The Secret Policeman's Other Ball (1982)

The film of an on-stage charity benefit for Amnesty International. The show includes comedy skits by the members of Monty Python, as well as noted comedians Peter Cook, Rowan Atkinson, and ... See full summary »

Director:

Julien Temple

Writer:

Terence Dackombe (contributing writer)

Stars:

Rowan Atkinson, Jeff Beck, Alan Bennett

Cast

Credited cast:
Rowan Atkinson	...	Himself / Various Roles
Jeff Beck	...	Himself
Alan Bennett	...	Himself / Various Roles
John Bird	...	Himself / Various Roles
Tim Brooke-Taylor	...	Himself / Various Characters
Jasper Carrott	...	Himself
Doreen Chanter	...	The Secret Policeman Choir
Graham Chapman	...	Himself / Various Roles
Eric Clapton	...	Himself
John Cleese	...	Himself / Various Roles
Phil Collins	...	Himself
Billy Connolly	...	Himself
Peter Cook	...	Himself / Various Roles
Chris Cross	...	The Secret Policeman Choir
Donovan	...	Himself

Storyline

The film of an on-stage charity benefit for Amnesty International. The show includes comedy skits by the members of Monty Python, as well as noted comedians Peter Cook, Rowan Atkinson, and others. The show also includes musical numbers by Eric Clapton, Sting, Donovan and Bob Geldof.

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Plot Keywords:

charity benefit | musical number | comedian | amnesty international | monty python | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Documentary | Music

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 September 1982 (Australia)

Also Known As:

O horos tou xefonimenou mystikou batsou

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amnesty International

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

In a 1986 interview on the NBC Today Show, Sting said, "I've been a member of Amnesty for five years and a supporter because of an entertainment show which was called 'The Secret Policeman's [Other] Ball' which I was involved in. And before that I didn't know about Amnesty's work and so in a sense I'm a success story". In 2004, in an interview with BBC-TV, Sting added, "The seed was planted at Amnesty for Bob Geldof. He saw what they were doing. He saw how entertainment could help that process and then he took the "Ball" and ran with it. Further than anybody could possibly imagine".

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Quotes

Reginald Prawnbaum: [Rolling his eyes] While the worker bees...
The Crazy Interviewer: Ssshh.
Reginald Prawnbaum: ...fly from flower to flower...
The Crazy Interviewer: Ssshh.
Reginald Prawnbaum: ...collecting...
The Crazy Interviewer: Ssshh.
Reginald Prawnbaum: ...the...
The Crazy Interviewer: Ssshh.
[Long pause. Prawnbaum prepares to say the word, and notices the Interviewer preparing to make the noise again]
Reginald Prawnbaum: ...pollen.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

In the version that has segments from the first and second shows, Michael Palin interrupts the credits to sell various "Secret Policeman's" products to the viewer (profits going to Amnesty International).

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Connections

Followed by The Secret Policeman's Ball (2012)

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Soundtracks

Farther Up The Road
by Eric Clapton

User Reviews

If you don't expect it to be particularly funny, it's worth seeing...or at least listening.

The first Amnesty International benefit film, "The Secret Policeman's Ball", consisted almost exclusively of British comedy--with many of the top comedians the country had to offer--including almost all the Monty Python members. However, by this 1982 film, some changes had occurred. Despite IMDb saying something about the Monty Python alumni, only two of the group are in this one. Many of the other performers are faceless to the average American aside from a young Rowan Atkinson. However, comedy now only made up half the show--the rest were big-name musicians from the era, such as Sting and Phil Collins. Now if the comedy had been good, the music (if you don't care for it) could be ignored and the film still be worth seeing. Unfortunately, none of the skits were particularly funny. In fact, there was almost no laughter to be had if you see it today. Such unfunny skits included one about anonymous gay sex, nude dancers (actually just dressed guys with paper over their naughty bits), a couple decent impersonations (of Mr. Thatcher and Reagan) and a tacky joke about deaf people.

Unfortunately, there was absolutely nothing that interested me in this film. Now to put it in context, I LOVE British comedy (my favorite comedies are all British--such as "Monty Python", "The Vicar of Dibley", "Mr. Bean", "Little Britain" and "Waiting for God"). But, I do not like improvised BAD British comedy, so there is absolutely no way I'd recommend this. In fact, I was so disappointed that the music was actually better (and funnier) than the skits.