Skywatch

You look at the cast and expect an out and out comedy. Instead what you get is a surprisingly well acted and poignant film that tells the story of a searchlight battery in world war two.

When I was 8 my mother took me to see this as Tommy Steele was a big star to us kids . Everyone was singing ' Little White Bull' . I remember I enjoyed it especially when the German bombers appear . Benny Hill is his usual self . Seeing it now brings back memories . It's still a pretty decent film

A unique film about a WWII searchlight battery. Great cast. Benny Hill is brilliant as a straight actor. I served in the last British Army Searchlight Squadron, 873 Movement Light Squadron. Royal Engineers. Technically the film is spot on and the special effects are good. I first saw this film when it first came out and have seen it several times since on TV. TV Choice give it one star. Shame on them. Ian

When this film was made war films were very popular at the box office.Privates On Parade was the first film to poke fun at the army followed by Carry On Sergeant,and contemporaneously with this film Very Important Person.This film betrays its stage origins by spending far too long in the confines of the squad hut.A good cast is really not given enough comedy situations to handle.the tragedy and drama don't mix well with the comedy.There is a rather artificial beginning and end which is most unsatisfactory.Ian Carmichaels character is strangely written and portrayed.he treats his men as errant children rather than men.It is little surprise that Lewis Gilbert does not mention this film in his autobiog.It is clearly a film that he would prefer to forget.

LIGHT UP THE SKY! is one of those British WW2 comedies that acted as precursors to DAD'S ARMY and at times the similarities between the two productions are remarkable. This film's plot sees a constantly exasperated Ian Carmichael in charge of a searchlight squad whose job is to literally light up the sky whenever an enemy plane approaches. It sounds like a relatively straightforward job but of course in a comedy like this almost everything goes wrong.

Given the limited nature of the men's mission, a lot of this film is padded out with endless comedy scenes and character work. Some characters are homesick, others are in love, and the arguments are endless. Sadly, this didn't make very satisfying viewing for me, even though the cast is exemplary, featuring a mix of straight and comic actors. Victor Maddern is the depressed corporal, Tommy Steele and Johnny Briggs the fresh recruits, and the reliable Sydney Tafler one of the men. Benny Hill stands out as a soldier with a stand-up routine. There are also cameos from Dick Emery, Sheila Hancock, and Cardew Robinson.

I found Carmichael a bit of a distraction in this film as it looks like he's wearing false eyebrows, although I could be wrong. The bookend scenes in which he breaks the fourth wall to address the viewer directly are fun. LIGHT UP THE SKY! is an odd mix of character drama and humour, and the tragic moments of the story sit uncomfortably with the belly laughs elsewhere. I've seen better British war comedies from the era, for example CARRY ON SERGEANT.