The Great McGonagall 1974

director: Joseph McGrath  


Genre

Country

Great Britain

Cast

Spike Milligan   Peter Sellers   Julia Foster   John Bluthal   Valentine Dyall   Clifton Jones   Julian Chagrin   Victor Spinetti   Charlie Atom  

Synopsis

See Peter Sellers as you've never seen him before - as Queen Victoria! Add Spike Milligan and you have a riot of inspired lunacy as we follow the adventures of William McGonagall, positively the worst poet in the world, whose three published books of poetry still sell more than Burns or Tennyson. A collector's item, this film reveals yet another aspect of Peter Sellers' many faceted comic genius.

Formats

Available on VHSAvailable on BetamaxAvailable on V2000

Average User Rating: 0 Vote(s)
 
Average User Rating
Average User Rating
Average User Rating
Average User Rating
Average User Rating
Average User Rating
Average User Rating
Average User Rating
Average User Rating
Average User Rating
Coverscan of The Great McGonagall
Video Cover Thumbnail(s)

Distributor Videomedia
Catalogue Number HVM2130
Release Series
Release Date May 1981
Duration: 84m 53s
Printed Classification
Notes
User Reviews:
by Lee James Turnock
Spike Milligan's take on the life and times of William Topaz McGonagall, a notoriously awful Victorian poet. Whilst I consider myself a fan of Milligan, I have to admit that his output - perhaps understandably, because there was so bloody much of it - could be distinctly patchy, and [i]the Great McGonagall[/i] presents Spike at his unfettered, self-indulgent worst. If you thought his [i]Q[/i] series could be a slog to get through, you should give this film a very wide berth. The film deconstructs itself as it goes along, disintegrating entirely about halfway through when Milligan and his co-star Victor Spinetti (Peter Sellers appears only briefly) make a hash of a scene and proceed to go over their dialogue, apparently out of character, as director Joe McGrath awkwardly coaches them. Having effectively scuppered itself, there's no reason the viewer should hang on for the remainder either. There are occasional flashes of genius, but nothing more, and the sludgy, underlit, squalid look of the piece erodes the viewer's interest even before the opening titles have finished rolling. One IMDB reviewer claims that this film is proof that Spike was let out of the loony bin too early, and whilst that's a harsh verdict, it's sadly not far from the truth.