Totally slapstick war comedy stuff. I didn't catch it in it's entirety, but I did pick it up when they were at "Big Herman" and was actually impressed with the sets. Spike climbs this 200+ foot cannon and I thought that was a hoot! Then when that plan fails, they get a German to help them push a rail cart loaded with 2000 pound shells toward the gun to blow it up! Seeing the German realize after he helped blow up his own base was very entertaining. It's on the level of a Bowery Boyz join the army kinda thing but probably better then that lame group (other than Satch, he was a riot to watch as a kid, probably if I watch him now I'd scratch my head!). Recommended for war actioner buffs looking for light stuff, if your lucky enough to see it (I doubt TCN ever shows this in America, but they play it twice a month overseas).
8 Reviews
Lame.
JoeytheBrit14 March 2003
At it's best, vintage British movie comedy knocks all other countries' humour into a cocked hat. Unfortunately, for the most part, this farce about a pair of wounded soldiers undertaking a mission into German-occupied France to prove their fitness for active service, falls far short of being a vintage comedy. There's nothing wrong with the story superior comedies to this have been crafted from much weaker material but the casting is curious to say the least. Bill Travers is not a strong enough comedy presence to lead the cast, and John le Mesurier is miscast as the leader of the Home Guard (although, in hindsight, this may be due to the fact that he is so familiar to us now as the effete Sergeant Wilson in DAD'S ARMY). Gregoire Aslan, as Travers' French sidekick, adds nothing whatsoever to the film. Only Spike Milligan, as the shell-shocked Godfrey Pringle, manages to reap a few meagre laughs from the threadbare script.
Early example of silly British humor.
Boba_Fett113826 November 2007
WW II comedies are a sort of a rare thing, as are war comedies in general. Guess it's still a sort of a touchy subject and also these sorts of movie normally don't do too well and aren't among the greatest. "Invasion Quartet" is a valor attempt and begins well and is filled with some great early silly British humor.
The movie mostly works out of course due to its great silly British comedy in it. It's so over-the-top and silly all that you can't help but laugh at it. The entire movie is filled with some great examples of this, as well with some silly over-the-top characters.
The movie is set in a army hospital for disabled soldiers but for some reason they are also all some serious nut cases. They're missing more than just a leg, hand or hearing.
The movie sort of starts to go downhill once the quartet embarks on their mission. You'll would expect for the movie to only get better by then but the humor gets less resourceful and the movie becomes a bit of a drag in parts.
When you're into British humor this is still a good enough watch though.
5/10
http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
The movie mostly works out of course due to its great silly British comedy in it. It's so over-the-top and silly all that you can't help but laugh at it. The entire movie is filled with some great examples of this, as well with some silly over-the-top characters.
The movie is set in a army hospital for disabled soldiers but for some reason they are also all some serious nut cases. They're missing more than just a leg, hand or hearing.
The movie sort of starts to go downhill once the quartet embarks on their mission. You'll would expect for the movie to only get better by then but the humor gets less resourceful and the movie becomes a bit of a drag in parts.
When you're into British humor this is still a good enough watch though.
5/10
http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
"Invasion Quartet" is one funny British comedy.
Richard-8728 January 2001
Turner Classics showed the movie several night ago. This was the first time I had seen the film. It was throughly enjoyable and it reminded me of some of the early British comedies from Pinewood and Ealing Studios. Spike Mulligan had a certain something about him that made him a very good comedian. He even used some of his voices that made him popular during the "Crazy Gang" days.
The film is disjointed and it is a series of comedy scenes. There is nothing here to take seriously. Even the Nazis are funny. The film was made by MGM British Studios and it had a great cast of British actors. There is even a cameo of a very young John Woods in the film. Camera work is fine also.
The film is disjointed and it is a series of comedy scenes. There is nothing here to take seriously. Even the Nazis are funny. The film was made by MGM British Studios and it had a great cast of British actors. There is even a cameo of a very young John Woods in the film. Camera work is fine also.
