Lock Up Your Daughters! (1969) User Reviews

Silly and crude but has its moments

[preppy-3 · 5/10 · 5 March 2009]

This takes place in Victorian England. It deals with four lusty men and their attempts to have sex. The plots were hard to follow (the thick English accents didn't help) but I THINK I figured them out. Shaftoe (Tom Bell) is lusting after virginal sweet Hilaret (Sussannah York). Lusty (Jim Dale) is after Cloris (Elaine Taylor) by posing as Lord Foppington (Christopher Plummer) to get her money...and sex. Rambles (Ian Bannen) is basically going after any woman he sees.

The jokes are sexually crude enough to make Benny Hill blush...but they're actually more silly today than anything else. It's really hard to believe this got an R rating back in 1969. There's no nudity, sex, swearing or violence--just a lot of sex talk that wouldn't raise an eyebrow today. In fact TCM played it on afternoon TV recently! This is not a good movie (far from it) but it does have its moments and it is amusing to see Plummer play it WAY over the top as Lord Foppington. I kept having to remind myself that this was the same man who did Shakespeare on stage! Actually all the acting is good and has people going full tilt with many asides to the camera. No one is really bad but some are very good--Glynis Johns goes full tilt as Mrs. Sqeezum, Ian Bannen is having the time of his life playing Rambles and Jim Dale hams it up nonstop. Also this was a pretty big budget movie--it shows an accurate portrayal of how grubby and dirty England was back then (even though it was shot in Ireland!). So this isn't a good movie but has enough moments to take a look at.

Learn to listen

[vaughan-birbeck · 17 February 2004]

I saw this film on TV and have waited thirty years to see it again. For me, it is one of the most under-rated films of all time.

Why isn't it more appreciated? Perhaps because you have to listen to the dialogue (which is also 18th Century speech, not Shakespeare but far from modern), or keep track of at least three main plots. This is not a simple 'romp', it is based on work by Vanbrugh and Fielding.

The script is literate and witty, but the overall theme is - sex. In pre-Victorian England, the desire for sexual fulfilment is regarded as a healthy and natural part of life. Men want it, women want it, and they'll do anything to get it.

The film is performed by a great cast. I defy anyone to recognise Christopher Plummer as Foppington under the make-up, wig and costumes. There's one scene where he is hilarious simply getting up out of a chair, as unsteady as a new born deer. After making love for the first time, he explains that he has a servant to do that sort of thing for him.

The rest of the cast is filled with marvellous character actors: Georgia Brown, Jim Dale, Roy Kinnear, Kathleen Harrison, Roy Dotrice, Glynis Johns, Peter Bayliss and Fenella Fielding. Not big names, perhaps, but they fill their roles to perfection. So my advice is: watch the film with care, more than once, to get the flavour of the dialogue, then enjoy the free-spirited age that is brought to life for you.

And, by the way, it's the *fourth* rung that's missing...

Way funnier than "Tom Jones"

[HotToastyRag · 7/10 · 15 December 2022]

When a group of sailors get shore leave, they have only one thing on their minds: women! But in the restrained 1700s, they don't have many options. They can either seek out prostitutes, don elaborate disguises to gain entry to respectable ladies' bedchambers, or attack random women in the street. The latter option proves problematic when the women shout, "Rape!" and they have to explain themselves before a magistrate. Keep in mind this is an over-the-top British comedy and there are no actual rapes.

With hilarious character names like Clumsey, Squeezum, Foppington, Eager, and Lusty, if you're laughing during the first five minutes' introduction, you'll like the rest of the movie. It feels like everyone in the cast had a blast hamming up their naughty jokes and melodramas. Glynis Johns and her husband Peter Bayliss take turns seducing the accused and accuser in each rape trial. Peter "questions" the young lady in his office, while Glynis sees if she can "get anything out of" the amorous young man. Christopher Plummer is all dolled up in his "foppiest" attire, and he flounces around the screen personifying the stereotype of, "no s** please, I'm British." Ian Bannen sneaks into his paramour's room and announces he's going to make love to her. "What do you mean?" she asks, feigning shock and modesty. "What do you think I mean?" he replies with a smirk as he sheds his coat.

I'll watch anything to support the cast of the beloved Carry On series, so it was a treat to see Jim Dale in another raunchy British comedy. He and others often break the fourth wall and make jokes with the audience. Susannah York, Kathleen Harrison, Roy Kinnear, Fenella Fielding, and Roy Dotrice are also among the supporting cast. If you liked Tom Jones or the Carry On movies, rent this very funny movie that is extremely politically incorrect by today's standards.

Riotous, rollicking, laugh-a-minute "bawdy romp"

[bhayling · 10/10 · 11 January 2006]

When our local TV station first launched, it filled a lot of its schedule with old British programming. "Lock Up Your Daughters!" was duly aired, and I -- swayed by the opening few seconds of the film -- popped in a blank tape. Best thing I ever did.

The actors are beautifully suited to their characters and bring them to delightful life, complete with appropriate accents (Christopher Plummer's Foppington will leave you in stitches, as will Hoyden and her family). Double entendres abound, plot-line wheels within wheels mix and match the characters, hilarious sight gags lurk in every scene, and risqué comments are made on a regular basis.

