By the Sea (1982)

A crusty old General leads his dotty family on a relaxing weekend at the seaside, and comic chaos ensues.

Director:

Bill Wilson

Writers:

Dave Huggett, Larry Keith

Stars:

Ronnie Barker, Ronnie Corbett, Barbara New

Cast

Cast overview:
Ronnie Barker	...	The General (as The Two Ronnies)
Ronnie Corbett	...	The Son (as The Two Ronnies)
Barbara New	...	The Aunt
Madge Hindle	...	The Companion
Rikki Howard	...	The Red-Head
Debbi Blythe	...	The Girlfriend
Gerrie Raymond	...	The Waitress
John Brewer	...	The Brat

Storyline

A crusty old General leads his dotty family on a relaxing weekend at the seaside, and comic chaos ensues.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

UK

Release Date:

30 December 1982 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Badliv

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

51 min

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the movie was near completion, the BBC decided that it was a disaster and unshowable. Another Producer (Alan J.W. Bell) was called in to salvage the film and given a budget to re-shoot scenes if necessary. No scenes were re-shot, but he almost entirely re-structured the film and used the money to record an original music score by Ronnie Hazlehurst. The only acknowledgment of this is on the VHS and DVD cases where Alan J.W. Bell is given the unusual credit of 'Post-production Director'.

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Connections

Follows The Picnic (1975)

User Reviews

Saucy humour, rib tickling comedy, filmed in Dorset.

This is true classic British comedy of the 80's By the Sea is an hour long TV special, which combined with The Picnic (1975), featured as a double bill on the BBC Video Laserdisc release. Although there were several years apart in the making of both of these, the cast remains the same.

By the Sea was made in Dorset, England along the coast between Bournemouth and Swanage. Ronnie Barker plays the part of a saucy old Gentleman who always game for a bit of slap and tickle, and Ronnie Corbitt the young man bringing his girl friend along on the family holiday.

Family is the word for this, the whole plot is set around their holiday. The opening scene is Swanage bay, or as we get to know it "Tiddly Cove".

The most fantastic thing about this short film is the script. There are no words! Music, sound effects, and murmurs and noises like "ah!" are all that exist. It works so well, and a truly international language anybody can understand.

Typical Two Ronnies humor throughout this, made even more special by the family, notably Madge Hindle playing the shy and slightly geeky companion. Barbara New plays the Aunt, and adds her touch of magic as well.

If you can find a copy, get it !