Oh my dear God. I've never seen it before. What a freaking treat. I'm speechless sort of. On a boring February night in the dead of winter a glimmer of hope
In some ways the anarchic 70's were peak freedom for the arts in the UK. There were no boundaries left untouched. Things have regressed somewhat since then due to commercial pressure and political correctness.
You would have forgiven Trevor Howard if he had given a "just doing it to pay the taxman, lovey" performance, but he nearly chews the paper off the walls: well done, sir!
I remember Trevor Howard did a TV drama about Jonathan Swift about the same time, and it was basically the same persona. QI has Swift as one of the famous historical figures who Never Laughed Once In Their Life
What's there to say about this surreal sepia-toned piece of English silliness. Weird? Yes, there's no denying it. Haphazard? You could say that. Unique? Most certainly. Extraordinary (extra-ordinary) is what it is. An eccentric satire, downright strange in parts - and funny, downright funny. In more ways than one.
I actually caught this at the cinema in the UK, a limited release, but it also had the delight of the oscar nominated classic short from Dick Lester, the Running Jumping Sanding Still film as support
Thank you so much! I've been wanting to see this film for years but I don't think it was ever shown in theaters or distributed as a video in the U.S. market. I even looked for it in video shops in the UK several times, but could not find it there either! Vivian Stanshall was a barking mad genius.
At last - the sepia-toned 'original', rather than the black and white version on my DVD copy. I remember reading that the producers had to resort to converting it to sepia after failing to achieve any kind of continuity with all the various mis-matched film stock they'd had to scrounge. I think this original version has only ever been shown once on television, which was during an election night, probably in 1987. The black and white version was shown when it was repeated a few years later but it has never been seen since. Perhaps it ought to show up on TalkingPictures TV.
thanks - I'm really looking forward to it. My recollection of it is the sound was sometimes very muddy. Like so many British lower budget films from that time, sound recording was what they skimped on. Great film tho
A work of absolute genius. I'm certain the work of Viv Stanshall would have been (and still is) a massive inspiration for the stunning work of my favourite MSM anarchist Chris Morris (and his fellow clan such as Armando Iannucci, Steve Coogan, Stewart Lee , Graham Linehan, Arthur Matthews , Julia Davis, Mark Heap, Kevin Eldon and so on) . This film is a masterpiece and as a Scotsman, it so perfectly shines a torch on the absolute absurdity and madness of the demented British Establishment and sick and twisted Imperialist , colonial mechanism that have kept it going for so long. This film still feels as fresh as a daisy as still we have Tories in government and the Eton education system that manages to turn normal children into monstrous , elitist adults with no empathy for anyone else. It indeed acts as a warning manual that complete radical change is required throughout the whole British Establishment (luckily for Scotland we can escape any of these people having any say in our affairs,via political independence very shorty, but after that England will be able to follow suit on a similar journey and have complete reform too and finally take a more wholesome road in this quickly changing world that is finally learning that indigenous cultures and peoples have the right path in life all along) It's such an important piece of work and is truly hilarious and filled with such excellent gems of one liners and innuendos and doesn't hold back. Thank you Viv for your amazing work.
You missed out one of the most well known of Vivian Stanshall’s self declared acolytes on your list… Steven Fry! If it hadn’t been for Fry I’d still be in the dark regarding one of Viv’s best double meanings…Old Scrotum, The Wrinkled Retainer! I bought the original Sir Henry At Rawlinson End album back in the 70’s, and knew it inside out, but that one had escaped me for over 40 years, thinking “retainer” was just what the landed gentry called their old servants, until an interview with Steven Fry discussing his love of Vivian and the Sir Henry saga, where he explains why it’s one of the greatest double entendres in the English language! And once it was pointed out, I couldn’t believe I’d missed it for all those years!
Bring me Calvin's mustards and vicious horseradish to pierce the tongue like Cardigan's lancers...try it out on a waiter next time you are asked 'if there is anything else I can you;?
