The Best of Benny Hill (1974)

Director:

John Robins

Writer:

Benny Hill (script)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

A collection of sketches and musical numbers from his long running comedy/variety series, culled from...

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman

Cast

Benny Hill	...	Himself / Fred Scuttle / Mr. Chow Mein / Tommy Tupper / Mervyn Cruddy / Various
Patricia Hayes	...	Interviewer ('Words of Comfort') / Marie Quaint
Eira Heath	...	Charlotte Fudge / Various
Henry McGee	...	Himself / Rodney Fairchild / Customs Agent / Various
Nicholas Parsons	...	The Phantom Prowler / Mask Boutique Staffer / King Charles / Various
Bob Todd	...	Various Roles
Andree Melly	...	Interviewer ('The Grass Is Greener') (as Andrée Melly)
Rita Webb	...	Various Roles
Lesley Goldie	...	Various Roles (as Leslie Goldie)
Jackie Wright	...	Various Roles
Connie Georges	...	Various Roles
Nicole Shelby	...	Bubble Gum Girl / Various
Penny Meredith	...	Adjudicating Panel Member / Various
Michael Sharvell-Martin	...	Lower Tidmarsh Hospital Doctor / Rev. Peter Wilby / Various
Jan Butlin	...	Various Roles

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG

Company:

Thames Television

Trivia:

This film was culled from nine of the first eleven editions of "The Benny Hill Show" (1969) that were produced and directed by John Robins (none of the sketches from shows produced by others within its first four years on Thames Television were included in this compilation). The programs in question originally aired on 19 November 1969, 25 December 1969, 4 February 1970, 11 March 1970, 28 October 1970, 27 January 1971 (the only black-and-white show to have a sketch featured), 24 March 1971, 23 February 1972 and 22 March 1972. In addition, the version of "Yakety Sax" as heard in this film originated from the close of the 27 December 1973 telecast (also produced and directed by Robins).

Movie Connections:

Edited from "The Benny Hill Show" (1969)

Mostly tired seaside postcard humour but sufficient moments of humour and imagination to make it worth watching

In a collection of the best jokes, characters and sketches from several series of his television series, Benny Hill presents his usual brand of humour. Dressed as a woman he delivers all types of innuendo and confusion, his attempts at serious acting are frustrated by costars, is in an old film that is badly edited, is a doctor in a rather unusual hospital and many other hilarious sketches.

When I look back to the comedy from the UK in the 1970's too often I see it being infested with a crude sexual humour that can be seen in the downward slide of the Carry On series, the Confessions Of series, On The Buses and plenty of other comedies that rely on shapely young ladies, "dirty old men" and innuendo in place of real wit or imagination. Thinking back with hindsight over the comedies that I watched that influenced the sense of humour I have today, it tends to be stuff like Woody Allen, Spike Milligan, the Goons, Morecambe and Wise and perhaps the likes of Frankie Howerd – the humour I like tends towards the acerbic, cynical, darker and perhaps even a little tragic; sadly few of these words spring to mind when one is discussing Benny Hill. For that reason I must admit that I laughed only two or three times during this "Best Of" compilation.

It is also telling that when I think of Benny Hill, nothing really comes to mind other than THAT music and the speeded up saucy chase sequences. Typically this show has a few such sequences and they are basic and as unfunny as I remember them to be – showing little in the way of unique touch or imagination. However there are a few moments where Hill does show imagination that does go beyond saucy postcard antics and show a genuine creative touch – many of these are actually quite funny and almost made the film worth watching. Overall though many viewers will find this to be mostly badly dated seaside postcard humour although enough of the humour works for non-fans to enjoy, although for my money Benny Hill doesn't really stand out among the crowd of comedians who influenced me as I was growing up.