''The Supergrass'' is a 1985 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 ...

directed by Peter Richardson, (who also plays a major role) who also wrote the screenplay with

Pete Richens Peter Richens was a British screenwriter. Richens is perhaps best known as the writing partner of Peter Richardson, writer/director/star of the long-running TV series '' The Comic Strip Presents''. Biography In Richens's own words, Richardso ...

. The film stars

Adrian Edmondson Adrian Charles Edmondson (born 24 January 1957) is an English actor, comedian, musician, writer and television presenter. He was part of the alternative comedy boom in the early 1980s and had roles in the television series ''The Young Ones (TV s ...

Jennifer Saunders Jennifer Jane Saunders (born 6 July 1958) is an English actress, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Saunders originally found attention in the 1980s, when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Royal Central School of ...

Dawn French Dawn Roma French (born 11 October 1957) is a British actress, comedian, presenter and writer. French is known for writing and starring on the BBC comedy sketch show ''French and Saunders'' with her best friend and comedy partner, Jennifer Saunde ...

, Keith Allen,

Nigel Planer Nigel George Planer (born 22 February 1953) is a British actor, comedian, musician, novelist and playwright. He played Neil in the BBC comedy '' The Young Ones'' and Ralph Filthy in ''Filthy Rich & Catflap''. He has appeared in many West End mu ...

Alexei Sayle Alexei David Sayle (born 7 August 1952) is an English actor, author, stand-up comedian, television presenter and former recording artist. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement in the 1980s. He was voted the 18th gr ...

Ronald Allen Ronald John Allen (16 December 1930 – 18 June 1991) was an English actor. He is most well known for playing David Hunter in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Crossroads'', a role he played from 1969 to 1985. Biography Allen was born in Readi ...

, and

Robbie Coltrane Anthony Robert McMillan (30 March 195014 October 2022), known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor and comedian. He gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He ...

. ''The Supergrass'' was the first feature-length film by the 1980s

alternative comedy Alternative comedy is a term coined in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era. The phrase has had different connotations in different contexts: in the UK, it was used to describe ...

group

The Comic Strip The Comic Strip are a group of British comedians who came to prominence in the 1980s. They are known for their television series ''The Comic Strip Presents...'', which was labelled as a pioneering example of the alternative comedy scene. The ...

. The soundtrack to the film featured original music from

Keith Tippett Keith Graham Tippetts (25 August 1947 – 14 June 2020), known professionally as Keith Tippett, was a British jazz pianist and composer. According to AllMusic, Tippett's career "..spanned jazz-rock, progressive rock, improvised and contemporary ...

, plus music from

P. P. Arnold Patricia Ann Cole (born October 3, 1946), known professionally as P. P. Arnold, is an American soul singer. Arnold began her career as an Ikette with the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in 1965. The following year she relocated to London to pursue a solo ...

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

, and

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

, among others.

Plot

After returning from a holiday in the

West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Gloucesters ...

, Dennis Carter (

) tries to impress a girl by untruthfully boasting of being a drug smuggler. The girl is unimpressed; however, he is overheard by the police, who persuade him to become a

supergrass Supergrass are an English rock band formed in 1993 in Oxford. For the majority of the band's tenure, the line-up consisted of brothers Gaz (lead vocals, guitar) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn (bass, backing vocals) and Danny Goffey ( ...

and inform on his associates. The more Dennis lies, the bigger the hole he digs for himself.

Cast

as Dennis Carter *

as Lesley Reynolds * Peter Richardson as Harvey Duncan *

as Det. Sgt. Troy *

as Gunter * Keith Allen as Wong *

as Andrea *

Daniel Peacock Daniel Peacock (born 2 October 1958) is an English actor, director, writer and carer. He has worked with the team of ''The Comic Strip, The Comic Strip Presents...'' and played "Mental Mickey" in ''Only Fools and Horses''. Early and personal ...

as Jim Jarvis *

as Commander Robertson *

as Motorbike Cop *

Michael Elphick Michael John Elphick (19 September 1946 – 7 September 2002) was an English film and television actor. He played the eponymous private investigator in the ITV series ''Boon'' and Harry Slater in BBC's ''EastEnders''. He was nominated for ...

as Constable Collins *

Marika Rivera Marika Rivera (13 November 1919 – 14 January 2010) was a French-born film and stage actress and dancer. Biography Rivera was born in Paris, France, the daughter of the Mexican artist Diego Rivera and his mistress, the Russian-born painter Mar ...

as Bed and Breakfast Landlady * Al Pillay as Mary * Kevin Allen as Shop Assistant

Versions

The version of the film initially released in the cinema ran 107 minutes, which was subsequently released on VHS running to 103, due to PAL speed-up. The film was screened by

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

on 13 March 1988, as a prelude to the fourth series of ''The Comic Strip Presents'', but this was a version cut down to ninety three minutes and twenty six seconds, equivalent to ninety seven minutes and twenty seconds in the cinema, so missing some nine minutes and forty nine seconds. All subsequent VHS and DVD releases, included the "complete" ''Comic Strip'' box set, use the shorter/cut down version.BBFC: The Supergrass 01/12/99
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References

External links

* 1985 films 1985 comedy films 1985 directorial debut films 1980s police comedy films 1980s police procedural films British comedy films British police films The Comic Strip 1980s English-language films Films directed by Peter Richardson (British director) 1980s British films {{1980s-UK-comedy-film-stub