Privates on Parade (1983)

The members of SADUSEA (Song And Dance Unit South East Asia) fall in and out of love while trying to dodge Malayan Communist bullets in the late 1940s. Not only that, they have to contend ... See full summary »

Director:

Michael Blakemore

Writers:

Peter Nichols (screenplay), Peter Nichols (play)

Stars:

Patrick Pearson, Michael Elphick, Joe Melia

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Patrick Pearson	...	Sergeant Steven Flowers
Michael Elphick	...	Sergeant Major Reg Drummond
Joe Melia	...	Sergeant Len Bonny
John Standing	...	Captain Sholto Savory
Nicola Pagett	...	Acting Lieutenant Sylvia Morgan
Simon Jones	...	Sergeant Eric Young-Love
David Bamber	...	Sergeant Charles Bishop
Bruce Payne	...	Flight Sergeant Kevin Cartwright
Robin Langford	...	Electrician
Denis Quilley	...	Acting Captain Terri Dennis
Neil Pearson	...	Pianist
Steve Dixon	...	Drummer
Jasper Jacob	...	Bass Player
Leonard Preston	...	Trombonist
Peter Hutchinson	...	Trumpet Player

Storyline

The members of SADUSEA (Song And Dance Unit South East Asia) fall in and out of love while trying to dodge Malayan Communist bullets in the late 1940s. Not only that, they have to contend with a loony, bible bashing Major who creates far more danger than any of the jungle inhabitants. Only gay captain Dennis Quilley seems capable of coping with him but even he isn't aware of the cowardly Michael Elphick selling arms to the natives.

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Plot Keywords:

political satire | singapore | gay soldier | nudity | drag | 

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Taglines:

Malaysia, 1947. Some fought. Some danced.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | War

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Handmade Films Website

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 March 1983 (UK)

Also Known As:

Angyalbőrben

Filming Locations:

Malaya

Company Credits

Production Co:

HandMade Films, Paragon Entertainment Corporation

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

It was set in Malaya in 1947 but was filmed at Shepperton Studios in London.

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Quotes

Acting Captain Terri Dennis: [dressed as Carmen Miranda, singing] Come and spend a week-a / Down in Costa Rica! / Come and lose / Your heart in Veracruz! / Think how you would bragua / In lovely Nicaragua! / That's the way to chase away the blues! / Down in old Havana, / Everything's 'manana'! / No-one work and everybody play! / How could you resist a / Weekend with Batista / The Latin American way!

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Alternate Versions

An alternate TV version includes some additional musical bits such as "Mad About the Boy", sang by Dennis Quilley, in the same outfit as Marlene Dietrich in "The Blue Angel", after being refused access with his sailor of the evening to the Raffles Hotel. It also has a longer end sequence (before the dance on the parade deck) about "business as usual in Singapore".

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Connections

Referenced in Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006)

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Soundtracks

English Country Garden
(uncredited)
Traditional
Arranged by Denis King

User Reviews

not all bad ...

The main problem with this movie is the over-dominating personality of John Cleese, doing his authoritarian idiot stuff as he did in Fawlty Towers and earlier in Monty Python. Trouble is, in the context of a 1940s Army entertainment unit, this characterisation is just not right. A similar scenario could be seen a decade or so earlier in TV show 'It Ain't Half Hot Mum', with Windsor Davies in what is approximately the Cleese role here. Very different and much more effective.

'Privates' does however have other compensations - good within the cast are Michael Elphick, Simon Jones, Joe Melia, David Bamber, and Nicola Pagett. Best of all is the much-missed Denis Quilley as Terri, that painted captain cavorting about and by far the funniest thing on screen.