You Must Be Joking!

The film begins with the superb opening credits by Bob Godfrey, and a Mona Lisa start which is not unlike (and predates) Terry Gilliam, and sets one up for a light hearted typical British affair. It frequently uses the streets of London as a backdrop and is filled with some marvellous cameo roles by numerous character actors. They seem to be all here.

There are quite a few memorable roles but accolades go to Terry Thomas, Lionel Jeffries (that's a first for me), and Denholm Elliot glides through his performance with aplomb. Of course the plot is ridiculous, and the film is not a gem, but I was delighted to catch this film. I even laughed during the film. There's a little bit of 60's saucyness, pop references (The Cavemen), sending up of the upper classes, the obligatory (largely unknown) Amercan actor and cuts that are pure 1960's.

It's not a Carry On film, it's much better, and if you like black & white British 1960's movies and the (now lost) actors from then, you will not be disappointed.

Smashingly funny and character driven film with a scavenger hunt leading to the stealing of the Lord's of London bell. Shown primarily as a second biller in the 60s, at least in the US, and hasn't been seen much since. An all-around-good flick (Laurie "Avengers" Johnson did the music) with a bit of Richard Lester vibe.

This really is an unsung little gem that is well worthy of general release. From start to finish, it is a fast paced film with some excellent scenes involving a superb cast. A feast of British comic actors with American star, Michael Callan, thrown in for good measure. Everyone performs well, and they look like they had a whale of a time making this movie. Special mention must go to the one and only Terry-Thomas as the army phsycologist, who even manages to reprise his famous "hard cheese" retort! Lionel Jeffries is outstanding too, and there's great support from Bernard Cribbins, Denholm Elliott and Wilfred Hyde-White. To anyone who enjoys fun-filled, brisk, British comedies, this is not to be missed.

Something of a precursor of the swinging sixties "comedy." It still has the makings of the 1940s 1959s British comedies, but some of the silliness of the later 1960s comedy films is starting to creep in.

The performance of the film is probably Lionel Jeffries as the caricature of a Scotsman. (Perhaps even more interesting is not so much his performance as the reactions of the other scavengers to his character. In one scene he asked someone on the set to give him something Gaelic to say. Someone duly did. Lionel Jeffries was not to know that it meant: "Kiss my ass." But it went unnoticed...until the film was shown in Ireland! All in all, it's great fun.

One should not take it too seriously.

It's somewhat strange how this cheery and pleasing film has been almost totally forgotten today - perhaps in part despite its 'Swinging London' ethos that it was filmed in black & white?

Michael Winner's 1960s films were noted for their vivid and lively style, and it's a pity that when he moved to Hollywood in the early 1970s he seemed to lose that style and his films became defined by being dour, downbeat and often quite nasty.

Back to YMBJ, acting standouts include Lionel Jeffries who steals the film with his funny performance just as he did a few years previously with 'The Wrong Arm of the Law' and Terry-Thomas in a small but typically very amusing performance.

The film's finale is a bit messy and incoherent, but otherwise the film is full of good fun and laughs.