I showed the film to friends a few years ago and they called the piece "a lost treasure," as much for the cast as for the story. To this day I can crack up just thinking about the dialog. Should this gem ever find its way to a DVD release, I'll be at the front of the line.

Worth a look

[munson-2 · 3 November 1998]

I reviewed this movie when it was released in 1969. At that time I thought it was absolutely rib-splitting. It deals mainly with the attempts of an English Fop (we're talking the 1700's here) to maintain the chastity of his daughters. It is ribald fare and the comedy a bit along the lines of TOM JONES, but it is worth the price of admission just to see this father, fake cheek mole plopped in place, his finery and lace cuffs set just so, rush from situtation to situation in little prig-ish strides.

I would love to see it released on Video.

crazy 60's comedy

[Tony Rome · 10/10 · 14 April 2005]

I saw this film 12 years ago on TNT. It was Susanah York's Birthday and they were showing this film as a double feature with Tom Jones (1963). I have not seen this film on TV since. I took interest in seeing this film because one of the stars is the very funny and talented Jim Dale, as Lusty the sailor. I believe that Dale now does the narration of the Harry Potter books on Casette, but anyway he is quite funny. This is a fast paced comedy. It is not on VHS or DVD. Columbia Pictures should go through their film collection, and consider restoring and releasing this film to DVD. Christopher Plummer is hilarious as Lord Fopington, Ian Bannen is also quite humorous as Ramble the sailor. This is a bawdy comedy, the kind of film one no longer sees, with great production values. ***1/2 stars out of ****

hilarious 60's send-up of chastity issues, ala Tom Jones

[margot-6 · 7 December 1998]

I went to see this at the theatres when it first came out mostly to follow the career of Christopher Plummer...it was the summer of my first car...and I drove an incredible distance to see it in some obscure little theatre. I couldn't believe my eyes..the ribaldry and overt sexuality reminiscent of Tom Jones had everybody in histerics...but none so much as whenever Christopher Plummer was on the screen as Lord Foppington, a long lanky, powder haired, rouge lipped, belaced and high heeled ,courtly gentleman in satins and feminine finery trapsing thru' the movie like some awkward, flamboyant peacock. I got hysterical...I could hardly breathe ,I laughed so hard I was crying. The whole movie is full of gems..and is well worth watching to catch them all. Dated of course by today's standards..but for its time really very riskee'. See it ...if only for Lord Foppington!

A misunderstood gem of a film

[rroffel · 8/10 · 18 October 2009]

Lock Up Your Daughters is one of the best high-spirited comedies I have ever seen.

It is misunderstood since it lacks the "social commentary" values that many films of the day (1969) required to be successful.

The characters are over-the-top satires of everyday people and played to that purpose by all of the actors.

Christopher Plummer shines especially bright as Lord Foppington, a noble with hair too big to fit in the door.

The plot involves the usual 18th century stuff; mistaken identities, thwarted romances, corrupt government officials, and jokes at every turn.

It answers the questions: What happens when 4 rambunctious, eager to party sailors are on leave in a small British coastal town? And, who do they get involved with and how does it all turn out?

Despite doing poorly at the box office, it has great costumes, excellent music(based on the Mermaid Theatre musical of the same name), great,lively acting and sets that are obviously authentic.

That it has never been released on either VHS or DVD is truly a shame, since so many bad movies are released every day.

Worthy of DVD production

[jaybird2k101 · 17 November 2003]

I saw this film when it came out, and loved it.. I fell in love with the ribald humor. I especially like the "asides" to the camara. The take off on the "Eating " scene in Tom Jones is a riot. I saw this film once more on Cable about a year or two ago. That leads me to belive it is available on tape , somewhere. I copied it to tape, but the quality is fair. I would buy this film on DVD if it came out.

Watch the third rung it's missing!

[POODY · 8/10 · 20 April 1999]

A real classic. A shipload of sailors trying to get to the towns daughters while their fathers go to extremes to deter the sailors attempts. A maidens cry for aid results in the dispatch of the "Rape Squad". A cult film waiting to happen!

One of the funniest movies ever.

[Pogo-5 · 9/10 · 10 May 1999]

I agree with the other comments. I saw this movie years ago. Christopher Plummer is hilarious as a dandy. The ribaldry is unsurpassed. If this comes out on video, I will definitely buy it.

Amazing... Restoration Comedy on Film!

[Hardylane · 23 January 2004]

A real find this one. I can see why it flopped. Modern audiences simply cannot relate or understand most Restoration drama, but this is a pretty fair example of two plays translated to film, replete with 18th century language.

Such a pity the story is a bit limp and contrived, but refreshing nonethless.

Lock Up This Movie!

[MovieAddict2016 · 24 January 2004]

Awful late-sixties so-called "comedy" about the ill-fated attempts of an over-protective father (Christopher Plummer) to keep his daughters pure. Plummer's hate for his most famous film, "The Sound of Music," is infamous. Many people know that he refers to it as "The Sound of Mucus." So he started appearing in really bad movies (most notably ones where he plays evil characters) in order to wipe away his Nice Family Man persona.

So he made this trash instead? Whatever.