Till Death Us Do Part (1969)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Norman Cohen

Writer:

Johnny Speight (original story and screenplay)

Release Date:

10 May 1971 (Denmark)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

With acknowledgment to Mr. John Lennon and his pioneering work in the field of display

Plot:

The film version of '""Till Death Do Us Part" (1965)' . tells the story of Alf Garnett and his family living through the London Blitz. |

Plot Keywords:

Working Class | Sequel | Based On TV Series | Independent Film

Cast

Warren Mitchell	...	Alf Garnett
Dandy Nichols	...	Else Garnett
Anthony Booth	...	Mike (the boyfriend)
Una Stubbs	...	Rita (the daughter)
Liam Redmond	...	Mike's Father
Bill Maynard	...	Bert
Brian Blessed	...	Sergeant
Sam Kydd	...	Fred
Frank Thornton	...	Valuation Officer
Ann Lancaster	...	Woman at Block of Flats
Michael Robbins	...	Pub Landlord (Fred)
Pat Coombs	...	Neighbour
Kate Williams	...	Sergeant's Girlfriend
Shelagh Fraser	...	Mike's Mother
John D. Collins	...	RAF officer at Tube Station

Also Known As:

Alf 'n' Family

Runtime:

USA:96 min | UK:100 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:12 (DVD rating) | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) (1989) | Iceland:L | Finland:S | USA:PG

Company:

Associated London Films

Trivia:

The film contained rarely seen colour footage of the 1966 World Cup final between England and West Germany.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: At the outbreak of WW2 Alf replaces the photo of Neville Chamberlain with one of Winston Churchill. The portrait of Churchill is a post-war one.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Hitler: The Comedy Years (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Bless 'Em All

Superior television spin-off

One of the first television situation comedies to get the cinema treatment, 'Till Death…' avoids the trap of being just an extended television episode which befalls many other adoptions, by opening out the story. It is more a prequel than merely being the 'film of the show', showing us the history of the Garnett family, from just before the start of the Second World War to the 'present day' of 1969, taking in the 1966 World Cup on it's way.

It is the wartime sequence of the movie (it roughly takes up the first 45 minutes of the film) which for me is the highlight of the picture. You really do get a proper sense of time and place. The credit mainly goes to the director, Norman Cohen, who gives what could have been a static television-style play, a real cinematic treatment.

The script by Johnny Speight is generally excellent and (as far as I know) isn't just a re-packaging of old television material. Ironically the movie falters when it moves 'twenty or so years later' and moves into the more familiar setting of the series That said, Rita's wedding is a memorable set-piece, moving between drama and comedy (and very uncomfortable viewing at times, due to Garnett's racism).

It's Mitchell's movie, of course. It's a credit to the actor's talents that that you can't help liking Alf, despite the fact that Speight's script constantly under-cuts and mocks the character.

It's an oddly bitter-sweet movie, as a community which had survived the Blitz is eventually disbanded, with the Garnett family exiled to a bleak modern concrete tower block. There is a real sense of loss here and it is this which places it a few notches up from the normal television spin-off. It's a pity that this movie will always be over-shadowed by its more controversial small screen incarnation, as it deserves a wider audience. It also showcases a rather brilliant title song, by Ray Davies, which any fan of The Kinks should check out.