@Atlantis Rising Trevor was a model actor during the days filming and did most scenes in one take. He did let his hair down after filming finished for the day in the Lytton Arms and went home from there at closing time but was back on set, on time, the following mornings.
Much as I hate arguments or any kind of unpleasantness, I have to point out that 'get a shufti on' is wrong. A 'shufti' in English slang meant 'a quick look'. Now outdated, it derived from Arabic 'Shuft' = 'look' and 'see' (they don't have a distinction). Most likely imported via British servicemen in the Middle East. Love this film to bits!
Here's a better picture of the pub apparently used as the Fool And Bladder, the Elephant and Castle at Wheathampstead. Thank you James Appleton for narrowing down the search: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/The_Elephant_and_Castle%2C_Amwell%2C_Wheathampstead.jpg
I have been watching JAMES JOYCE FILM "FINIGINS WAKE"which is strange. ONLY EVER HEARD RADIO VERSIONS OF RAWLINSONS END BUT THIS IS EVEN BETTER VISUALLY.This is uncanny reminds me of Samuel Becket wonder what Syd Barrot would of thought of this Recognise comedy actress Denise coffey what a show par excellence.
The movie does cut a lot of the original dialogue and narration that was on the album, which you have to check out. Can't help feeling, too, that shooting it in muddy sepia might not have been the wisest artistic decision. Nevertheless, it's way overdue for a remastered Blu-Ray release.
Thank you for downloading, I've been trying to get a copy to watch for 5+ yrs. couldn't find anywhere. Trevor Howard...what can you say? Was there a BBC version.
Masterpiece of eccentricity....Viv Stanshall...brilliant lunatic...as he once said, "well,strap me to a tree,and call me Brenda"😅😊..R.I.P...not if he's got anything to say about it😉
This is a druid, head fine and full of flame whilst the soul black and fit for the slippery drain he turns on the wind and perfectly balanced rises on a collum of air
Films often fail to do justice to the original. Despite Mr Howard, this is a good example. The invented character add nothing, whilst various original characters are missing - and missed.
"English as tuppence and changeless as canal water" Viv was the quintessential Englishman that encapsulated all that is British aristocracy, demented as it is.
I worked on the film in the prop department and " decorated " the pub with the Ivy outside and made the pub filthy on the inside, we filmed there for 2 days I believe. The pub was up the A1 near Welwyn I think, I'll try to remember which village it was in via google maps and let you know if I find it.... Most of Viv's appearances were at Knebworth House where the Dinner party and the prisoner of war camp was, and the exorcism ..
I don't want to sound ungrateful, but what happened to the scene where Viv says 'I've been a very naughty boy and I have to eat some worms'? (Or similar)
It's in the scene of the pre Blazing banquet Geof about 31 minutes into the film on here.... I dug up the worms for the scene, bottle of brandy on standby to get the taste of them from Viv's mouth after. Steve Roberts made Viv do about 5 takes before he was happy with it... such fun....
@@jamesappleton7390 Wow! I'm well-chuffed! Thanks for the detail, James. It must have been a wild and crazy time (like, working on an ordinary film isn't crazy enough!?)
@@kathowed It was a very low budget project and was filmed in just 6 weeks if I remember rightly. 2 weeks at Knebworth and the rest around Broadway in The Cotswolds. Trevor was supposed to stay in a hotel in Moreton in the Marsh with J.G. but decided to stay with a few of us in a lovely country house in Broad Camden.... Happy memories mostly!
@@jamesappleton7390 I was always amazed the film got made at all! It's so exquisitely bonkers and has absolutely no concern for trivialities like 'box office' or 'logic'. And equally amazed (and doubly impressed) that someone of TH's stature wasn't only on board, but attacked the role with such relish! You must be quite proud to have been part of it!
