Dentist on the Job

This is a sequel to DENTIST IN THE CHAIR (1960), which I haven't watched; excerpts from the opening sequence were memorably featured as a gag at the start of the "Special Edition" DVD of MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (1975)!

The film is no classic, but harmless and certainly palatable for what it is – dealing with the invention and promotion of a new brand of toothpaste and going from a college to a factory, a TV studio and ending with a commercial being broadcast from space! It was possibly inspired by the popular "Doctor" series – of which I've yet to catch any entry – though in style it may actually be closer to the "Carry Ons", with a number of mild double entendres and two stalwart members from that series in the cast i.e. Kenneth Connor and guest star Charles Hawtrey.

Nominal star Bob Monkhouse is okay, but his repertory doesn't seem to be particularly distinctive; in fact, it's Connor who steals the show as an ex-con who's made to act as a door-to-door salesman for the new product (and faring disastrously at the task) and even impersonates an American senator at the climax! Future Bond girl Shirley Eaton provides the eye-candy as the actress promoting the old toothpaste and who joins Monkhouse & Co. in their scheme to make their own superior brand. The supporting cast includes such familiar faces as Richard Wattis and Reginald Beckwith.

Intermitently funny, but made in 1961, with an eye for inclusion in the then unformed, and as then, unreleased, as yet, uninvented, DVD of the future film MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL in the year of our Lord, 2001 AD. I'd say the wait was worth it...

I mean, in its entirety? I don't think it's fair to rate it if you've only seen the credits and first 49 seconds included in Holy Grail.

So c'mon, you 13 who have rated it -- let's see a proper review! And how about a plot outline? Is it available on DVD yet? Why not?

There were two styles of British comedy in the 50's/60's, the wonderful Ealing comedies and the pretty awful, but watchable Carry on Films. This is more reminiscent of a Carry on, indeed the music score is almost identical, though the comedy is better. Bob Monkhouse also starred in the very first Carry on movie, Carry on Sergeant; and Shirley Eaton was literally the Golden Girl in James Bond's Goldfinger.

Is one of the more memorable throw-away lines in this follow-up to DENTIST IN THE CHAIR. Squeezing some fun out of toothpaste sums up both plot and the general level of humour. Has a more professional look than its predecessor and Bob Monkhouse seems more at home, but the set-pieces such as the disastrous attempt to make a commercial go for nothing. With the always reliable Eric Barker in a dual role, Kenneth Connor with his impersonations and funny voices and Shirley Eaton providing the glamour it's less painful than it might have been. Includes a glimpse at the then popular quiz show Take Your Pick with Michael Miles, which I find infinitely funnier than many comedies of the day.