Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall (1973)

London, 1940. Aspiring jazz musician and future comedy legend Terence "Spike" Milligan reluctantly obeys his call-up and joins the Royal Artillery regiment at Bexhill, where he begins ... See full summary »

Director:

Norman Cohen

Writers:

Spike Milligan (based on the novel by), Johnny Byrne (screenplay)

Stars:

Jim Dale, Arthur Lowe, Bill Maynard

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jim Dale	...	Spike Milligan
Arthur Lowe	...	Maj. Drysdale
Bill Maynard	...	Sgt. Ellis
Tony Selby	...	Bill
Geoffrey Hughes	...	Larry
Jim Norton	...	Pongo
John Forgeham	...	Wally
Robert Longden	...	Heavenly
Tony Hughes	...	Edwards
Paul Antrim	...	Anderson
Lionel Guyett	...	Sutton
David Fennell	...	Neville
David Belcher	...	Smith
Windsor Davies	...	Sgt. MacKay
Stephen Yardley	...	Lt. Martin

Storyline

London, 1940. Aspiring jazz musician and future comedy legend Terence "Spike" Milligan reluctantly obeys his call-up and joins the Royal Artillery regiment at Bexhill, where he begins training to take part in the War. But along the way Spike and his friends get involved in many amusing - and some not-so amusing - scrapes. Based on the first volume of Milligan's war memoirs.

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Plot Keywords:

world war two | trumpet | musician | military | independent film | 

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Taglines:

After Young Winston - Young Milligan!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Spike Milligan was 21 when called up to serve in WW2; however, Jim Dale (I) was 38 when he portrayed Milligan in this film.

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Goofs

In the "flat feet" scene, Milligan takes off his left sock twice.

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Quotes

Spike Milligan: [Having spent all night on sentry duty, Spike hears footsteps] Halt! Who goes there?
Unseen soldier: [In a broad Yorkshire accent] Adolf Bloody 'itler!
Spike Milligan: Pass... friend.

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Connections

References Dad's Army (1968)

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Soundtracks

It's Gonna Be a Good War
Words and Music by Ed Welch
Sung by Jim Dale

User Reviews

Terrible terrible terrible adaptation

Features no material at all from the book, probably because all the filthy humor and language would have been far too x rated for a 1972 film. Utterly crap film. Not funny, bad direction, bad acting, terrible dialogue. No redeeming qualities whatsoever There really is nothing more to say about this horrendously bad film, having said that, if you are a weak minded individual and you like similarly unfunny crap from the early 70's (on the buses, carry on movies) you might very well enjoy this terrible film. It's a chore to sit through, I can only imagine Spike was desperate for the money or to make a feature film or something like that. Read the book instead.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 April 1973 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

Két Balláb az ezredben - avagy hogyan járultam hozzá Hitler bukásához

Filming Locations:

Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Associated London Films, Norcon

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1