In the early seventies, the British film industry was in the doldrums, with many of the major backers pulling out, studios closing down and directors being poached by Hollywood, and when you look at the typical domestic product of that time, it's not at all surprising. UP POMPEII suffers from the usual problems you encounter with television spin-offs, in that it's overstretched, under-plotted, insufferably padded with tedious sequences that lead nowhere, and is considerably coarser than the original series. Sally Douglas and Madeline Smith provide the eye candy, whilst the rest of the cast ham it up and look rather embarrassed. The production values never rise far above average, and the dreadful music-hall style opening song just demonstrates how backwards-looking the worst of British comedy was during a time of supposedly all-embracing upheaval and change. Incidentally, UP POMPEII was made the same year as A Clockwork Orange, Straw Dogs and The Devils.
Review of Up Pompeii
