To See Such Fun (1977) User Reviews

That's Bleedin' Entertainment

[mundsen · 10/10 · 31 August 2007]

Rather than a documentary, this is a sort of free-association of British film comedy right back to the beginning of the sound era.

For anyone interested in showbiz history, this is a simply invaluable compilation - like a Brit version of "That's Entertainment". All star cast? Lumme! People like Jack Train and Old Mother Reilly and Will Hay and George Formby... much of it culled from newsreels and what the Brits used to call 'quota quickies'. It gives a wonderful sense of the "tatty" world of film-making in Britain: tiny sets, stolid camera-work etc.

The graphic in the credits at the front (an animation of a huge fat woman from a typical British 'saucy postcard') captures the tone perfectly.

Frank Muir provides just enough commentary: mainly, the acts are given the space to do their thing. (God, this is a funny movie.) I confess, I saw this only once, quite by accident, on afternoon TV. If I recall correctly, this is where I saw George Formby singing "Imagine me sitting on the Maginot Line"... one of those things which, once seen, is never forgotten...

Oh, and "Wilson Keppel and Betty's" 'Egyptian Dance': picture two scrawny British bank-clerks in fezzes doing a totally glum-faced sand-dance... one of the greatest eccentric dance numbers ever filmed...

Very Interesting... but FUNNY!

[okarma · 27 April 2004]

What a mad, mad, mad, mad film this was! I enjoyed seeing all the masters, like Eric Idle, Peter Sellers, Benny Hill (I think he is seen very briefly in the film), Marty Feldman, Margaret Rutherford, Tony Hancock, and many, many other great clown princes of comedy. It mainly focuses on comics not well known in the US and Canada, such as Sid Field and Jerry Desmonde, George Formby, Leslie Fuller, Jimmy Edwards, Robb Wilton, Jack Train (doing a shocking Jimmy Durante impression), Albert Whelan, and others. I mean you'd have to be an 85-year-old Brit to know these guys. In addition, the categories that are included are neat, like "Catchphrase Corner", which has many scenes with George Formby, an impressions section, where the incomparable Max Wall does a nifty Edward Everett Horton impersonation (Eddie himself appears in a scene after this bit), a drag-dressing section, and other stuff like that. For me, I found this movie fun because I noticed that the bits with obscure comics were like those done by comedians anyone would know, like Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, the Marx Brothers, and the Three Stooges. There are also many Groucho Marxian one-liners. I simply enjoyed this film and found it interesting.

Disappointing

[jack-260 · 5/10 · 1 December 2002]

There were some funny bits included herewith, but as there was no narration and no other identification of the snippets, I find myself with no way to further research the snippet sources so I might find and view the whole feature. A 6.

Turned out nice again

[malcolmgsw · 5/10 · 16 January 2017]

A compendium of British comedy films from the 1930s to the 1970s compiled by Herbert Wilcox and Michael Grade.Contrary to the comments of an American reviewer I not only remember all the artistes but actually saw some of them live and I am nowhere near eighty.There was no narration on the copy that I watched,there are a few introductory cards for certain sections.The problem with this film is that too many sequences are too short to get into,with the except in the case of Sid Field.This is unfortunate because I am not keen on Field.A fair number of the films featured were in colour but the film is totally black and white.