@@kathowed I did hear that Trevor had not read the script before and his management / agent had given him a brief outline of the story before he signed the contract. I did see him in the mornings a few times in the make up department going through his lines and daily schedule with Steve Roberts. It's strange really, I've done thousands of gigs in my job as a sound engineer, now retired, but working on the film was so unforgettable.
trevor howard is spot on in this film ,revealing his true identity ,,,,,,,,," lips like intertubes ' i fell out of me sofa laughting so hard at this mess
This has of course been "adapted", which usually means taking absolute liberties with the original. So I can't remember if the lyrical opening sequence owes its resemblance to Dylan Thomas to Viv Stanshall or to whoever worked on the adaptation. Whoever it was, there's more than a passing resemblance to the opening of Under Milk Wood. Which is something in its favour. Against, I don't think the references to 'jungle bunnies', and having Sir Henry in blackface, would get past the cultural-sensitivities censorship panel if this was made today. Better watch out for the PC brigade, they'll be demanding this be removed from RUclips.
I'm sorry my friend but you're wrong about the pub. I worked on the film and the pub we used was just off of the A1 and had no upstairs windows, just a loft window above the front door. It also had a village green scene outside. It's also 40 years almost since then and I'm trying to research it.
The pub seems to be the Elephant and Castle, at Wheathampstead, between Welwyn and St. Albans, if Streetview is to be believed. A pitched roof has apparently been added to the more recent toilet block since the film, but you can see the tops of the two square windows over the fencing screen in that. The large tree, which frames the opening shot to the right can also be seen, it appears. Architecturally most other features are the same. Thank you James, without your help we would have been stumped.
This film just warms my heart! Funny, surreal, subversive, anarchic and so very English! An absolute treasure.
Genius. Viv's mastery of the English language and the fading glory of the nobility is beyond compare.
"time for time to flask her dazzling dentures, they are all the way things are, cracks are showing"
Oh my dear God. I've never seen it before. What a freaking treat. I'm speechless sort of. On a boring February night in the dead of winter a glimmer of hope
Exactly why thoughts on first viewing. Really does bring me hope and happiness. Plus it's so fucking funny
The finest film ever made, pure genius.
How we miss Vic.
Downton Abbey on LSD. Absolute classic!
In some ways the anarchic 70's were peak freedom for the arts in the UK. There were no boundaries left untouched. Things have regressed somewhat since then due to commercial pressure and political correctness.
Brilliant comment , I'm still laughing .
I know we owe thanks to ALL the actors ...but surely a special thanks to Trevor Howard. I gather he took great delight in doing it. Thank you sir!
Vic the genius. I had a real bad quality dvd you’ve given me a large upgrade. Thank you.
I love this; the whimsical script, eccentric characters, and warm sepia toned/ graphic novel styled cinematography, are just incredible.👌🏼 ❤
My favourite film of all time, thanks for putting it up.
Man it's quickly becoming my favourite, you watch it twice and it's twice as funny and twice as weird. A proper hidden gem
You would have forgiven Trevor Howard if he had given a "just doing it to pay the taxman, lovey" performance, but he nearly chews the paper off the walls: well done, sir!
I remember Trevor Howard did a TV drama about Jonathan Swift about the same time, and it was basically the same persona. QI has Swift as one of the famous historical figures who Never Laughed Once In Their Life
Apparently he got on famously with Vivian, and called him a genius.
Very much the kind of role you just have to “go for it”
About time someone uploaded this classic.
Tarantino bought the rights, so we can be hopeful.
"Would anyone care for a macaroon?" is just the sort of upbeat question one appreciates amidst absolute chaos.
I've been a Bonzo fan since the '60s. Of this film I had no idea! Good show!
It was originally a story and recorded as an L.P.
Me neither.
Despite me listening avidly to Viv's sessions on JP show in the 70's.
Yep..
Its a real shot in the arm.
Cheers mate!
Vivian's lecture on the English class system is still sublime.
He only killed it off metaphorically, but it's a start.
