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Director Bryan Forbes tries his hand at comedy. His nostalgic Victorian farce features an eclectic choice of Brit stars — established greats John Mills & Ralph Richardson, the freshly-minted Michael Caine, reigning jester Peter Sellers and even a debut for the collegiate pranksters Peter Cook & Dudley Moore. It’s a beaut of a production with a charming John Barry music score… but the result yields more indulgent smiles than out-and-out laughs.

The Wrong Box

Region A+B Blu-ray

Powerhouse Indicator

1966 / Color / 1:75 widescreen / 105 min. / Street Date November 23, 2018 / available from Amazon UK / £14.99

Starring: John Mills, Ralph Richardson, Michael Caine, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Nanette Newman, Tony Hancock, Peter Sellers, Wilfrid Lawson, Thorley Walters, Gerald Sim, Irene Handl, Norman Bird, John Le Mesurier, Norman Rossington, Diane Clare, Tutte Lemkow, Charles Bird, Vanda Godsell, Jeremy Lloyd, James Villiers, Graham Stark, Dick Gregory, Valentine Dyall, Leonard Rossiter, André Morell, Temperance Seven, Andrea Allan, Juliet Mills.

Cinematography:...

Nick Aldwinckle Sep 4, 2017

Our latest round-up of horror and genre DVDs and Blu-rays...

So: with season two of Stranger Things fast approaching, a remake of Stephen King’s It set to mildly trouble a whole new generation and, erm, the on-going threat of nuclear armageddon, it seems everything eighties is 'in' at the moment. And, you know what? That surely must include Dennis Quaid, right? Well, maybe not, unless you count this year’s canine reincarnation/multiple hound-homicide horror A Dog’s Purpose, which we don’t in these parts. Anyway, Quaid’s back in Blu-ray form with the recent repackaging of his 1984 quirky fantasy thriller Dreamscape.

Nicely sandwiched between the release of Jaws 3-D and Enemy Mine, surely two of the most Quaidessential (sorry) films of the decade, Dreamscape sees our hero take on the mantle of a cheaper Harrison Ford, burdened with psychic powers that he must use...

Louisa Mellor Jan 23, 2017

Some sad news: Gorden Kaye, the actor much-loved for his role in BBC comedy 'Allo 'Allo!, has passed away.

We're sorry to pass on the sad news that Gorden Kaye, an actor whose lead role in David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd's BBC sitcom 'Allo 'Allo! made him widely recognised and much-loved, passed away earlier this morning.

Kaye's former agency made the announcement today to the BBC that Kaye had died at a care home at the age of seventy-five.

As Rene Artois, cafe owner and political chess piece used by the invading Germans, the British and the French Resistance in Croft and Lloyd's classic comedy, Kaye gave us a decade's worth of laughs between 1982 and 1992. And, thanks to repeats and his reprisal of the role in the BBC's 2007 reunion, many more years besides. 

Kaye, pictured above with 'Allo 'Allo co-stars Kirsten Cooke and Carmen Silvera, started...

Remember Kinvig, Clone, Not With A Bang? These are the UK sci-fi sitcoms you’re unlikely to see on comedy best-of lists…

With E4 sci-fi comedy commissions, Tripped and Aliens, and in-development Channel 4 projects, Space Ark and Graham Linehan/Adam Buxton collaboration The Cloud, in the works, a new crop of sci-fi sitcom could be making its way to UK TV.

Making funny sci-fi on a small-screen budget is tough enough without the additional pressure of having to attract viewers more traditionally down-to-earth in their sitcom tastes. Sci-fi sets and effects can be seen as prohibitively expensive by comedy commissioners (which is perhaps why the best UK sci-fi sitcoms of recent years has been on BBC Radio), and the genre’s niche status doesn’t scream mainstream hit. Over the years, one or two stand-outs have managed to straddle the sci-fi and comedy TV worlds, but plenty more have stumbled in the attempt.

Comedy writer Jeremy Lloyd has died at age 84, the BBC reported on Tuesday. His agent, Alexandra Cann, said Lloyd died in a London hospital after being admitted for pneumonia, according to the network. Lloyd was best-known for his work co-writing television series such as the BBC's Are You Being Served? and the 1980s British World War II sitcom 'Allo 'Allo! with writing partner David Croft. Actress Vicki Michelle, who played waitress Yvette Carte-Blanche in 'Allo 'Allo!, called Lloyd "such a wonderful talent, mentor and friend. A complete joy to work with" in a Twitter post on Tuesday. Read more

read more...

Comedy writer Jeremy Lloyd has died, aged 84.

The co-creator of BBC sitcoms 'Allo 'Allo! and Are You Being Served? passed away today (December 23) in hospital, having fallen ill with pneumonia.

In Memoriam: Paying tribute to the stars we lost in 2014

Confirming the news, his agent Alexandra Cann said: "Jeremy was a great wit and always a mass of original ideas. He had a wonderfully original mind and will be greatly missed."

Lloyd was born in 1930 in Danbury, Essex, and was briefly married to Joanna Lumley in 1970. He was married twice more, most recently to Elizabeth Moberly this year.

He formed a partnership with late Dad's Army writer David Croft on 'Allo 'Allo!, Are You Being Served? and the latter's spinoff series Grace & Favour.

He also appeared as an actor in movies including Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines and The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night and Help!, as well as TV series The Avengers.

