The Misadventures of Mr. Wilt (1989)

An unlucky lecturer's wife goes missing and he's accused of her murder.

Director:

Michael Tuchner

Writers:

Tom Sharpe (novel), Andrew Marshall (screenplay adaptation)

Stars:

Griff Rhys Jones, Mel Smith, Alison Steadman

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Griff Rhys Jones	...	Henry Wilt
Mel Smith	...	Inspector Flint
Alison Steadman	...	Eva Wilt
Diana Quick	...	Sally
Jeremy Clyde	...	Hugh
Roger Allam	...	Dave
David Ryall	...	Rev. Froude
Roger Lloyd Pack	...	Dr. Pittman
Dermot Crowley	...	Braintree
John Normington	...	Treadaway
Tony Mathews	...	Gladden
Charles Lawson	...	Cranham
Gabrielle Blunt	...	Mrs. Bulstrode
Edward Clayton	...	Mossop
Jeffrey Chiswick	...	Macari (as Geoffrey Chiswick)

Storyline

Henry Wilt is a more or less failure of a teacher who fantasizes about murdering his dominant, non-attentive wife Eva. At a party Wilt is stuck to an inflatable doll and makes a complete fool of himself. Eventually, he dumps the doll in a hole at a building site. However, he has been witnessed getting rid of the doll and when his wife disappears on the night after the party, the police with inspector Flint strongly suspect Wilt of being guilty.

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Plot Keywords:

inflatable doll | based on novel | independent film | 

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Taglines:

Has the shocking truth about Henry Wilt been inflated?

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 November 1989 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Misadventures of Mr. Wilt

Filming Locations:

Middlesex Polytechnic, Bounds Green, London, England, UK

Box Office

Gross USA:

$113,014

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Rank Organisation, London Weekend Television (LWT), Picture Partnership

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

Wilt was the first in a loose series of satirical novels featuring the character Henry Wilt written by Tom Sharpe; the others in the series were The Wilt Alternative, Wilt On High, Wilt in Nowhere and the Wilt Inheritance.

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Goofs

When Henry crashes into the phone box both his headlights are clearly intact and there is no serious damage to the panel work. This is also true when he drives off. Shortly after, we see his car has a broken headlight and severe panel damage.

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Quotes

Henry Wilt: You can beat me up if you like - it won't do any good.
Inspector Flint: You're wrong there - It'll do me the power of good!

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Alternate Versions

A near identical version exists for TV broadcast that replaces all the strong profanity (such as the F word) with milder swear words such as 'bloody'. Closer examination shows that these scenes do not appear dubbed indicating that during filming some scenes were specially filmed again using the milder language. This version was broadcast on ITV in the UK in the 1990s and as this film was co-financed by an ITV network (LWT) this would appear to indicate that these changes were planned well in advance with television screenings in mind.

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Soundtracks

Love Hurts
Written by Felice Bryant and Boudleaux Bryant
Performed by Leo Sayer
Produced by Anne Dudley and Ted Hayton for Buffalo Music Ltd.
Published by Acuff-Rose Opryland Music Ltd.

User Reviews

Forgotten classic of a film

Okay, so 'classic' may be a little overstating 'Wilt,' but, whenever British comedy films are mentioned, it never even gets a look in, which I feel is a little unfair. Yes, there are no real 'stars' in the film to broaden its appeal. Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones may be easily recognisable faces on UK TV, but it's unlikely anyone will be too familiar with their work overseas.

Perhaps that's 'Wilt's' major charm – it's a very British film. And I don't mean the weird portrayal of British life that Richard Curtis seems to want to sell the worldwide audiences. The plot is simple: Jones plays the titular character, Mr Wilt, who, after years of living with his overbearing wife, finds she's disappeared. He doesn't seem that bothered, whereas dopey local detective, played by Mel Smith, feels the need to prove that Wilt is more murderer than he seems.

There may be only a few 'laugh out loud' moments in the film, but that doesn't mean that you won't smile. The humour is, largely, subtle and understated, as are the performances. Perhaps the best way to enjoy the film is to lower your expectations slightly. Don't go thinking it's going to be a massively laugh-a-minute ride. Its charm is its poignancy and the feeling of overall sadness about a group of people who, by and large, aren't really happy with their lives, no matter how hard they pretend to be.

If you want something with plenty of poignant, subtle black humour, you may want to give this a try. I'm guessing it'll only appeal to us Brits, but I'm hoping it'll also strike a chord with other nationalities, too.

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