''What a Whopper'' is a 1961 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 o ...

directed by

Gilbert Gunn Gilbert Gunn (24 March 1905 – 6 December 1967) was a British screenwriter and film director. Selected filmography Screenwriter * ''Save a Little Sunshine'' (1938) * '' Me and My Pal'' (1939) * '' The Door with Seven Locks'' (1940) Directo ...

. It was written by

Terry Nation Terence Joseph Nation (8 August 19309 March 1997) was a British screenwriter and novelist. Especially known for his work in British television science fiction, he created the Daleks and Davros for ''Doctor Who'', as well as the series '' Surviv ...

, from a story by

Jeremy Lloyd John Jeremy Lloyd, OBE (22 July 1930 – 23 December 2014) was an English writer, screenwriter, author, poet and actor. He was the co-writer of several successful British sitcoms, including ''Are You Being Served?'' and Allo 'Allo!''. Ear ...

and

Trevor Peacock Trevor Edward Peacock (19 May 1931 – 8 March 2021) was an English actor, screenwriter and songwriter. He made his name as a theatre actor, later becoming known for his Shakespearean roles. Later in his career, he became best known for playing ...

. Pop singer

Adam Faith Terence Nelhams Wright (23 June 1940 – 8 March 2003), known as Adam Faith, was an English singer, actor, and financial journalist. A teen idol, he scored consecutive No. 1 hits on the UK Singles Chart with " What Do You Want?" (1959) and "P ...

stars as a writer who travels with some friends to Scotland to fake a sighting of the

Loch Ness Monster The Loch Ness Monster ( gd, Uilebheist Loch Nis), affectionately known as Nessie, is a creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or ...

. The cast includes

Wilfrid Brambell Henry Wilfrid Brambell (22 March 1912 – 18 January 1985) was an Irish television and film actor, best remembered for playing the grubby rag-and-bone man Albert Steptoe alongside Harry H. Corbett in the long-running BBC television sitcom '' ...

as a local postman,

Sid James Sidney James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. He was best known for numerous roles in the Carry On film series. Born to a mi ...

, Charles Hawtrey and Terry Scott. The TV reporter

Fyfe Robertson James Fyfe Robertson (19 August 1902 – 4 February 1987) was a Scottish television journalist and broadcaster. Biography Robertson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was one of six children of Jane Dunlop and James Robertson, a miner w ...

appears briefly as himself, covering the alleged sightings of the monster.

Plot

Struggling young writer Tony Blake (Adam Faith) is served an eviction notice by Mr Slate (

Clive Dunn Clive Robert Benjamin Dunn (9 January 19206 November 2012) was an English actor. Although he was only 48 and one of the youngest cast members, he was cast in a role many years his senior, as the elderly Lance Corporal Jones in the BBC sitcom ' ...

) from his rented room in a Chelsea house shared with other artistic types including abstract "flicking" painter Arnold (Charles Hawtrey). Tony hatches a plan to drum up interest in his rejected book on the Loch Ness Monster by faking a sighting of the creature. He and his friend Vernon (

Terence Longdon Terence Longdon (14 May 1922 – 23 April 2011) was an English actor. Biography Born Hubert Tuelly Longdon in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, England. During World War II, Longdon was a pilot with the Fleet Air Arm, protecting Atlantic conv ...

), who makes electronic music, construct a phony monster, which they photograph in

the Serpentine The Serpentine (also known as the Serpentine River) is a recreational lake in Hyde Park, London, England, created in 1730 at the behest of Queen Caroline. Although it is common to refer to the entire body of water as the Serpentine, strict ...

, startling a tramp (

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Colonial India, where he spent his ...

). The two friends and Vernon's ditzy girlfriend Charlotte 'Charlie' Pinner ( Carole Lesley) decide to visit Scotland to further their ruse. Driving in a second-hand Rolls-Royce hearse, they pick up a young French hitchhiker, Marie (

Marie-France Marie-France is a French feminine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Marie-France (actress) (born 1943), French actress * Marie-France Bazzo, Canadian broadcaster * Marie-France Beaufils (born 1946), member of the Senate of Franc ...

), along the way. They are pursued by Charlie's dipsomaniac father (

Freddie Frinton Freddie Frinton (born Frederick Bittiner Coo;According to the NDR, and the General Record Office (Births, Marriages, Deaths) Frinton's birth name was Coo.General Register Office: Register of Births – Mar 1909 7a _7 Grimsby – Frederick Bitti ...