Art at it`s best, we miss you Viv.
Brilliant! A great reminder of those late evenings listening to the John Peel show.
One of my favourite souvenirs is a copy of the companion book flamboyantly signed by Vivian Stanshall.
Brilliant! If ever a film needed subtitles, though.....
What's there to say about this surreal sepia-toned piece of English silliness. Weird? Yes, there's no denying it. Haphazard? You could say that. Unique? Most certainly. Extraordinary (extra-ordinary) is what it is. An eccentric satire, downright strange in parts - and funny, downright funny. In more ways than one.
"Stinkfoot" is on youtube too. Nice pre-Monty Python stuff.
I actually caught this at the cinema in the UK, a limited release, but it also had the delight of the oscar nominated classic short from Dick Lester, the Running Jumping Sanding Still film as support
Thank you so much! I've been wanting to see this film for years but I don't think it was ever shown in theaters or distributed as a video in the U.S. market. I even looked for it in video shops in the UK several times, but could not find it there either! Vivian Stanshall was a barking mad genius.
Even more difficult getting the soundtrack
Somewhere in the anywhen, James Joyce watches this on a continuous loop, utterly gobsmacked, in commodious recirculation.
He was the original swallower of towelling. Just wait.
With dylan thomas in the muddled middle of the slow black crow black unicycle bobbing sea
@@hexonatapeloop Cheers, Mate!
@@ericmalone3213 ruclips.net/video/uW0zmcWm-tg/видео.html
@@hexonatapeloop Not a lot of people know that Richard Burton hung out in Trenchtown when Liz Taylor was shopping for diamonds.
Thank you for uploading this piece of mad genius.
Have been kind of obsessed with this since hearing the audio decades ago.
Al,I've been wanting this movie for SO LONG! You have really,really made my Christmas! Thank you so much,Dean.
Well perhaps you could have, like me and many here, bought the DVD and contributed to the Stanshall estate, what?
Hear hear! 👏😐
@@morganfisherart I bought it but sometimes it's just easier to watch here....
@@TheMimifur Yes, it's nice to have both. Can't take a DVD on a plane! ;-)
@@morganfisherart Streeb Greebling, Sir Henry... all a blur...
Saw this at the Quad Cinema in the Village...practically alone. Like my own screening room. Love you Trev.
At last - the sepia-toned 'original', rather than the black and white version on my DVD copy. I remember reading that the producers had to resort to converting it to sepia after failing to achieve any kind of continuity with all the various mis-matched film stock they'd had to scrounge. I think this original version has only ever been shown once on television, which was during an election night, probably in 1987. The black and white version was shown when it was repeated a few years later but it has never been seen since. Perhaps it ought to show up on TalkingPictures TV.
Good heavens, I've been wanting to see this for years. Thanks for posting!
Brecht, Godot, Bergman, Joyce... they're all in there. Brilliant upload.
Dylan Thomas?
Not far off the eccentricities of British aristocracy. Brilliant.
Turned on to this from one video about the Gonzo Doo Dah Band. Several brilliant un recognized people involved. Thanks Al!
I’ve had the albums for over 40 years, but never knew this existed. Love the sepia.
Merry Christmas 😢
thank you for putting this up, I have it on VHS and it is worn out , one of my all time favourits
A very brilliant piece of art.
OUTSTANDING .
Absolute madness.
Love it.
Regard the earings !
Wonderful to see Vernon Dudley Bohay Nowell as one of the resting theatricals "Tidy and Nice"
This uttered bemused me upon first viewing at the age of 13, now precisely 40 years later a welcome return..
The two albums of the same - Rawlinson End and N'didi's Kraal - are eccentric awesomeness. This is the madness on film, love it.
The final album, just called Rawlinson's End, is now finally available, and ups the madness several notches.
