Sir, whoever did this was only a stones throw away from here!" (Groan!!!!)Then when has asked "are you being funny Seargent" he stares at the camera and says "yes, aren't we all?"
Interesting and simple scenario gets very messy
Horst_In_Translation18 May 2017
Warning: Spoilers
"The Case of the Mukkinese Battle-Horn" is a British 28-minute live action short film from 1956, so this one had its 60th anniversary last year. The director is Joseph Sterling and no less than five writers worked on this one, one of them being lead actor Peter Sellers, who is the big name in this brief movie for sure and probably the only reason why this one isn't forgotten entirely. Admittedly, there are still other names in here that people from Britain with an interest in older films might recognize. It is the story of a priceless horn that gets robbed from a museum and we get to watch the investigators trying to find the one who did it and the horn of course. It says "thriller" as a genre here too on IMDb, but I would say it is 100% comedy really. Sellers was still pretty young here, around the age of 30 and far away from his huge stardom, but he is certainly the most interesting aspect in here. When I read the major plot I thought this could be interesting, but while watching I felt that the longer it went the more messy mayhem it became. And it wasn't half as funny as I hoped it would be. Gotta give this one a thumbs-down. Not recommended.
Find this movie, whatever it takes
mgmax17 May 2000
I'm not going to say it'll be easy, but if you enjoy British comedy at all you must find this film on tape, somewhere. In just under half an hour it packs in as many gleefully absurd laughs as anybody-- Pythons included-- ever got into even a full-length movie. Absolutely the best showcase for the hot-and-cool (in a McLuhanesque sense) team of Spike milligan and Peter Sellers-- Milligan working the corny old gags like a classic vaudevillian, and Sellers off in another dimension of brilliance entirely. (Good example: Sellers' languidly decadent police commissioner, lying on his chaise with cigarette holder in hand and demanding action from his force with all the masculine authority of Oscar Wilde getting a rubdown.)
"A robbery? Anything stolen?"
ShadeGrenade25 July 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Despite not being an official 'Goon Show' movie ( as the dire 'Down Among The Z-Men' was ), this is the best example of Goon humour on film. I watched it online recently for the first time in fifteen years and found it as hysterically funny as ever.
Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan are the incompetent Scotland Yard detectives called in to investigate the theft of the legendary Mukkinese Battlehorn, thought to be the only one of its kind in existence. Along the way they encounter idiots such as Henry Crun, Minnie Bannister and the famous Eccles.
Sadly Harry Secombe is missing, but Dick Emery makes a more than adequate replacement. Sellers' Superintendent Quilt anticipates his later 'Inspector Clouseau'.
The script by Larry Stephens, Harry Booth and Jon Pennington ( with additional material by Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers ) contains a few recycled gags, yet feels fresh.
The music was by Edwin Astley, later to compose the excellent scores for I.T.C. shows 'The Saint' and 'The Baron' amongst others. He gets into the spirit of the thing by providing dramatic stings every time something ridiculous ( which is very few seconds ) happens.
I was slightly surprised at the resemblance between this film and the classic 'Two Ronnies' serial 'The Phantom Raspberry Blower Of Old London Town'. Both set out to ridicule in Goon-like fashion the old Basil Rathbone 'Sherlock Holmes' pictures.
Funniest moment - a couple are kissing near the docks in thick London fog. A policeman strolls over. "Sir, would you mind accompanying me to the station?". Pause. Then: "I'm lost!". He walks off and a moment later, we hear a loud splash!
Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan are the incompetent Scotland Yard detectives called in to investigate the theft of the legendary Mukkinese Battlehorn, thought to be the only one of its kind in existence. Along the way they encounter idiots such as Henry Crun, Minnie Bannister and the famous Eccles.
Sadly Harry Secombe is missing, but Dick Emery makes a more than adequate replacement. Sellers' Superintendent Quilt anticipates his later 'Inspector Clouseau'.
The script by Larry Stephens, Harry Booth and Jon Pennington ( with additional material by Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers ) contains a few recycled gags, yet feels fresh.
The music was by Edwin Astley, later to compose the excellent scores for I.T.C. shows 'The Saint' and 'The Baron' amongst others. He gets into the spirit of the thing by providing dramatic stings every time something ridiculous ( which is very few seconds ) happens.
I was slightly surprised at the resemblance between this film and the classic 'Two Ronnies' serial 'The Phantom Raspberry Blower Of Old London Town'. Both set out to ridicule in Goon-like fashion the old Basil Rathbone 'Sherlock Holmes' pictures.
Funniest moment - a couple are kissing near the docks in thick London fog. A policeman strolls over. "Sir, would you mind accompanying me to the station?". Pause. Then: "I'm lost!". He walks off and a moment later, we hear a loud splash!
Peter and Spike at their best
elisereid-296667 March 2020
The best way to make comedy is to have performers who conceived the material themselves, and know how funny it is, and enjoy themselves acting it out. And keep a straight face as they do so. This is what Sellers and Milligan did best, and is the highlight of this short film.
This is not to say that all of the jokes in the picture work-some are certified duds that will leave you groaning-but the ones that do will make you wet yourself with laughter. In the midst of scenes that don't earn a single laugh will come bits that leave you breathless with hilarity, completely out of nowhere, and without warning (the brilliant and sudden silent film sequence is a perfect example of this).
British comedy in general will leave many Americans befuddled, but those of us with the right sensibility will no doubt be thrilled with this film.
This is not to say that all of the jokes in the picture work-some are certified duds that will leave you groaning-but the ones that do will make you wet yourself with laughter. In the midst of scenes that don't earn a single laugh will come bits that leave you breathless with hilarity, completely out of nowhere, and without warning (the brilliant and sudden silent film sequence is a perfect example of this).
British comedy in general will leave many Americans befuddled, but those of us with the right sensibility will no doubt be thrilled with this film.
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