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Carlton-Browne Of The F.O. [1959]
![Carlton-Browne Of The F.O. [1959]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510RXEFFFPL._SL160_.jpg)
There's a touch of Royal romance as the King gets together with a rival princess (the winning Luciana Paoluzzi), but it's mostly mild laughs at the expense of British ineptitude, with Thorley Walters as the dim army officer who sends his men to put down a rebellion with orders that lead them to turn in a circle and capture his own command post, Miles Malleson as the gouty consul who should have come home in 1916, and a snarling Raymond Huntley as the minister appalled that the new monarch of a British ally was a member of the Labour Party at Oxford. The film finds Sellers' non-specific foreign accent unusually upstaged, with Terry Thomas walking off with most of the comedy scenes, blithely inspecting a line of shabby crack troops who keep passing out at his feet. It fumbles a bit with obvious targets, especially in comparison with similar films like Passport to Pimlico and The Mouse That Roared, but you can't argue with a cast like this. Down in the ranks are: John Van Eyssen, Irene Handl, Nicholas Parsons, Kenneth Griffith, Sam Kydd and Kynaston Reeves. On the DVD: Carlton-Browne of the F.O. comes to disc in fullscreen, with a decent-ish quality print. The film is also available as part of the four-disc Peter Sellers Collection.--Kim Newman
RRP: £12.99
Our Price: £26.01 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
A perennial afternoon telly treat, Carlton-Browne of the F.O. is a little less tart and smart in its assault on British diplomacy than the earlier John and Roy Boulting satires. The much-loved Terry Thomas, is the idiot son of a great ambassador, given a sinecure in the Foreign Office that becomes a hot seat when crises rock the almost-forgotten former colony of Gaillardia. Clod-hopping "dance troupes" of every world power dig for cobalt, a line of partition is painted across the entire island, and the young King (Ian Bannen) is undermined by his wicked uncle (John le Mesurier) and unscrupulous Prime Minister Amphibulos (Peter Sellers).
Uneven but often hilarious.
Review date: 2007-03-10 Rating: 8 out of 10
Peter Sellers is just one member of a large ensemble of British comic talent assembled by the Boulting Brothers for this uneven but often hilarious 1959 satire on Britain's fading colonialism and the incompetence of its Foreign Office.
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Reviews
Super Sunday Afternoon Film!
Review date: 2006-12-15 Rating: 10 out of 10
I really like all of the films that Terry - Thomas made and Carlton-Browne Of The F.O is one of the best.
So sit back and relax - transport yourself back in time and enjoy a classic!
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Thorley Walters
Ian Bannen
Luciana Paluzzi
Raymond Huntley
Terry-Thomas
Creators:
Terry-Thomas (Primary Contributor)
Luciana Paluzzi (Primary Contributor)
Mutz Greenbaum (Cinematographer)
Jeffrey Dell (Writer)
Roy Boulting (Writer)
Anthony Harvey (Editor)
John Boulting (Producer)
Director(s):
Recording label: Momentum Pictures
Manufacturer: Momentum Pictures
EAN: 5060021175823
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Black & White, Full Screen, PAL,
Release date: 2002-07-08
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Audience rating: Universal, suitable for all
Region code: 2
Running time: 86 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1959
Language: English (Original Language)