The members of S.A.D.U.S.E.A. (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 ...
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Title: Privates on Parade (1983)
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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 |
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Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Storyline
The members of S.A.D.U.S.E.A. (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 Bible bashing Major Giles Flack (John Cleese), who creates far more danger than any of the jungle inhabitants. Only gay Acting Captain Terri Dennis (Denis Quilley) seems to be capable of coping with him, but even he isn't aware of the cowardly Sergeant Major Reg Drummond (Michael Elphick) selling arms to the natives. Written by Rhino <rhino@blueyonder.co.uk>
Taglines:
Malaysia, 1947. Some fought. Some danced.Parents Guide:
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Details
Country:
UKLanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
18 March 1983 (UK) See more »Also Known As:
Angyalbőrben See more »Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Peter Nichols' play was inspired by his own experiences in an Army entertainment unit during the Malayan emergency. Other members of the same unit at that time included John Schlesinger, Kenneth Williams, and Stanley Baxter. See more »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!See more »
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". See more »Frequently Asked Questions
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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.