50:05 Yes, that's Emperor Palpatine on the right in the glasses.
thanks - I'm really looking forward to it. My recollection of it is the sound was sometimes very muddy. Like so many British lower budget films from that time, sound recording was what they skimped on. Great film tho
Withnail…
RIP Vernon as well. Gods teeth! Another one gone.
Thank Clapton for Stanshall, Vic we miss you.
23:35 "How dare you belch in front of my wife?" "Sorry, old man - didn't know it was her turn."
The absolute genius of Viv and Trevor Howard was perfect as Sir Henry.
Nice to see my Dad's Cousin Harry Fowler having fun.
Fondly remembered as Flogger Hoskins. (When I was 9)
He worked with Kenny Lynch on the short-lived Get This. Featured the music of Jonathan Xavier Coudrille. I am available for quiz nights...
A work of absolute genius. I'm certain the work of Viv Stanshall would have been (and still is) a massive inspiration for the stunning work of my favourite MSM anarchist Chris Morris (and his fellow clan such as Armando Iannucci, Steve Coogan, Stewart Lee , Graham Linehan, Arthur Matthews , Julia Davis, Mark Heap, Kevin Eldon and so on) .
This film is a masterpiece and as a Scotsman, it so perfectly shines a torch on the absolute absurdity and madness of the demented British Establishment and sick and twisted Imperialist , colonial mechanism that have kept it going for so long.
This film still feels as fresh as a daisy as still we have Tories in government and the Eton education system that manages to turn normal children into monstrous , elitist adults with no empathy for anyone else.
It indeed acts as a warning manual that complete radical change is required throughout the whole British Establishment (luckily for Scotland we can escape any of these people having any say in our affairs,via political independence very shorty, but after that England will be able to follow suit on a similar journey and have complete reform too and finally take a more wholesome road in this quickly changing world that is finally learning that indigenous cultures and peoples have the right path in life all along)
It's such an important piece of work and is truly hilarious and filled with such excellent gems of one liners and innuendos and doesn't hold back.
Thank you Viv for your amazing work.
You missed out one of the most well known of Vivian Stanshall’s self declared acolytes on your list… Steven Fry! If it hadn’t been for Fry I’d still be in the dark regarding one of Viv’s best double meanings…Old Scrotum, The Wrinkled Retainer!
I bought the original Sir Henry At Rawlinson End album back in the 70’s, and knew it inside out, but that one had escaped me for over 40 years, thinking “retainer” was just what the landed gentry called their old servants, until an interview with Steven Fry discussing his love of Vivian and the Sir Henry saga, where he explains why it’s one of the greatest double entendres in the English language! And once it was pointed out, I couldn’t believe I’d missed it for all those years!
God bless you for posting tis beauty
"Oh Mrs E,until you learn to take your teeth out..............."The standout line for me but so many to choose.Thanks for reminding me of this.
Bring me Calvin's mustards and vicious horseradish to pierce the tongue like Cardigan's lancers...try it out on a waiter next time you are asked 'if there is anything else I can you;?
I used to think that the rest of that line went: 'you won't get a rise out of me.'
Mrs E!!! Love you forever, Denise Coffey, RIP, you are so extremely fine & funny in this role
I can’t even begin to imagine how much alcohol Trev and Viv got through making this masterpiece.
David Robinson trev had a bottle of whiskey sewn into his jacket with a tube - production assigned someone to try and keep him sober ...
@Atlantis Rising Trevor was a model actor during the days filming and did most scenes in one take. He did let his hair down after filming finished for the day in the Lytton Arms and went home from there at closing time but was back on set, on time, the following mornings.
@@jamesappleton7390 yes he wasn't that pissed! He loved his cricket did Trevor. He had it written into his contract, never miss a test match at Lords.
Like any reasonable person, I think Viv was in love with Under Milk Wood
THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can't wait to see the Taika Waititi version of this. It's after the new Thor, apparently.
He will sign his own death warrant, you might as well suggest Quentin Tarrantino.
