Sir Henry at Rawlinson End *** (1980, Patrick Magee, Denise Coffey, Vivian Stanshall, J G Devlin, Harry Fowler, Sheila Reid, Jeremy Child, Liz Smith) – Classic Movie Review 12,057

Director Steve Roberts’s 1980 British cult comedy film Sir Henry at Rawlinson End is based on the character created by Vivian Stanshall of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, and stars Trevor Howard as Sir Henry and Stanshall himself as Henry’s brother Hubert. It also stars Denise Coffey, J G Devlin, Harry Fowler, Sheila Reid, Jeremy Child, and Liz Smith. It was released in sepia-toned monochrome.

Hooray for Henry, an impressive display of English eccentrics. Trevor Howard grabs a useful role as the highly individualistic drunken aristocrat Sir Henry, who tries to rid his English country home of his brother Humbert’s ghost, who will not rest till he gets replacement trousers. The curious film is entertaining, even if the potentially cosmic combination of off-the-wall comic talents is never quite fulfilled in professional eccentric Vivian Stanshall’s adaptation of his own cult story.

An odd collection of exceptional actors do their best with the unusual script, while director Roberts tries his best to film the unfilmable and succeeds in communicating the terribly English sense of the bizarre upon which the humour relies.

The frequent reappearance of Sir Henry on stage and radio (as a radio series for John Peel, as an audio recording, as a book, as well as the film) suggests that he is an acquired (and popular) taste.

It was released on DVD in 2006 with a commentary track with Steve Roberts, Sheila Reid (Aunt Florrie) and Jeremy Child (Peregrine Maynard), as well as a picture gallery, synopsis, the script of unfilmed scenes, and actor biographies.

Vivian Stanshall (21 March 1943 – 5 March 1995).

Stanshall was found dead on the morning of 6 March 1995, after an electrical fire had broken out as he slept in his top floor flat in Muswell Hill, North London. He was aged 51.

Denise Coffey (12 December 1936 – 24 March 2022). She died on 24 March 2022, at the age of 85.

The cast are Trevor Howard as Sir Henry Rawlinson, Patrick Magee as Slodden, Denise Coffey as Mrs E, Vivian Stanshall as Hubert Rawlinson, Sheila Reid as Florrie Rawlinson, Suzanne Danielle as Candice Rawlinson, J. G. Devlin as Old Scrotum, Gary Waldhorn as Max, Daniel Gerroll as Ralph Rawlinson, Ben Aris as Lord Tarquin of Staines, Liz Smith as Lady Philippa, Harry Fowler as Buller Bullethead, Michael Crane as Humbert Rawlinson, Simon Jones as Joachim, Jeremy Child as Peregrin Maynard, Talfryn Thomas as Teddy Tidy, and Ian McDiarmid as Reg Smeeton.

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 12,057

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com