Publisher: CinemaSerf August 3, 2025
I have seen this play on stage a few times and I must say that it really does work better there. On screen, even though that does allow for greater location flexibility, the story/farce is just a little too undercooked and slapstick here for my liking. It all centres around "Hal" (Roy Holder) and his pal "Dennis" (Hywel Bennett) who have managed to rob a bank. One works in a funeral parlour, so they hit on the idea of stashing their ill-gotten gains in an as yet unoccupied coffin and to lie low for a while. Hot on their trail is the razor-sharp, wandering-handed, "Insp. Truscott" (Richard Attenborough) and as their secret proves difficult to keep, they have to manage the venal expectations of nurse "Fay" (Lee Remick) too. Like so many of it's genre, the humour is very visual and unsophisticated. Again, on stage that exudes a certain adult pantomime feel to it. On screen, that misses much more often than it hits and the pair of them carrying around their cash in the altogether whilst delivering some rather crude, innuendo-ridden, dialogue smacked more of a "Carry On Coffin" type affair. The ending has a twist and that does raise a smile and Milo O'Shea injects a gentle mischief now and again, but that's not enough to carry the rest of this rather crass and mediocre comedy drama.