I Only Arsked!

This is a spin off from The Army Game one of the first comedy successes of ITV,not BBC as per the lines notes.It stars the TV cast with one exception.On TV William Hartnell played Sergeant Major Bullymore.Here his part is played by David Lodge.When the film was made young men were still having to do national service in the army.Maybe this accounts for its success on TV and of course the notable success of Carry On Sergeant,which co starred William Hartnell.Whereas the Carry On went for observed humour and physical comedy this just goes for physical comedy.It laughs at rather than with Bernard Bresslaw's character.It was his character and that of Alfie Bass which were the real stars of the show.However unlike the Carry On this feels very dated.The laughs are laboured and hard to come by.Little wonder that the carry on is still shown on TV whilst this is long forgotten.

Hammer's I ONLY ARSKED! is a spin-off from the popular TV series THE ARMY GAME, and it brings across stars Alfie Bass and Bernard Bresslaw to boot. Unfortunately this is a comedy saddled with an extremely weak script that goes for dumb humour and silly laughs throughout. It's a far cry from CARRY ON SERGEANT, made at around the same time and which spoofed the army situation in a much funnier way. I normally like Bresslaw but he's a weak-minded idiot here, playing the comedy right down, and the way in which endless supporting talent is wasted is a real pity. The story has Bresslaw and his goonish buddies heading off to a made-up Middle Eastern country, where all they do is try to get into a harem to romance some pretty girls. Even lovers of British comedy cinema of the 1950s will be hard pressed to enjoy this one.