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

Directors:

Roy Boulting
Jeffrey Dell

Writers:

Jeffrey Dell (original story) &
Roy Boulting (original story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

11 April 1960 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Great Britain has had an international agreement for the last 50 years with a small pacific island....

Plot Keywords:

Foreign Office | Island | King | Princess | Political Satire

Cast

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
Basil Dignam	...	Security Officer
Sam Kydd	...	Signaller
Robert Bruce	...	Major in Commandos
John Glyn-Jones	...	Newsreel Interviewer
Marianne Stone	...	Woman in Cinema
Kathryn Keeton	...	Sexy dancer
Margaret Lacey	...	Onlooker
Robert S. Young	...	Archivist (as Robert Young)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Andre Charisse	...	Russian Minister (uncredited)
Alexis Chesnakov	...	1st Russian Scientist (uncredited)
Maurice Colbourne	...	1st Official (uncredited)
Fiona Davie	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
John Drake	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
James Dyrenforth	...	Admiral (uncredited)
Mario Fabrizi	...	Deputy Minister (uncredited)
Kenneth Griffith	...	Sir John's Assistant, Griffths (uncredited)
Julie Hopkins	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Harold Kasket	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Kaplan Kaye	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Marne Maitland	...	Archipolagos (uncredited)
Mark Milleham	...	Child (uncredited)
Michael Partridge	...	Commandos Captain (uncredited)
John Payne	...	Junior Official (uncredited)
Bill Rayment	...	2nd Russian Scientist (uncredited)
Austin Trevor	...	Secretary General (uncredited)
Michael Ward	...	Hotel Manager (uncredited)
Ian Wilson	...	Onlooker (uncredited)

Directed by
Roy Boulting
Jeffrey Dell

Writing credits
Jeffrey Dell		(original story) &
Roy Boulting		(original story)
Jeffrey Dell		(screenplay) &
Roy Boulting		(screenplay)

Produced by
John Boulting	....	producer
Roy Boulting	....	producer

Original Music by
John Addison

Cinematography by
Mutz Greenbaum		(as Max Greene)

Film Editing by
Anthony Harvey

Art Direction by
Albert Witherick

Costume Design by
John McCorry		(as John McCorrie)

Makeup Department
Bobbie Smith	....	hair stylist
Freddie Williamson	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Henry Passmore	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Philip Shipway	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Red Law	....	dubbing recordist
Jim Shields	....	dubbing editor (as James Shields)
George Stephenson	....	sound recordist (as George Stevenson)

Camera and Electrical Department
Peter Allwork	....	assistant camera
Ray Sturgess	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
John McCorry	....	wardrobe supervisor (as John McCorrie)

Editorial Department
John Poyner	....	assistant editor

Music Department
John Addison	....	conductor

Other crew
Barbara Cole	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Charter Film Productions

Distributors

• British Lion Film Corporation (1959) (UK) (theatrical)
• Showcorporation (1960) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metropolitan Films (1959) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Suomi-Filmi (1961) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1960) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1960) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Carlton-Browne of the F.O." - UK (original title)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | West Germany:12 | Finland:K-7 (re-rating) (2001)

Filming Locations:

Houses of Parliament, Westminster, London, England, UK

Company:

Charter Film Productions

Trivia:

The tune played by the marching band during the welcoming parade was used extensively in the classic BBC radio comedy, The Goon Show, which also starred Peter Sellers.

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!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Casino Royale (1967)

Soundtrack:

Eton Boating Song

Impossible! A weak film starring both Peter Sellers AND Terry-Thomas? Say it ain't so, Linford!

This film, though ostensibly a comedy, is deadly serious. Its subject is Imperialism (with a capital I): how Britain, foolishly, humiliatingly, tries to convince itself that it's still a great power after World War II. At home, the Empire is run by amiable dolts, benevolent Tories who are so in-bred that they can't distinguish close relatives; the Offices of Government consist of long forgotten archives (a dig at Orwellian paranoia?), inhabited by indolent rats, and ante-rooms wherein lounge bored synacures, reading popular novels.

Abroad, Britain clings to the old pomp; but pomp out of context looks threadbare and silly, especially when its embodied in bumbling twits. Carlton-Browne is an unsentimental picture of decline, with none of the lachrymose rot that marred the supposedly anti-imperialist Jewel in the Crown.

The film is also about the Cold War, bravely admitting that it's a dangerous farce, whose participants deserve mockery and contempt, not fear and respect. It's about how colonialism, characterised more by neglect than tyranny, destroys the colonies it deserts, robbing them of amenities, power, and, most importantly, self-respect, leaving them vulnerable to the machinations of dangerous cowboys.

It's the seriousness, of course, that kills it. That's not to say that weighty subjects can't be treated in comedy - The Miracle Of Morgan's Creek, Dr. Strangelove and The Life Of Brian have all proved that. Indeed, one might suggest that serious themes should only be treated by comedy - it allows for a clearer-eyed view.

The problem with Carlton-Browne is that every situation must have a significance beyond the merely comic, so that it becomes weighed down and unfunny. In the three films mentioned above, much of the comedy arises from character reaction to an extreme situation, not the extreme situation itself. Here, the script is too poor to sustain rich comic characterisations, and some of the greatest comedy talent ever assembled - Peter Sellers, Terry-Thomas, Raymond Huntley and John le Mesurier - are criminally wasted.

Terry-Thomas, sublime so often, shows that he couldn't handle lead parts, and that he needed to play sneering, arrogant bounders, not brainless toffs. The music is made to carry much of the comedy, but its heavy irony only draws attention to the lack of hilarity on screen. (To be fair, unlike the majority of British comedies of the period, which were stagy and underproduced, the Boultings often try to make their points through film itself, by montage and composition) Only Huntley manages to raise genuine laughs, and that's by essaying a character he could have played in his sleep.

None of the Boultings' farces have dated well - they're never thought through enough. Although Carlton-Browne revels in the decline of the Empire, it also seems to be anti-democratic and militaristic. I'm sure this wasn't intended, but these blunders are bound to happen if you allow worthy intentions to take precedence over comic intelligence and film form.