1980 Directed by Joseph McGrath
Stingy landlord Rigsby manages to scam his lodgers John, an art student, and Philip, an African medical student, making both pay for a room they must share. However Rigsby's favorite lodger, Miss Jones, flirts with Philip rather than him, despite his pitiful attempts at seduction.
The Rising Damp Movie, Rising Damp: The Movie
UKPG
UK
1980 In Review - November
A bigoted landlord (Leonard Rossiter) tries to woo a spinster (Frances de la Tour) even though she fancies another man.
Another one of the British sitcoms adapted to a movie, only this time it’s ITV’s greatest ever sitcom starring the brilliant Leonard Rossiter. Usually with these kind of things you get a bigger budget and they end up writing a story that has little to do with the TV show. Luckily this one is more of a greatest hits of the TV show,
I can’t think of a worse TV show to adapt into a movie than Rising Damp. A sublime series that worked because of its scripts and its great actors, and also it’s…
A spin-off movie from the excellent ITV sitcom with the wonderful Leonard Rossiter reprising his role as Rigsby, the seedy, ignorant, quite sad but strangely lovable landlord of a decrepit Victorian house.
Rather than write a new story the film uses stories and scenes from the series (including most of the first two episodes of series 1). But for me the absence of a live audience (and their laughter) and the inclusion of scenes shot on location detracts from the quality of the comedy. It's still funny, especially Rossiter's interactions with the other actors, particularly Frances de la Tour as Miss Jones.
Part of the plot revolves around one of the tenants (Phillip played by Don Warrington) being a black…
I adore this. A rare example of a movie-based-on-a-show that actually enhances the original material. The absence of Richard Beckinsdale is barely felt as Warrington, De La Tour and Rossiter are a well-oiled farce machine, effortlessly bickering, cajoling, debating and lying.
Leonard Rossiter was one of the funniest performers Britain ever produced. His talent eclipses that of the usual suspects in this conversation. As Rigsby he is greater than George Cole, David Jason, The Pythons and Tony Hancock.
A joy.
A horribly lifeless expansion (no contradiction there) of probably ITV’s best sitcom but by tragically loosing Richard Beckinsale before starting, ditching the studio audience and filming on location (wholly inappropriately in London), the tight slightly fantastical air of the original is obliterated.
There was always a pressure cooker feel to the series with the grotty claustrophobia creating a heightened sense of mounting farce which seemed to bounce off the set walls. Here, out in the open, it’s just drab line-reading with the wit that enlivened the series evaporated.
This probably vies with the film of George & Mildred for the flattest sitcom spinoff: both were saddled with sad offscreen deaths and both came at the very end of the adaptation vogue…
The original series from which this film was spun off is one of the UK comedy classics from the 1970s, but here the story of Rigsby and his lodgers suffers from the problem of how to re-write the character dynamics following the death of Richard Beckinsale.
Christopher Strauli's John is no substitute and sadly the memory of the original quartet stops this film in its tracks. It does its best to be funny, and Denholm Elliott has some nice scenes as the louche Seymour, but it just isn't enough.
Its a long story to why I love this movie so much, such a long story that it will have to wait for another time.
I tried to watch it once, but the Richard Beckinsale-shaped hole at the centre of it made it too depressing to finish.
Witless sitcom adaptation. The format doesn't fit the length and while Rossiter, Warrington and de la Tour are all present and on fine form the script is flaccid, Stauli is a feckless replacement for the late Richard Beckinsale and Denholm Elliot's fine character turn feels like a completely bad fit for the film.
Hopeless landlord Leonard Rossiter pines after his tenant Frances de la Tour but smooth-talking con artist Denholm Elliott also has her in his sights. Despite the occasional flourish of Rossiter's comedic genius, this film version of the 1970s British sitcom has a cobbled together feel to it.
