Comments (0)
A new Dad’s Army film is expected to draw huge cinema audiences when it is released in 2016. Simon Parker considers the possible pitfalls of trying to recreate a British institution
Who do you think you are kidding, Mr Parker...?
Toby Jones as Captain Mainwaring? Bill Nighy as Sergeant Wilson? Tom Courtenay as Corporal Jones? Don’t panic!
It was announced this week that director Oliver Parker had begun filming a big screen version of Dad’s Army, with a stellar cast that includes Michael Gambon, Bill Paterson, Blake Harrison, Danny Mays, Mark Gatiss, Catherine Zeta Jones and even Alison Steadman. Shooting will mostly take place in Yorkshire, with an initial release date of early 2016.
Possibly the most popular TV sitcom of all time, the story of a hapless bunch of Home Guard recruits who meet in a Walmington-on-Sea church hall in order to defend Britain against an imminent Nazi invasion, is rare among period comedies in that... it’s still funny.
An enduring staple of current daytime TV schedules, via channels like Dave and UK Gold, its appeal for today’s retired generation is twofold – the older ones can remember the war, while the younger ones grew up laughing along with the likes of Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier, Clive Dunn, Ian Lavender, Arnold Ridley, John Laurie, James Beck and Bill Pertwee.
I know it may seem like only yesterday – possibly because Dad’s Army is repeated as often as Only Fools And Horses and Gavin And Stacey – but the last time the BBC screened a new episode was way back in 1977. Think Jim Callaghan, Kenny Dalglish, British Leyland strikes, 16 per cent inflation, the Queen’s Silver Jubilee and The Sex Pistols.
The 1940s-based 30-minute show, which ran for nine series and a massive 80 episodes from 1968 to 1977, is still fondly regarded as one of Britain’s greatest TV comedies. In 2004 it came fourth in a BBC vote to find Britain’s best sitcom of all time – beaten only by Only Fools And Horses, Blackadder and The Vicar of Dibley.
For that reason, tampering with something as popular and deeply embedded in the collective psyche as Mainwaring & Co is always going to be a risk. So why do it? Presumably its makers believe it is precisely because of the show’s enduring charm that it is likely to be a guaranteed box office hit. Mmm... just like the film version of Steptoe And Son? Or Bilko? Or Till Death Us Do Part? Or The Likely Lads? Even Eric and Ernie couldn’t make people laugh in The Intelligence Men. Then there was On The Buses. Oops, my mistake, On The Buses was rubbish on the telly, too.
And let’s not forget there is a precedent to the latest project. The first Dad’s Army feature film was shot at Shepperton Studios and premiered in 1971. Even then, with the television show consistently topping viewing figures, the big screen version received a mixed reception.
Perhaps the key to the success, or otherwise, of the forthcoming Dad’s Army film will be its ability to appeal to a new generation of cinema-goers with no knowledge of the Croft-Perry original.
Oliver Parker’s big screen remake will feature the writing talents of Hamish McColl, whose previous credits include Johnny English Reborn and Mr Bean’s Holiday. It remains to be seen, however, if McColl’s comic couplets can compare to those immortalised by Jimmy Perry and David Croft any more than Tom Courtenay can fill the shoes of Clive Dunn.
Let’s face it, Dad’s Army wouldn’t be Dad’s Army without all the character catch-phrases and one-liners. Will McColl be at liberty to use them?
Cinema audiences will inevitably be waiting to hear them all. Oh, come on readers, let’s indulge ourselves: “Don’t panic, Captain Mainwaring... my sister Dolly’s upside down cake... stupid boy... put that light out... the vicar’s not going to like this... would you mind awfully just falling in, in your own time...”
All of which begs the question as to what – assuming he’s allowed to plunder that little lot and more – there is left for Mr McColl to do with his pencil, other than whip up a handful of new and improbable scenarios. Insiders have hinted that the new story line will involve Catherine Zeta Jones playing a glamorous journalist sent to report on Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard before MI5 discovers a German spy in the town.
What do you think of that? Don’t tell him, Pike!
Diehard fans have already – somewhat inevitably – voiced their doubts, with Twitter and Facebook awash with comments like “please don’t ruin the greatest sitcom ever” and “very dubious about this remake”.
However, producer Damian Jones is making lots of reassuring noises, stating that the film will “remain faithful to the spirit of the original show”.
Let’s hope he and Oliver Parker are true to their word. Otherwise, like fuzzy-wuzzies, I’m pretty sure they won’t like it up ’em!
