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here are as predictable as the jokes are laboured: Tory women all wear hats, army officers are comic buffoons, public opinion polls tell you what you want them to tell you. ... Significantly, the few moderately good jokes (John Cleese practising ballroom dancing during his tea-break, the sabotage of the religious opinion poll) are the incidental ones, the jokes not geared to the message. The rest is an unhappy mess, sloppily scripted and – for a director whose television documentaries were so finely tuned – surprisingly sloppily assembled. Peter Cook's performance as Rimmer is as bland and plastic as the character, and most of the other familiar faces (Denholm
Elliott in particular) are left uncomfortably stranded in the debris of misfiring jokes. As for what seems to be the message – politicians as unscrupulous manipulators of a gullible electorate – it's long since ceased to be a joke.
295:). Rimmer introduces direct democracy by holding endless referendums on trivial or complex matters via postal voting and televoting, which generates so much voter apathy that the populace actively protests against the reform. Having introduced direct democracy in a bid to gain ultimate power, Rimmer holds one final vote to 'streamline government', which would effectively give him dictatorial powers; with the populace exhausted, the proposal passes. Ferret attempts to assassinate Rimmer as he and his wife ride through the capital in an open-topped convertible, but fails and falls to his death.
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598:. A fault lies in the fact that quick-fire sketches do not easily adapt to a full length story. Some ! of the earlier absurdities are very amusing particularly in the case of Arthur Lowe, as Ferret, but the story becomes progressively less funny and inventive when it enters politics ...Peter Cook plays the part of Rimmer with a bright eye, an enigmatic smile and little else."
529:. In Harold Pinter's cameo appearance as fictional TV host Steven Hench, the initials of his show's title, "Steven Hench is Talking To You" spell S-H-I-T-T-Y. Most obvious is that of the surname, Rimmer, which is a slang term for someone who engages in oral intercourse with the anus, i.e., an arselicker.
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is a very damp squib after the fireworks of all that mid-Sixties television knocking of public images. Television is still the influence, though, since the film is no more than the sum of a series of disjointed television-style sketches, most of which would have been better left on paper. The targets
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study. However, he quickly begins to assert a de facto authority over the firm's mostly ineffectual staff and soon acquires control of the business from the incompetent boss Ferret. Rimmer then succeeds in establishing the newly invigorated firm as the country's leading polling agency, and begins to
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wrote: "Though Cook plays it gently, he is most effective. ... It's a pity that Frost's first effort did not get away rather more from the expected image, but it's still a bright entertainment. Kevin
Billington's direction is sometimes not acid enough for the situations but he, with Cook, John
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is a perfect example of this genre. Like all prize turkeys, it had all the ingredients of a great movie, including the participation of one of
Britain's greatest comedians, Peter Cook. ... With appearances by bright young things like Cleese and Chapman, plus old troopers like Arthur Lowe and
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Cook, Cleese, Chapman and director Kevin
Billington jointly reworked the script prior to filming, and Cook reportedly made a strong contribution to the final script. It was produced during 1969, and the team hoped it would maximise its topicality with a release prior to the forthcoming UK general
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Alongside the more overt satire and parodies of prominent public figures, the movie also includes numerous hidden jokes and visual gags. For example, in the scene in which Arthur Lowe gropes his secretary's legs as she stands in front of a shelf, the spine of one of the folders on the shelf is
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to describe Frost's ascent to prominence) and becomes one of the most influential people in the country. The imitation even extended to Cook copying Frost's standard greeting of the time, "Super to see you", and the coincidental fact that the set of Rimmer's living room was almost identical to
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could hardly have had a better pedigree. It even boasted a cameo by Harold Pinter. So where did it all go wrong? Well, delaying its release until after the general election hardly helped. ... Cook's acting was as wooden as a flat-pack wardrobe, as he subsequently admitted in a typically
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The commercial and critical failure of the movie, which did not receive an
American release, effectively dashed Cook's hopes of establishing himself as a solo screen star; although he appeared in many more film and TV projects, he only co-starred (with Dudley Moore) in one other film, and
516:, and although the resemblances were played down at the time of the film's release, Cook later admitted that the title character of Rimmer was heavily based on David Frost himself. Like Frost, Rimmer effectively appears from nowhere, "rises without trace" (the famous phrase coined by
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elections (the result of which it in fact predicted). However, the studio feared that it might become a source of controversy, so the film was held back until
November 1970, almost a year after the election, thus losing most of its topical 'punch'.
