The Odd Job (1978)

Arthur Harris is a happily married man who returns from his job to discover that his wife, Fiona, is leaving him. Devastated he gets really drunk and tries to commit suicide. After a few ... See full summary »

Director:

Peter Medak

Writers:

Graham Chapman (screenplay), Bernard McKenna (play),

Stars:

Graham Chapman, David Jason, Diana Quick

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Graham Chapman	...	Arthur Harris
David Jason	...	The Odd Job Man
Diana Quick	...	Fiona Harris
Simon Williams	...	Tony Sloane
Edward Hardwicke	...	Inspector Black
Bill Paterson	...	Sergeant Mull
Michael Elphick	...	Raymonde
Stewart Harwood	...	Bernard
Carolyn Seymour	...	Angie
Joe Melia	...	Head Waiter
George Innes	...	Caretaker
James Bree	...	Mr. Kemp
Zulema Dene	...	Mrs. Kemp
Richard O'Brien	...	Batch
Carl Andrews	...	Taxi Driver

Storyline

Arthur Harris is a happily married man who returns from his job to discover that his wife, Fiona, is leaving him. Devastated he gets really drunk and tries to commit suicide. After a few setbacks and while he is trying to electrocute himself with a lamp, the door bell rings. An odd man in a leather coat asks if there are any odd jobs that he can perform. Arthur hires the man to kill him. The next day his wife returns, but the man he hired is still trying to kill him...

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Plot Keywords:

british stereotype | policeman | stammering | surrealism | friendship | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

September 1978 (UK)

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Charisma Films, Taulorda

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

First cinema film of Bill Paterson.

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Quotes

Fiona Harris: I'm leaving you.
Arthur Harris: When are you coming back?
Fiona Harris: I'm not. I'm going for good.
Arthur Harris: What? What for?
Fiona Harris: We're just not getting on.
Arthur Harris: Not getting on? We happen to be very happily married.
Fiona Harris: We're not.
Arthur Harris: I am.
Fiona Harris: I'm not!
Arthur Harris: Oh, I see, it's not a question of we're not happily married, it's you! Why not?
[...]

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Connections

Remake of Six Dates with Barker: 1970: The Odd Job (1971)

User Reviews

Not Worth the Time Commitment

Had good hopes for this 70s flick with Python's Chapman, but it's really not that good.

This was originally a short script and the filler shows. It rambles through unfunny situations and soon, to paraphrase Python, you feel like it goes on and on and on until you start foaming at the mouth and fall over backwards.

To be fair, there were lots of these B Brit films made in the 70s. This one tries to promote itself on Python's back, only there is nothing Pythonesque about it.

There's nothing funny about it either. Should be of interest only to die hard Python fans who want to see a second rate curio made during the height of Python's tenure.