The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979)

A series of benefit concerts to raise money for Amnesty International. Performances include comedy skits and musical numbers by a varied cast of mostly British performers. Featuring several... See full summary »

Director:

Roger Graef

Writer:

Billy Connolly

Stars:

Paul Abrahams, Rowan Atkinson, Chris Beetles

Cast

Credited cast:
Paul Abrahams	...	Himself (Piano Player)
Rowan Atkinson	...	Various Roles
Chris Beetles	...	Beetles and Buckman
Mike Brearley	...	Himself
Eleanor Bron	...	Various Roles
Rob Buckman	...	Beetles and Buckman
Ken Campbell	...	Himself
Suzanne Church	...	Herself
John Cleese	...	Himself - Various Roles
Billy Connolly	...	Himself
Peter Cook	...	Various Roles
Anna Ford	...	Herself
Clive James	...	Himself
Clive Jenkins	...	Himself
Sylvester McCoy	...	Himself

Storyline

A series of benefit concerts to raise money for Amnesty International. Performances include comedy skits and musical numbers by a varied cast of mostly British performers. Featuring several Monty Python members, Rowan Atkinson, and Peter Cook.

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Plot Keywords:

monty python | amnesty international | live audience | revue | absurd humor | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Comedy

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1980 (UK)

Also Known As:

O horos tou xefonimenou batsou

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min 94 min (theatrical) 60 min (TV premiere)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Secret Policeman's Ball was staged over four consecutive nights, from 27th until the 30th June 1979, at Her Majesty's Theatre, Haymarket in London.

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Quotes

Schoolmaster: All right, quiet. Ainsley. Babcock. Bland. Carthorse. Dint. Ellsworth-Beast Major. Ellsworth-Beast Minor. Fiat. German. Havenut. Haemoglobin. Jones M. Jones N. Kosygin. Loudhailer. Mattock. Nancyboy-Potter. Nibble.
[laughter]
Schoolmaster: I have a detention book. Orifice. Plectrum. Poise. Sediment. Soda. Taah. Taah? Under-Manager. Wicket. Williams-Wicket. Williams-Witcherley. Witcherley-Wicket. Witcherley-Williams. And Witcherley-Williams. Wocket. Zob. Hmmm, absent. All right, your essays. "Discuss the ...

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Connections

Followed by The Secret Policeman's Private Parts (1984)

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Soundtracks

"Message in a bottle"
Solo electric version Performed by Sting

User Reviews

One of Cook's Brightest Moments...and Atkinson's First

Out of all the Secret Policeman's Balls, this one is the most entertaining and funniest. This is usually the one I watch because it has my favorite comedians all together in top form. Eleanor Bron is great in the "Dear God" sketch, with her rambling dialog being very entertaining. "Cheese Shop" wasn't as good as the Python version, but you can't really expect that....they pull it off very nicely, though. The "Pregnancy" sketch is a nice short one. That Eleanor Bron is really good.

Notable praise goes to Rowan Atkinson, though. Considering that this was even before "Not the Nine O'Clock News" first being broadcast, this must have been a real important night for him. His "Schoolmaster" sketch is a delight. Also, him in Dudley Moore's shoes for the "End of the World" sketch makes it take off. For once, someone other than Peter Cook is the funniest part of a sketch! He also handled the "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch very well with other Pythons. Kudos for Rowan Atkinson; this is his breakthrough moment in comedy.

But you can't watch this and say that Peter Cook didn't steal the show because he quite simply steals every show! The "Interesting Facts" sketch really blew the whole thing open at the beginning. Cleese never laughs during a sketch, but Cook gets him to. Cook always leaves them in stitches. But, the real shining moment of the night is the "Entirely a Matter For You" sketch lampooning the Jeremy Thorpe case. If you don't know about the case before watching it, do the research. It'll actually make it funny. It's actually one of the funniest sketches ever made. It's sooooo perfect and Peter Cook is in top form during this. Just another reason of a million why Peter Cook was such a genius. You really don't know comedy if you don't know about Peter Cook.

Such a fantastic DVD that I watch constantly. It's brilliant, just brilliant!!!