The Big Freeze (1993)

A silent comedy. Two accident-prone plumbers go to fix the plumbing at a home for retired gentle-folk on the coldest day of the year in Finland. Everything that can go wrong for these ... See full summary »

Director:

Eric Sykes

Writer:

Eric Sykes

Stars:

Bob Hoskins, Eric Sykes, Eila Roine

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bob Hoskins	...	Sidney, plumber's mate
Eric Sykes	...	Mr Blick, the plumber
Eila Roine	...	Matron
Donald Pleasence	...	Soup slurper
Raija Laakso	...	Louise
Sonja Lumme	...	Pretty nurse
John Mills	...	Dapper man
Spike Milligan	...	Der Schauspieler
Sylvi Salonen	...	The flapper
Hellin Auvinen-Salmi	...	Old lady
Helinä Viitanen	...	Zimmer lady
Erkki Thil	...	Film director
Gabriel Laszlo	...	Fencer with wig
Hannes Anttila	...	Fencer
Gunnar Strommer	...	Man in bath

Storyline

A silent comedy. Two accident-prone plumbers go to fix the plumbing at a home for retired gentle-folk on the coldest day of the year in Finland. Everything that can go wrong for these plumbers goes wrong.

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Plot Keywords:

no dialogue | independent film

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

UK Finland

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 November 1993 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Umpijäässä

Filming Locations:

Hervanta, Tampere, Finland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mountshannon Productions Ltd., Opix Films, Yleisradio (YLE)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

45 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The last film role of Spike Milligan.

User Reviews

Plenty of laughs to keep you warm!

Following in the tradition of Eric Sykes' previous silent comedy shorts ("The Plank", "Mr H Is Late" et al), "The Big Freeze" is a highly amusing little diversion that keeps the chuckles coming all the way through.

Bob Hoskins revels in the chance to play a little slapstick as the plumber's hapless son, and he just about eclipses the very funny cameo roles from veteren stars John Mills, Donald Pleasence and Spike Milligan, who almost steals the film with his turn as a manic Adolf Hitler impersonator (complete with stuffed dog!).

It's hard to believe, given the popularity of his earlier silent comedies, that Sykes allegedly found financing hard to come by in the UK for this film (hence why it was made in Finland), and its a sad reflection on the British film & TV industry that simple but effective little productions like this can't be made more often.