Father Dear Father ** (1973, Patrick Cargill, Jill Melford, Natasha Pyne, Ann Holloway, Noel Dyson, Joyce Carey, Ursula Howells) – Classic Movie Review 9840

Director William G Stewart’s 1973 British comedy Father Dear Father is a pleasant record – if a pointless expansion – of the popular, simple Seventies British TV comedy show into a feature-length format that unfortunately only stresses the failings of the original series by extending a slight story to 99 minutes of screen time.

Gifted farceur Patrick Cargill (1918–1996) is fine as he re-creates his role as Patrick Glover, the divorced writer set to marry his attractive literary agent (Jill Melford) and who has various problems with his two teenage daughters, Anna (Natasha Pyne) and Karen (Ann Holloway).

Among a strong Seventies Brit comedy cast, Noel Dyson (as nanny), Beryl Reid (as a ‘cleansing operative’), Donald Sinden (as the girls’ uncle), Joyce Carey (as Patrick’s Mother) and Richard O’Sullivan (as Karen’s boyfriend) add stalwart power to the mild, good-natured mirth in this moderate, amiably gentle spin-off movie version.

Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke base their screenplay on their TV comedy show.

Also in the cast are Ursula Howells as Barbara, Jack Watling, Joseph O’Conor (Vicar), Clifton Jones, Elizabeth Adare, James Appleby and John Gill.

Patrick Cargill, Natasha Pyne, Ann Holloway, Noel Dyson, Joyce Carey and Ursula Howells all re-create their roles from the 45-episode TV comedy show (1968–1973), and Sinden and O’Sullivan both also appeared in three episodes.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9840

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