Alf 'n' Family

I gave this a 6, cinemawise. For those of you who saw the series, it was a 3 or 4. I got 12 episodes of later years from Canada. The earlier years were a scream on the BBC, but then I was younger. This movie had little of its zip.

One-off movies based on TV sit-com series seldom work, which is probably the reason there aren't more of them. Generally they fall into the trap of expanding material that sits well in a half-hour slot but when stretched to feature length comes out as interminable even for the fans. "The Inbetweeners Movie" is a classic example of how not to do it. I must admit I approached the 1969 film of "Till Death do us Part" with some trepidation on this score only to finish up with more than a degree of pleasant surprise. Norman Cohen's Alf Garnett saga works well for the very reason it is just that - a saga spanning the second world war before hopping on twenty years. It crams in a tremendous amount, sometimes almost too much. A lengthy sequence in which Alf and his "Scouse git" son-in-law drunkenly attend Britain's World Cup victory seems just an excuse for including some archive newsreel footage. And then there are those monologues such as Alf's church prayer for salvation against being re-housed and his acceptance in a dream of an honour bestowed by "Her Gracious Majesty" that have a silliness bordering on the embarrassing. Not so two deliriously funny sequences, one where the old "moo" joins in a sing-song in a London underground shelter during the blitz, another a riotously drunken wedding celebration that has the energy one finds in the best of Fellini and Ford. Quite some achievement! But possibly the most memorable feature of "Till Death do us Part" is its re-creation of those dusty East End streets during the dark days of the war. In such scenes the film touches on the special.

I first saw this film, when it was originally released in 1969 at the ABC Edgware (now, a block of flats and a gym, very much in line with the film's partial theme of community break-up), but was somewhat disappointed because it didn't contain the original music nor - until three-quarters into the film, the original format - Alf, Else, their daughter Una Stubbs and Tony Booth as her husband the "scouse git". Now, 37 years on, I think differently. Although somewhat episodic, it beautifully captures a bygone era, with excellent footage of London during WW2, a good feel of the old East End, plus old-fashioned pub culture without the plastic fittings and lager and the traditional family all eating around the table. There is the quaint working class Tory ethos embodied by Alf, not quite, the not for the likes of us of The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist, rather the loyal, home-owning, small-minded bigotry of someone who perceives himself as a self-made man, who has not made quite as much as he thinks he deserves.

There are some lovely home-truths and vignettes within this setting: the £1,500 paid for the house (not a bad price in this day and age!), the mortgage from the Council and the scrimping and saving to pay it off. Dandy Nicholls as the "silly old moo" housewife ultimately wears the trousers and guides the household through. There is also pathos from Alf's 5 shilling contribution to the Church in the hope his two up, two down will not be demolished to make way for flats and ultimately bathos, as the family is forced to move to a high rise block in Essex, where community and the sense of community hardly exist.

No more, the chat with the neighbour while carrying out ablutions through the wall of the outside "bog", the sheets of newspaper, which, during the war-scenes, enabled Alf to wipe his posterior with Hitler's picture, long since gone. It is far closer to reality than the fluffy adverts with the dog and the loo-roll of the present day.

Hopefully, the old-fashioned racism depicted by Johnny Speight with his sharp ear for dialogue and knowledge of the area, dissipated throughout the '70's and '80's as even Alf-like characters got to admire national role models such as Trevor MacDonald and Lenny Henry.The World Cup footage, presumably from Goal, interspersed with Alf and son-in-law in the Wembley crowd, were more evocative than most of the four-yearly diatribes we get as the England team seek to emulate their predecessors, with higher expectations than the results could possibly justify.

It is very much Warren Mitchell's film, his performance stands in comparison with any of those in more critically acclaimed '60's films such as This Sporting Life or the Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. Norman Cohen, the director, deserves credit for this too.

All in all, a worthy and atmospheric social drama with, yes, a little comedy, which being what it is, contributes to a period piece, which has stood the test of time well.

The Seventies would see the boom of the sitcom spin off film a very mixed bag but for my generation the first examples of many series' we'd see.

Alf Garnett remains a classic TV character much misunderstood but you can find commentators who can write more eloquently then myself on that.

The film is an interesting mix of Alf in wartime and in the sixties (including the 1966 World cup final) - It's a well made lovingly shot film (the exact opposite of the 2nd film - the truly awful 'The Alf Garnett Saga).

Times have changed and thankfully so - The trailer for the film even uses the racist language Alf spewed - But this film gives an excellent view of the changing times in both eras.

Cast wise all of the main TV cast are here and are as good as ever - One problem for Alf is that Warren Mitchell was such a good actor and managed to make us like the old sod!

A time capsule and well worth seeking out (Network DVD have released the ultimate version).

In the 1960s and 1970s It was customary for British sitcoms to make the leap from the small screen to film and the Garnet family were one of BBC one's successful sitcoms so a film adaptation was inevitable.

Released in 1968 the film is about the early years of Alf and Elsie's marriage during the Blitz in world war two as well as the arrival of their first born child Rita played by Una Stubbs.

The film is pleasant and charming albeit less aggressive in it's interpretation of the politically motivated themes which were scattered throughout the series, the recreation of the period detail of Whopping in world war two is inspired.

The performances are very good Warren Mitchell as Alf slips back into the role he made famous in the British BBC one sitcom ( 1965- 1975) with ease. Dandy Nichols lights up the screen as his wife Elsie, whereas the burgeoning relationship between his daughter Rita once she grows up and her future husband Mike played by Anthony Booth is poignant and charming as can be.

Overall: A worthy big screen adaptation of the popular BBC One series, better than the awful and dreadful sequel which followed in 1972 that started two different actors playing the roles of Mike and Rita as Anthony Booth and Una Stubbs has other work commitments.