Mr. H Is Late (1988)

A team of inept undertakers attempt to get a coffin to a funeral on time.

Director:

Eric Sykes

Writer:

Eric Sykes

Stars:

John Alderton, Bobby Ball, Tommy Cannon

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Alderton	...	Vicar
Bobby Ball	...	Driver's mate
Tommy Cannon	...	Driver
Norman Collier	...	Short-sighted man
Charlie Drake	...	Short delivery man
Gabrielle Drake	...	Miss H
Jimmy Edwards	...	Traffic warden
Linda Hayden	...	Sunbather
James Hunt	...	Trucker
Roy Kinnear	...	Piper
Rula Lenska	...	Bride
Kenny Lynch	...	Bus conductor
Henry McGee	...	Tall undertaker
Spike Milligan	...	Roadsweeper
Noel Murphy	...	Tall delivery man

Storyline

Eric Sykes is in charge of moving a coffin from a home to the church. The home is on the 26th floor of a skyscraper; the stairs are narrow; the lift is small and prone to stop working. Chaos ensues.

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Plot Keywords:

coffin | character name in title

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Genres:

Short | Comedy

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 February 1988 (UK)

Also Known As:

Mr H. är försenad

Filming Locations:

Thirlmere House, Summerwood Road, Isleworth, Middlesex, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Thames Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Crazy Credits

Credits include "A. Coffin"

User Reviews

Has some fun moments.

I saw this on a tape with another Eric Sykes short entitled "It's Your Move". That one was a dud from 1969. This 1988 TV short seemed sharper and had edgier humor.

Like many other Eric Sykes' projects, there is minimal dialogue in "Mr. H Is Late". It's often frustrating and it takes away an entire element with which to draw humor from. With a running time of under thirty minutes, however, there are enough silly situations going on to provide a fair serving of laughs.

A gentleman has died and a group of pallbearers are apparently carrying him around in a coffin. Of course, things don't go according to their plans and the coffin goes through quite an adventure on its way to the church for the funeral service. It contains both mildly saucy and macabre moments but it's all rather harmless fun.

Being from the UK, you know the humor is going to be a bit understated and dry. It doesn't compare to the belly laughs generated by some of the cynical and sarcastic American comedies which have been made. Overall, though, "Mr. H Is Late" has a certain undeniable British charm. 4/10