Allo Allo meets Guns Of Navarrone
malcolmgsw21 February 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Is it a coincidence that the plot of this film is rather similar to The Guns of Navarrone which was in production about the same time.Same plot elements,a disparate route taking an old boat,landing on a foreign shore and blowing up naval guns.Trouble is that this film doesn't know if it is a comedy or a boys own adventure.On the one hand Bill Travers isn't much of a comedy actor and on the other hand Spike Milligan isn't exactly an action hero.So we end up with a film which is neither one nor the other and totally unfunny.If you want to watch a really funny war film then view Very Important Person with many of the same actors.John Le Mesurier plays an officer in the home guard a few years before he made his name as Sergeant Wilson in Dads Army.
Saw twice as a kid and never forgot this wonderful World War II Comedy
jsparacino2 March 2006
This was a film I saw while quite young on WGN in Chicago. The opening sequence of animation was as good as the recent movie Valiant. The premise of a British Army Rehabilitation Hospital in the early days of World War II as a basis for a funny movie may seem strange but Spike Milligan and the gang make it work. One of the more memorable moments was the evaluation board meeting patients and deciding the ability of the patients to return to active duty; this was made funny by the Chief of Staff of the Hospital being an ob/gyn in civilian life. He approaches all his patients as if he was still in the maternity ward. The men demonstrate the so called bicycle exercise to show fitness and say "It helps restore your figure afterwards". The lead characters are an English officer who has lost a leg, a french officer who has lost a hand, an English demolitons expert recovering from PTSD, and a colonel who is in charge of the local Home Guard as he was thought too old to fight in World War II. The one legged englishman and the one handed french man swap uniform jackets to fool the board and it works until the french man shakes hands with the president of the board and loses his prosthetic hand. The two jacket swapers then dream up their own covert operations force and name it SOD(too English a piece of slang;now I get why it was funny). The movie is a prequel spoof of the Guns of Navarone; a rag tag group is out to silence German coast artillery piece wreaking havoc on the innocent civilians and allied forces. The Germans are portrayed in a manner befitting the best Mel Brooks could dream up.
Spike does the business
dmcslack17 May 2001
Invasion Quartet has all the attributes of a cult classic, superb writing by an Oscar winning scriptwriter (John Briley) excellent direction from Jay Lewis whose light hand tempts superb erformances from a good spread of fine actors, many at their peak. This movie requires its audience to have an appreciation of a very British type of humour, like the Goons, Monty Python, Sykes and up to the more modern genius of Ricky Gervais. Spike Milligan leads the cast and audience down madness way with his inimitable humour in this brilliant, laid back, comedic precursor to 'The Guns of Naverone'. Bill Travers is an officer who takes three oddballs to wartime France to blow up a huge gun that is threatening England. Their 'invasion' of German held France is more of a Cooks tour than D Day as they wander around occupied territory searching for their target. John Le Mesurier, Eric Sykes, John Wood and other faces familiar to fans of British film from the period will light up your evening. Black and White.
British comedy at it's best!
wishkah723 February 2000
I've seen this movie for the first time as a child. And it quickly became a favourite of mine. I must admit the animated opening-credits were kind of lame. But it's still a funny movie that deserves to be checked out!
It's about these four misfit soldiers from different countries who stayed at a military hospital during WW2. Together they team up when they hear the Germans have a destructive cannon called, "Big Herman" and scheme to bring it down.
Spike Milligan's performance in this as the apprehensive Godfrey Pringle was excellent! In fact he's my favourite in this movie. The funniest part of this flick was the bicycle scene! So, if you're into British humour like Monty Python or Are You Being Served, check this movie out sometime. It's a perfect comedy about WW2 to watch on a Sunday afternoon.
It's about these four misfit soldiers from different countries who stayed at a military hospital during WW2. Together they team up when they hear the Germans have a destructive cannon called, "Big Herman" and scheme to bring it down.
Spike Milligan's performance in this as the apprehensive Godfrey Pringle was excellent! In fact he's my favourite in this movie. The funniest part of this flick was the bicycle scene! So, if you're into British humour like Monty Python or Are You Being Served, check this movie out sometime. It's a perfect comedy about WW2 to watch on a Sunday afternoon.
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