The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970)

Director:

Kevin Billington

Writers:

Peter Cook (written by) &
John Cleese (written by) ...

Release Date:

19 April 1973 (Hungary)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Fresh-faced young Michael Rimmer worms his way into an opinion poll company and is soon running the place...

Plot Keywords:

Poll | Political | Satire | Female Nudity | See Through Panties

Cast

Peter Cook	...	Michael Rimmer
Denholm Elliott	...	Peter Niss
Ronald Fraser	...	Tom Hutchinson
Vanessa Howard	...	Patricia Cartwright
Arthur Lowe	...	Ferret
George A. Cooper	...	Blacket
Harold Pinter	...	Steven Hench
James Cossins	...	Crodder
Roland Culver	...	Sir Eric Bentley
Dudley Foster	...	Federman
Dennis Price	...	Fairburn
John Cleese	...	Pumer
Diana Coupland	...	Mrs. Spimm
Nicholas Phipps	...	Snaggot
Desmond Walter-Ellis	...	Buffer

Runtime:

94 min | USA:100 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 (video) | UK:AA | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex, England, UK

Company:

Warner Brothers/Seven Arts

Trivia:

The Tory Tom Hutchinson and Labour man Blackett spoof the party leaders of the time, Edward Heath, and Harold Wilson respectively. In particular, Wilson's Yorkshire accent, and habit of smoking a pipe in public is sent up; however, he was never particularly superstitious and Kevin Billington admits in the commentary that Wilson had a "laser sharp mind" unlike Mr Blackett. Tom Hutchinson also spoofs Harold MacMillan, a previous Tory PM from '57-'63, whose slogan was "You've never had it so good". Hutchinson has a moustache (like MacMillan, but unlike Heath), and the slogan, "You'll never have it so good" can be seen on a banner at his party conference.

Quotes:

Patricia Cartwright: That's about the only time we've been together. When there's a photographer around.

British Comedy Gem

I was lucky enough to discuss this film with David Frost in 2005 and it is a film he is still (he was the producer) very proud of, citing it as one of Peter Cook's best works.

The film was given a very limited release in 1970. I saw it in the Cosmo Cinema in Glasgow in 1970 and fell off my seat laughing - the first time I have ever done that in a cinema - and I was not the only one. The Cosmo by the way (now the Glasgow Film Theatre) was a specialist cinema which attracted intellectuals and serious film students, so they clearly saw the importance of this film from the word go and it is such a shame that Warner Brothers are unable to do the same and recognise this as an important historical film document.

The film disappeared and has only been shown on TV 3 times - originally shown on ITV in 1979 by various channels who usually used it to pad out their late night schedules - and the version I taped then runs about 8 minutes short. It has also been shown on Channel 5 twice and they have made less cuts, but there is still some material missing which is why it needs to be issued on DVD with care and by someone who knows the film well and understands its importance to fans of John Cleese, Peter Cook, Monty Python - and 60s British comedy.

Another perspective is that Michael Rimmer is essentially Tony Blair, so this film predicts presidential style UK politics and spin and contrasts it with old fashioned Labour thud and blunder with Harold Wilson lookalike George A Cooper in his best ever role.

This should be compulsory viewing for all political students and if you liked the "Yes Minister" TV series, chances are you will very much enjoy this.

Post Mortem Since I wrote the initial comment above, the DVD has been released complete with director commentary - and I still find this an incredibly funny film all these years later.