Viv saw the world in a way us mere mortals could never fathom.
Much as I hate arguments or any kind of unpleasantness, I have to point out that 'get a shufti on' is wrong. A 'shufti' in English slang meant 'a quick look'. Now outdated, it derived from Arabic 'Shuft' = 'look' and 'see' (they don't have a distinction). Most likely imported via British servicemen in the Middle East. Love this film to bits!
Here's a better picture of the pub apparently used as the Fool And Bladder, the Elephant and Castle at Wheathampstead. Thank you James Appleton for narrowing down the search: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/The_Elephant_and_Castle%2C_Amwell%2C_Wheathampstead.jpg
Thanks Martin. We filmed there for 3 days I think but I had forgotten the location as we commuted daily from Hitchin to there and Knebworth...
Many thanks. Excellent
Brilliant Vivian Genius
Face jumping lad. Allways face jumping on all Squid's day. >>>> E's got no chance! Wearing spiked running shoes!!
I have been watching JAMES JOYCE FILM "FINIGINS WAKE"which is strange.
ONLY EVER HEARD RADIO VERSIONS OF RAWLINSONS END BUT THIS IS EVEN BETTER VISUALLY.This is uncanny reminds me of Samuel Becket wonder what Syd Barrot would of thought of this Recognise comedy actress Denise coffey what a show par excellence.
Ealing meets Lynch
The movie does cut a lot of the original dialogue and narration that was on the album, which you have to check out. Can't help feeling, too, that shooting it in muddy sepia might not have been the wisest artistic decision. Nevertheless, it's way overdue for a remastered Blu-Ray release.
Fabulous!
"Heavy petting?" "Rah-ther!"
Thank you for downloading, I've been trying to get a copy to watch for 5+ yrs. couldn't find anywhere. Trevor Howard...what can you say? Was there a BBC version.
Film dated 1980, so well after the Bonzo album.
Masterpiece of eccentricity....Viv Stanshall...brilliant lunatic...as he once said, "well,strap me to a tree,and call me Brenda"😅😊..R.I.P...not if he's got anything to say about it😉
.... now that is what I call character acting!
This is a druid, head fine and full of flame whilst the soul black and fit for the slippery drain he turns on the wind and perfectly balanced rises on a collum of air
Brilliant and Thanks :)
Jolly good fun!
Films often fail to do justice to the original.
Despite Mr Howard, this is a good example.
The invented character add nothing, whilst various original characters are missing - and missed.
I can see the similarities with the League of Gentlemen and Psychoville..excellent dark humour
I don't know what I want but I want it NOW!
“QUIET! If I want your opinion i’ll thrash it out of you!”
Fantastic
such as cheese dreams are made...
The Peel sessions were hilarious.
30:06 iconic scene
And I thought Trevor Howard was excellent in the Third Man…. He looks to have had some athletic legs @ 6:30 : ).
If I had all the money I’d spent on drink I’d spend it on drink!
Absolutely right.
Innes said this was written directed and starred 3 drunks!
I don't know what I want but I want it now.
super fun
"English as tuppence and changeless as canal water" Viv was the quintessential Englishman that encapsulated all that is British aristocracy, demented as it is.
Precisely! "So inbred even the family dog's got a clubfoot".
Downtown Abbey on drink🍸&🤪drugs....there's only one Viv.
Armoured and effette. What!
Thumb's Up! The most degenerately English thing I've ever seen short of mushy peas.
Does anyone know where I can find the complete, original audio version of this?
ruclips.net/p/OLAK5uy_mElvBOx2-6I9A9FwFH0-91XTC9fXwm6hU
Does anyone know where the pub is or if it was an actual pub? Thank you!
Somewhere in the region of Knebworth House, Herts. Accounts vary on which village it was shot at.
It maybe in Gloucester i understand they filmed there also.