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Sir Eric
Bentley to give an inflammatory anti-immigration speech to give Hutchinson a pretext for firing him and to demonstrate the Conservatives' opposition to immigration without outlining specific policies, Rimmer becomes the
434:. Cook was lined up to star, but it took another two years before funding could be secured. It was the third of three films Cook was contracted to make for Columbia, the previous two being
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make regular TV appearances as a polling expert. He subsequently moves into politics, acting as an adviser to the leader of the Tory opposition, Tom
Hutchinson. After arranging for the
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The film is also notable for its distinguished cast of well-known
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subtitle set (for use with the commercially released, but unsubtitled, DVD)
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A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman
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The story satirises many well-known British political figures including
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Frost's real living room, even though the designer had never seen it.
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One Leg Too Few: The Adventures of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore
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822:(3292): 10. 14 November 1970 – via ProQuest.
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798:(444): 12. 1 January 1971 – via ProQuest.
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834:"The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer"
810:"The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer"
786:"The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer"
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227:. It was co-written by Cook, Cleese,
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485:and renowned stage and screenwriter
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280:). Along the way, he acquires a
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857:Cook, William (30 June 2007).
774:. 23 October 1970. p. 12.
671:Cook, William (30 June 2007).
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1351:The Hound of the Baskervilles
1482:1970s political comedy films
1472:1970s political satire films
1462:1970s English-language films
1358:Derek and Clive Get the Horn
1155:Monty Python's Flying Circus
1088:Monty Python's Life of Brian
610:Revisiting the film in 2007
596:Monty Python's Flying Circus
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1214:Monty Python Live (Mostly)
626:self-effacing interview."
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159:12 November 1970
130:David Paradine Productions
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570:The Monthly Film Bulletin
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134:London Weekend Television
35:Theatrical release poster
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735:Thompson, Harry (1997).
1502:Films about advertising
1497:British satirical films
739:Peter Cook: A Biography
1431:The Establishment Club
1182:A Liar's Autobiography
706:Cook, William (2014).
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897:downloadable English
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269:Shadow Home Secretary
1305:Not Only... But Also
743:. Sceptre. pp.
714:. pp. 298–302.
410:as Bird Impersonator
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1410:Pete and Dud
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682:. Retrieved
678:The Guardian
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651:. Retrieved
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514:Enoch Powell
510:Edward Heath
503:
496:
490:
463:Dennis Price
452:
448:
441:
435:
425:
402:Valerie Leon
392:as Mr. Spimm
366:Dennis Price
338:as "Blacket"
286:
278:Dudley Moore
261:
252:Enoch Powell
237:
203:
202:
201:
176:Running time
152:Release date
115:John Cameron
105:Alex Thomson
18:
1436:Private Eye
1400:E. L. Wisty
1376:Why Bother?
1158:(1969–1974)
1142:(1966–1967)
1112:Yellowbeard
1080:The Odd Job
989:Reflections
815:Kine Weekly
587:Kine Weekly
534:David Frost
459:Arthur Lowe
428:David Frost
414:Zakes Mokae
378:John Cleese
368:as Fairburn
362:as Federman
332:as "Ferret"
330:Arthur Lowe
282:trophy wife
233:David Frost
225:John Cleese
180:100 minutes
95:Arthur Lowe
88:John Cleese
71:Produced by
59:John Cleese
41:Directed by
1457:1970 films
1451:Categories
1258:Peter Cook
684:14 October
630:References
560:, London.
422:Production
398:as Fromage
350:as Crodder
306:Peter Cook
217:Peter Cook
163:1970-11-12
122:Production
82:Peter Cook
55:Peter Cook
51:Written by
1337:Bedazzled
949:Interlude
653:8 January
209:satirical
124:companies
1386:Sketches
527:swastika
404:as Tanya
380:as Pumer
193:Language
111:Music by
79:Starring
1424:Related
1193:Related
839:Variety
603:Variety
573:wrote:
548:Release
293:oil rig
196:English
185:Country
161: (
1265:Revues
1217:(2014)
1209:(2012)
1185:(1980)
1166:(1972)
1150:(1967)
1123:(1988)
1115:(1983)
1107:(1983)
1099:(1982)
1091:(1979)
1083:(1978)
1075:(1975)
1067:(1971)
1059:(1970)
1051:(1969)
992:(1984)
984:(1981)
976:(1973)
973:Voices
968:(1971)
960:(1970)
952:(1968)
751:
747:–262.
718:
542:Rimmer
512:, and
1368:Radio
432:Ibiza
888:IMDb
749:ISBN
716:ISBN
686:2009
655:2024
594:and
495:and
440:and
299:Cast
258:Plot
250:and
244:spin
223:and
899:SDH
886:at
844:261
820:641
745:259
556:in
254:.
1453::
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796:38
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694:^
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663:^
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508:,
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465:,
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274:MP
242:,
240:PR
219:,
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757:.
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165:)
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