EPISODE · Nov 9, 2022 · 1H 22M
The Great McGonagall (1974)
from Goon Pod · host Goon Pod
Phil Cannon from the Who's He? podcast joins Tyler this week to discuss a film unfairly overlooked by the Academy - Spike Milligan's The Great McGonagall from 1974. Written by Spike and Joe McGrath (Casino Royale, Digby the Biggest Dog in the World, Not Only But Also) and starring Milligan as the titular poet & tragedian, the film also featured Peter Sellers as Queen Victoria (kneeling on a skateboard), John Bluthal, Victor Spinetti and Julia Foster. Considered by many to be the worst poet who ever drew breath, William Topaz McGonagall had long been a favourite of Sellers and Milligan and indeed had been woven into the fabric of The Goon Show, turning up as a character in occasional episodes (notably The Tay Bridge in 1959). This film takes constant liberties with the truth and is about as far away from being a faithful account of the poet's life as any biopic could credibly claim to be. That said, several of his poems were used and a handful of scenes were at least partly based on actual events. The film was shot over three weeks entirely at Wilton's Music Hall and was not a success, receiving only limited release. It did garner a few fairly favourable notices (Richard Eder, writing in the New York Times, described it as a "radiant failure") but most reviewers were chilly towards it. Time Out thundered: "The humour is forced and the social/political comment embarrassingly exposed... it looks like some tiresome theatrical junket brought out in the wake of the departing Lord Chamberlain, crammed full of previously vetoed references to the Royal Family!" Calm down Time Out, it's a low-budget British comedy, it's not trying to be Pather Panchali. Despite this (or perhaps because of it!) Tyler and Phil had an enjoyable time chatting about it and would welcome listeners to check out the film if they haven't already seen it: available for a few quid on DVD and for free on YouTube (as of time of writing). Who's He?: http://www.whos-he-podcast.co.uk/
What this episode covers
Phil Cannon from the Who's He? podcast joins Tyler this week to discuss a film unfairly overlooked by the Academy - Spike Milligan's The Great McGonagall from 1974. Written by Spike and Joe McGrath (Casino Royale, Digby the Biggest Dog in the World, Not Only But Also) and starring Milligan as the titular poet & tragedian, the film also featured Peter Sellers as Queen Victoria (kneeling on a skateboard), John Bluthal, Victor Spinetti and Julia Foster. Considered by many to be the worst poet who ever drew breath, William Topaz McGonagall had long been a favourite of Sellers and Milligan and indeed had been woven into the fabric of The Goon Show, turning up as a character in occasional episodes (notably The Tay Bridge in 1959). This film takes constant liberties with the truth and is about as far away from being a faithful account of the poet's life as any biopic could credibly claim to be. That said, several of his poems were used and a handful of scenes were at least partly based on actual events. The film was shot over three weeks entirely at Wilton's Music Hall and was not a success, receiving only limited release. It did garner a few fairly favourable notices (Richard Eder, writing in the New York Times, described it as a "radiant failure") but most reviewers were chilly towards it. Time Out thundered: "The humour is forced and the social/political comment embarrassingly exposed... it looks like some tiresome theatrical junket brought out in the wake of the departing Lord Chamberlain, crammed full of previously vetoed references to the Royal Family!" Calm down Time Out, it's a low-budget British comedy, it's not trying to be Pather Panchali. Despite this (or perhaps because of it!) Tyler and Phil had an enjoyable time chatting about it and would welcome listeners to check out the film if they haven't already seen it: available for a few quid on DVD and for free on YouTube (as of time of writing). Who's He?: http://www.whos-he-podcast.co.uk/
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The Great McGonagall (1974)
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