''Bullshot'' is a 1983 British

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

, based on the stage play '' Bullshot Crummond''. The name comes from a parody of the 1929 film ''

Bulldog Drummond Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond is a fictional character, created by H. C. McNeile and published under his pen name "Sapper". Following McNeile's death in 1937, the novels were continued by Gerard Fairlie. Drummond is a First World War veteran who, ...

'' with the lead character having elements of Drummond and

Biggles James Bigglesworth, nicknamed "Biggles", is a fictional pilot and adventurer, the title character and hero of the ''Biggles'' series of adventure books, written for young readers by W. E. Johns (1893–1968). Biggles made his first appearance ...

Plot

Captain Hugh "Bullshot" Crummond is a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

fighter pilot, Olympic athlete, racing driver, and part-time sleuth. He must save the world from the dastardly Count Otto van Bruno, his wartime adversary, and win the heart of the damsel in distress Rosemary Fenton.

Cast

* Alan Shearman as Captain Hugh "Bullshot" Crummond * Diz White as Rosemary Fenton * Ronald E. House as Count Otto van Bruno *

Frances Tomelty Frances Tomelty (born 6 October 1948) is a Northern Irish actress whose numerous television credits include ''Strangers'' (1978–1979), '' Testament of Youth'' (1979), ''Inspector Morse'' (1988), ''Cracker'' (1993), '' The Amazing Mrs Pritchard ...

as Lenya von Bruno *

Michael Aldridge Michael William ffolliott Aldridge (9 September 1920 – 10 January 1994) was an English actor. He was known for playing Seymour Utterthwaite in the television series ''Last of the Summer Wine'' from 1986 to 1990 and he had a long career as a ...

as Professor Rupert Fenton *

Christopher Good Christopher Good is an English actor best known for his work on television. He was born in Bromsgrove in Worcestershire. In the 1970s he made a stage appearance in a musical version of Jeeves and Wooster. In the 90s he was, according to ''the T ...

as Lord Binky Brancaster *

Ron Pember Ronald Henry Pember (11 April 1934 – 8 March 2022) was an English actor, stage director and dramatist. In a career stretching over thirty years, he was a character actor in British television productions in the 1970s – 1980s, usually in bi ...

as Dobbs *

Mel Smith Melvyn Kenneth Smith (3 December 1952 – 19 July 2013) was an English comedian, actor and director. Smith worked on the sketch comedy shows ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' and ''Alas Smith and Jones'' with his comedy partner, Griff Rhys Jones. ...

as Crouch *

Billy Connolly Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his ...

as Hawkeye McGillicuddy *

Geoffrey Bayldon Albert Geoffrey Bayldon (7 January 1924 – 10 May 2017) was an English actor. After playing roles in many stage productions, including the works of William Shakespeare, he became known for portraying the title role of the children's series '' ...

as Colonel Hinchcliff

Production

The film was produced by George Harrison's company

Handmade Films HandMade Films was a British film production and distribution company. Notable films from the studio include '' Monty Python's Life of Brian'', ''Time Bandits'', '' The Long Good Friday'' and ''Withnail and I''. History Foundation HandMade F ...

. Shearman and White reprised their roles from the stage play.

Reception

Colin Greenland Colin Greenland (born 17 May 1954 in Dover, Kent, England) is a British science fiction writer, whose first story won the second prize in a 1982 Faber & Faber competition. His best-known novel is ''Take Back Plenty'' (1990), winner of both majo ...

reviewed ''Bullshot'' for ''

Imagine Imagine may refer to: * Imagination Music Albums * ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008 * ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002 * ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012 * ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971 ** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...

'' magazine, and stated that "it is pell-mell, hammer and tongs, hell for leather all the way through a plot that gets more deliciously ludicrous by the second. Superb (over-)acting in spiffing costumes on scrummy sets, not a few guffaws, and comic cameos from Billy Connolly, Mel Smith, John Wells and 'Legs' Larry Smith."

References

External links

* * British parody films 1983 films HandMade Films films 1980s parody films Films directed by Dick Clement Films scored by John Du Prez 1983 comedy films 1980s English-language films 1980s British films {{1980s-UK-comedy-film-stub