Let’s be honest, who doesn’t have a deep seeded love for the fab four? How could anyone resist those Liverpool lovelies, with their matching suits, Rickenbackers, mop tops and an ever growing catalogue of unbelievable hooks? It’s possible that before 1964, anyone outside of Britain might not have heard of The Beatles, but after A Hard Day’s Night took international cinemas by storm, there was no denying it – the British invasion had begun, and John, Paul, George and Ringo were the faces of this new pop movement, a new set of idols for teens to fawn over and an absolute force of creatively catchy songwriting. Helping craft and simultaneously critique their cheeky rock star image, Richard Lester’s monumental faux day-in-the-life documentary of the band became a comedic musical masterpiece that set the blueprint for music videos decades before Video Killed the Radio Star set us off into the abyss of MTV.

'Allo 'Allo

Kieran Kinsella

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To millions of fans of British TV, actress Kim Hartman is best known for her protrayal of the goose stepping Helga Geerhart in the classic sitcom ‘Allo ‘Allo. Helga and her partner in crime Herr Flick were the German duo that people loved to hate or perhaps hated to love. I recently had the opportunity to interview the much loved actress about her time on the show and her more recent roles in Grange Hill and the stage play of Keeping up Appearances.

You are best known for your role as Helga in ‘Allo ‘Allo. What was it like to play a Nazi sex symbol?

“I never considered Helga to be a Nazi , she was just a rather kinky private in the German army.

David Croft and Jimmy Perry

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David Croft, the British TV comic genius behind shows such as Allo Allo, Are You Being Served and Hi-De-Hi, has died aged 89. During a lengthy TV career as a writer and producer David Croft formed two hugely successful creative partnerships with Jimmy Perry and then Jeremy Lloyd. He passed away at his home in Portugal.

David Croft’s 10 Best Comic Characters

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London — Television writer David Croft, who helped create much-loved British sitcoms such as "Dad's Army" and "Are You Being Served?," died Tuesday. He was 89.

Croft's agent Tim Hancock, said the writer died at his holiday home in Portugal. Croft's family said in a statement that he "died peacefully in his sleep," but did not give a cause.

The son of actors, Croft served with the Royal Artillery during World War II before starting a showbiz career, eventually moving into TV as a producer, director and writer.

Several of his comedies had military settings, including "It Ain't Half Hot Mum" – set in wartime India and Burma – and "Dad's Army," about a hapless World War II Home Guard unit.

Co-created with Jimmy Perry, "Dad's Army" is considered a comedy classic, and is still frequently rerun more than 40 years after its debut.

Croft and Perry had another long-running hit with "Hi-de-Hi!" set in a 1950s holiday camp.

David Croft, one of Britain's best loved and most popular sitcom writers, passed away aged 89 today. Croft teamed up with Jimmy Perry, Jeremy Lloyd and Richard Spendlove to create some of the greatest family comedies TV history. Digital Spy celebrates Croft's incredible back catalogue by picking our five favourite Croft shows and some of their finest moments. Dad's Army

Croft's biggest hit and most would argue his finest hour. Still a ratings hit 43 years after it originally aired, the Home Guard farce included an incredible cast and some of the most quoted lines in sitcom history. Watch the infamous Dad's Army 'Don't tell him Pike' scene: Are You Being Served?

Department store Grace Brothers provided the setting for some of Croft's finest double entendres and biggest laughs. Featuring Mrs Slocombe's (more)...

The Movie Pool puts a wooden stake in the first-ever DVD release of David Niven's 1975 horror comedy Old Dracula!

The DVD is offered as part of MGM's "Limited Edition Collection" on DVD, which are available from select online retailers and are manufactured only when the DVD is ordered. The DVD features a simple menu with no menu for chapters or scenes. Manufacture-On-Demand (Mod) DVDs are made to play in DVD playback units only and may not play in DVD recorders or PC drives. This DVD did not play in our laptop DVD drive but did play in our Toshiba DVD recorder.

DVD Specs

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 enhanced for widescreen TVs

Running Time: 88 minutes

Rating: PG

Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0

Subtitles: None  

Special Features: Trailer

The Set-up

Count Dracula (David Niven) goes to London after a blood transfusion turns his wife Vampira into a swinging black woman. Seriously.

Screenplay by: Jeremy Lloyd...

She's uniquely posh and 'as vain as a cat', but Joanna Lumley makes a formidable crusader, finds Simon Hattenstone

Joanna Lumley is angry. Make no mistake, she's spitting fury. Last year's golden girl has been hammered by politicians and the press over the past month, and now she has had enough.

It all started when reports emerged that veteran Gurkhas, who had moved to Britain after the actor helped them secure new settlement rights, were struggling in their new country. In the hatchet job from hell, the Daily Mail suggested that Lumley had misled the Gurkhas into leaving Nepal, promising them a life of riches. She didn't respond. Even worse, her critics alleged, she had directed them to a law firm for advice that should have been freely available. The implication was that Lumley, recently named Briton of the Year and Oldie of the Year, was somehow on the make.

Tributes have continued to pour in for actress Wendy Richard, who died from cancer this morning. Mollie Sugden, who starred alongside the 65-year-old in Are You Being Served?, said that Richard would "live on in the hearts of so many people". "How can I express my grief on hearing of the loss of Wendy? She has been part of my life for so long, almost like one of the family. Many happy memories," Sugden said. "She was the daughter I never had and I shall never stop missing her. She lives on in the hearts of so many people who were entertained by her talent and warmed by her charm. It is a sad day and may God bless her." Scriptwriter Jeremy Lloyd added: "Wendy was not only a great friend but brought her extraordinary personality to Are You Being Served?, making her a star member of the cast. I shall miss her very much.