''Not Now, Comrade'' is a 1976 British comedy film directed by

Ray Cooney Raymond George Alfred Cooney, OBE (born 30 May 1932) is an English playwright, actor, and director. His biggest success, '' Run for Your Wife'' (1983), ran for nine years in London's West End and is its longest-running comedy. He has had 17 ...

. It was a follow-up to the similarly named 1973 farce ''

Not Now, Darling ''Not Now, Darling'' is a 1967 farce written by English playwrights John Chapman and Ray Cooney, first staged at the Richmond Theatre, in Richmond, England prior to a long West End run. The production starred Donald Sinden and Bernard Cribbin ...

''. It featured a number of British comedy actors including Leslie Phillips, Windsor Davies,

Don Estelle Don Estelle (22 May 1933 – 2 August 2003) was an English actor and singer, best known as Gunner "Lofty" Sugden in ''It Ain't Half Hot Mum''. Early life Born Ronald Edwards in Crumpsall, Manchester (historically part of Lancashire), he wa ...

and Ian Lavender. The film was shot at Elstree studios, and was intended as the second in a series of ‘Not Now’ films, with 'Not Now, Prime Minister' pencilled in as a follow-up, but box office returns for the film, unlike those of its predecessor, were disappointing. Cooney also appears as the MI5 agent Mr Laver. The film was the first and only time that

Harold Snoad Harold Edward Snoad (born 28 August 1935) is a British television producer, writer and director. He is best known for the television sitcom ''Keeping Up Appearances'', starring Patricia Routledge and Clive Swift. He is also well known for having d ...

directed a feature film.

Plot

Russian ballet dancer Rudi Petrovyan wants to defect. Unable to reach the

British embassy This is a list of diplomatic missions of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, excluding honorary consulates. The UK has one of the largest global networks of diplomatic missions. UK diplomatic missions to capitals of other Com ...

and pursued by the KGB, he hides out with, and falls for,

stripper A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at a bachelor party or other private event. M ...

Barbara Wilcox. But Rudi's planned escape in the boot of a Triumph backfires when he climbs into the wrong car, and he ends up in the country home of unsuspecting naval Commander Rimmington (Leslie Phillips).

Cast

* Leslie Phillips as Commander Rimmington * Roy Kinnear as Hoskins * Windsor Davies as Constable Pulford *

as Bobby Hargreaves * Michele Dotrice as Nancy Rimmington *

as Mr Laver * June Whitfield as Janet Rimmington * Carol Hawkins as Barbara Wilcox *

Lewis Fiander Lewis Ernest Fiander (12 January 1938 – 24 May 2016) was an Australian film, stage, and television actor. Biography Fiander was born in Melbourne to Mona Jane (née King) and Walter Lewis Fiander, and educated at Trinity Grammar School, Ke ...

as Rudi Petrovyan * Ian Lavender as Gerry Buss * Richard Marner as 1st Russian official *

Michael Sharvell-Martin Michael Sharvell-Martin (2 February 1944 – 28 October 2010) was a popular British television and stage actor whose career spanned more than three decades. He was a familiar character actor on British television screens, guest-starring in sever ...

as 2nd Russian official

Stage origins

's 1964 play ''Chase Me, Comrade'' was based on the 1961 defection of Rudolf Nureyev. First appearing in 1964 at the Theatre Royal, Windsor Cooney himself played Gerry Buss. The play became a Whitehall farce running for 765 performances between 1964 and 1966. It was televised by the BBC's ''Laughter from the Whitehall'' in August 1964 and again in December 1967. Cooney published a 1966 novelisation of the play. In 1981 Dutch television transmitted a version of the play called ''Een Kus van een Rus'.

Critical reception

The British Comedy Guide called the film "a really delightful forgotten gem of British cinema comedy". However, the ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'' called it a "horrid comedy of errors," adding "for the sake of a hard-working cast, let's draw a discreet

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...

over the whole

charade Charade or charades may refer to: Games * Charades, originally "acting charades", a parlor game Films/TV * ''Charade'' (1953 film), an American film featuring James Mason * ''Charade'' (1963 film), an American film starring Cary Grant and A ...

"; while ''

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...

'' said it was "from the darkest days of British cinema, a

farrago Farrago is a Latin word, meaning "mixed cattle fodder", used to refer to a confused variety of miscellaneous things. As a name, it may refer to: * ''Farrago'' (plant), a genus of plants in the family Poaceae * ''Farrago'' (magazine), student newsp ...

which began life as Cooney's Whitehall farce, ''Chase Me, Comrade''."

Songs

* "Not Now" Sung by

Lyric by Sammy Cahn
Composed by Walter Ridley

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0074977 1976 films British spy comedy films Films shot at EMI-Elstree Studios Films based on works by Ray Cooney Films set in England Films set in London 1970s spy comedy films 1970s political comedy films British political comedy films 1970s English-language films 1970s British films