). Tony and his friends arrive at a Loch Ness inn, whose landlord Harry Sutton (Sid James) is trying to conceal dozens of poached salmon from two local policemen ( Gordon Rollings and Terry Scott). Tony befriends the local postman (Wilfred Brambell) and other locals, who become more convinced the monster is real when they hear a monstrous roar from a speaker secretly installed by Vernon. The next day, the inn is swarming with customers and the press, much to the delight of Sutton and the locals. However, the crowd's enthusiasm wanes when Tony is unable to produce a promised photo of the monster. In the midst of these events, Vernon and Charlie decide to get married, Marie falls for Tony, and the poached salmon are inadvertently loaded into a police car. Tony and his friends secretly make another phony monster to photograph, only to discover that several locals, in an attempt to draw business and attention back to the area, had the same idea and made their own fake monsters. The locals also discover the hidden speaker Tony used to broadcast roars, and realize they were deceived all along. An angry mob chases Tony and Marie, who try to escape by rowing across the loch, only for the real monster to rise from the loch as the film ends.

Cast

as Tony Blake *

as Harry Sutton * Carole Lesley as Charlotte 'Charlie' Pinner *

as Vernon *

as Mr. Slate *

as Gilbert Pinner *

as Marie * Charles Hawtrey as Arnold *

as Tramp *

as Postman *

Fabia Drake Fabia Drake OBE (born Ethel McGlinchy; 20 January 1904 – 28 February 1990) was a British actress whose professional career spanned almost 73 years during the 20th century. Drake was born in Herne Bay, Kent. Her first professional role in ...

as Mrs. Pinner *

Harold Berens Harold Berens (born Isadore Harold Berenbaum; 4 March 1903 – 10 May 1995) was a British comedian and character actor. Biography He was born into a Jewish family in Glasgow, the son of a tailor, and grew up and was educated in Leeds, Harro ...

as Sammy *

Ewan Roberts Ewan Roberts (29 April 1914–10 January 1983) was a Scottish stage, film and television actor. On stage from 1935, his theatre work included a season with the Old Vic, in 1946-1947. In 1949 he appeared at the Adelphi Theatre in '' Castle in ...

as Jimmy * Archie Duncan as Macdonald * Terry Scott as Sergeant * Anna Gilcrist as Grace * Gordon Rollings as Doone * Bernard Hunter as Legree * Lloyd Reckord as Jojo *

Lance Percival John Lancelot Blades Percival (26 July 1933 – 6 January 2015), known as Lance Percival, was an English actor, comedian and singer, best known for his appearances in satirical comedy television shows of the early 1960s and his ability to impr ...

as Policeman at Roundabout * Molly Weir as Teacher *

as Commentator * J. Stevenson Lang as Crofter * Alistair Hunter as 1st Scot * Allan Casley as 2nd Scot * Frank Forsyth as 3rd Scot

Background

Aspiring writer

was working as a travelling salesman of rust-proof paint in the late 1950s when he wrote a story called 'What a Whopper' about a Cockney youth who runs tours to see the Loch Ness monster. After delivering paint near

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

, he pitched the script to studio chief Earl St John, who bought it. Songwriter and actor

provided ideas for the story and has an uncredited cameo as a barrow-boy. The script was reworked by Terry Nation. It was the first full film screenplay by Nation, who had started out writing for Spike Milligan, who has a cameo. ''What a Whopper'' displayed some of the strengths and flaws that would feature in Nation's subsequent television serials. Among the positives were his "ornate verbosity" (such as the postman's flowery description of the monster) and his tendency to add new complications at every opportunity, whereas the negatives included loose ends never being tied up (such as Tony's book disappearing from the story), and overt borrowing (such as the modern art parody being influenced by the recently released

Tony Hancock Anthony John Hancock (12 May 1924 – 25 June 1968) was an English comedian and actor. High-profile during the 1950s and early 1960s, he had a major success with his BBC series ''Hancock's Half Hour'', first broadcast on radio from 1954, ...

film '' The Rebel'').

References

External links

* {{Gilbert Gunn 1961 films 1961 comedy films Films directed by Gilbert Gunn Films shot at Pinewood Studios Loch Ness Monster in film Films scored by Laurie Johnson Films set in London Films set in Scotland British comedy films Films with screenplays by Terry Nation 1960s English-language films 1960s British films