The white swan
I worked on the film in the prop department and " decorated " the pub with the Ivy outside and made the pub filthy on the inside, we filmed there for 2 days I believe. The pub was up the A1 near Welwyn I think, I'll try to remember which village it was in via google maps and let you know if I find it.... Most of Viv's appearances were at Knebworth House where the Dinner party and the prisoner of war camp was, and the exorcism ..
where was the white swan please...
20 people shall learn that I am a bulldog and my bite is worse!
13:06 ...'Madge Harvey' Benidorm.
Wow, a beauty in her day!
What the hell did I just watch!!!
I don't want to sound ungrateful, but what happened to the scene where Viv says 'I've been a very naughty boy and I have to eat some worms'? (Or similar)
It's in the scene of the pre Blazing banquet Geof about 31 minutes into the film on here.... I dug up the worms for the scene, bottle of brandy on standby to get the taste of them from Viv's mouth after. Steve Roberts made Viv do about 5 takes before he was happy with it... such fun....
@@jamesappleton7390 Wow! I'm well-chuffed! Thanks for the detail, James. It must have been a wild and crazy time (like, working on an ordinary film isn't crazy enough!?)
@@kathowed It was a very low budget project and was filmed in just 6 weeks if I remember rightly. 2 weeks at Knebworth and the rest around Broadway in The Cotswolds. Trevor was supposed to stay in a hotel in Moreton in the Marsh with J.G. but decided to stay with a few of us in a lovely country house in Broad Camden.... Happy memories mostly!
@@jamesappleton7390 I was always amazed the film got made at all! It's so exquisitely bonkers and has absolutely no concern for trivialities like 'box office' or 'logic'. And equally amazed (and doubly impressed) that someone of TH's stature wasn't only on board, but attacked the role with such relish!
You must be quite proud to have been part of it!
@@kathowed I did hear that Trevor had not read the script before and his management / agent had given him a brief outline of the story before he signed the contract. I did see him in the mornings a few times in the make up department going through his lines and daily schedule with Steve Roberts. It's strange really, I've done thousands of gigs in my job as a sound engineer, now retired, but working on the film was so unforgettable.
Palpatine, the early years.
trevor howard is spot on in this film ,revealing his true identity ,,,,,,,,," lips like intertubes '
i fell out of me sofa laughting so hard at this mess
I think 'He told me. under torture naturally' caps it!
This has of course been "adapted", which usually means taking absolute liberties with the original. So I can't remember if the lyrical opening sequence owes its resemblance to Dylan Thomas to Viv Stanshall or to whoever worked on the adaptation. Whoever it was, there's more than a passing resemblance to the opening of Under Milk Wood. Which is something in its favour. Against, I don't think the references to 'jungle bunnies', and having Sir Henry in blackface, would get past the cultural-sensitivities censorship panel if this was made today. Better watch out for the PC brigade, they'll be demanding this be removed from RUclips.
I note that the film is mocking the people it displays. I don't see any need to get upset about the mocking of people who use racist language.
Shush
The pub is the White Swan in Hedgerley Bucks, near to Pinewood studios
I'm sorry my friend but you're wrong about the pub. I worked on the film and the pub we used was just off of the A1 and had no upstairs windows, just a loft window above the front door. It also had a village green scene outside. It's also 40 years almost since then and I'm trying to research it.
In fact the only pub in Hedgerley is The White Horse and not Swan ..
I can confirm that....hic
The pub seems to be the Elephant and Castle, at Wheathampstead, between Welwyn and St. Albans, if Streetview is to be believed. A pitched roof has apparently been added to the more recent toilet block since the film, but you can see the tops of the two square windows over the fencing screen in that. The large tree, which frames the opening shot to the right can also be seen, it appears. Architecturally most other features are the same. Thank you James, without your help we would have been stumped.
The Pub, used as the Fool And Bladder, is the Elephant and Castle at Wheathampstead. Thank you Martin P for identifying it for me..
Ah, The British Way of Life.
Not elephants trunk???? Where was I ??