Man in a Cocked Hat (1959)
"Carlton-Browne of the F.O." (original title)

Great Britain has had an international agreement for the last 50 years with a small pacific island. It has been ignored until the death of their king brings it to the attention of the ... See full summary »

Directors:

Roy Boulting, Jeffrey Dell

Writers:

Jeffrey Dell (original story), Roy Boulting (original story),

Stars:

Terry-Thomas, Peter Sellers, Luciana Paluzzi

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Terry-Thomas	...	Cadogan de Vere Carlton-Browne
Peter Sellers	...	Señor Amphibulos - the prime minister
Luciana Paluzzi	...	Her Serene Highness Princess Ilyena (as Luciana Paoluzzi)
Ian Bannen	...	Young King Loris
Thorley Walters	...	Colonel Bellingham of the Bays
Raymond Huntley	...	Foreign Secretary Tufton Slade
Miles Malleson	...	Resident Advisor Davidson
John Le Mesurier	...	Grand Duke Alexis
Marie Lohr	...	Lady Carlton-Browne
Kynaston Reeves	...	Sir Arthur Carlton-Browne
Ronald Adam	...	Sir John Farthing
John Van Eyssen	...	Hewitt
Nicholas Parsons	...	Rodgers
Irene Handl	...	Mrs. Carter
Harry Locke	...	Commentator

Storyline

Great Britain has had an international agreement for the last 50 years with a small pacific island. It has been ignored until the death of their king brings it to the attention of the Foreign Office in Whitehall. They decide to send Cadogan de Vere Carlton-Browne to re-establish friendly relations.

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Plot Keywords:

foreign office | island | king | princess | political satire | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 April 1960 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Man in a Cocked Hat

Filming Locations:

Houses of Parliament, Westminster, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Charter Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the montage of newspaper headlines that follows the death of the king and his heir the Pravda headline translates as "Labor of the Heroic Millions."

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Quotes

Señor Amphibulos - the prime minister: No. No. You must drink in one. Otherwise you will get a bit - You know?
Cadogan de Vere Carlton-Browne: Delicious!
Señor Amphibulos - the prime minister: Yes. Yes. Is called "Gruzanios". Not a drop is drunk until it is three weeks old. And now we will have the musica!

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Connections

Edited into Heroes of Comedy: Terry-Thomas (1995)

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Soundtracks

"Eton Boating Song"
(uncredited)
Music by Algernon Drummond and lyrics by William Johnson
Played at the airport when Carlton-Browne arrives

User Reviews

My brief review of the film

A flat and rather unfunny British comedy, it is nevertheless revived to a certain degree by nice locations and an interesting, though hardly brilliant, performance from Peter Sellers. I am not sure if Terry-Thomas and Thorley Walters were supposed to look so alike, but either way their similarity in appearance does not help the film, since they are both playing such similar characters that it is easy to forget who is who. The film does have the odd amusing moment or two, and overall it is quite okay stuff to watch, but it is rather far off the par of typical 1950s and 1960s British comedy - and not in a positive direction.