You Must Be Joking! (1965 Film)
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''You Must Be Joking!'' is a 1965 black and white British
comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...
directed by
Michael Winner Michael Robert Winner (30 October 1935 – 21 January 2013) was an English filmmaker, writer, and media personality. He is known for directing numerous action, thriller, and black comedy films in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, including several c ...
and starring Michael Callan,
Lionel Jeffries Lionel Charles Jeffries (10 June 1926 – 19 February 2010) was an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He appeared primarily in films and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Golden ...
, and Denholm Elliott. It was written by Alan Hackney, from a story by Winner. The format of the film, four people each doing six tasks linked to a
scavenger hunt A scavenger hunt is a game in which the organizers prepare a list defining specific items that need to be found, which the participants seek to gather or complete all items on the list, usually without purchasing them. Usually participants work i ...
, allows for 24 otherwise somewhat unconnected comedy vignettes, which jointly create the story line. The items (purportedly representing British identity) include flying ducks for the wall, an English rose, the Spirit of Ecstasy from a
Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
car, an electric hare from a greyhound race and the Lutine Bell.


Plot

Major Foskett, a
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
psychologist, assembles four soldiers for a testing task: Sergeant Major McGregor (complete with
kilt A kilt ( ) is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill-woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Highland dress for men, it is first r ...
and
bearskin A bearskin is a tall fur cap derived from mitre#Military uniform, mitre caps worn by grenadier units in the 17th and 18th centuries. Initially worn by only grenadiers, bearskins were later used by several other military units in the 19th centur ...
), Captain Tabasco, Sergeant Clegg (a father of nine), Staff Sergeant Mansfield and
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
Lieutenant Morton. They have their initiative tested in a
scavenger hunt A scavenger hunt is a game in which the organizers prepare a list defining specific items that need to be found, which the participants seek to gather or complete all items on the list, usually without purchasing them. Usually participants work i ...
. Their first task is to escape a maze. Tabasco orders up a helicopter to take him out and two others take a ride, but Clegg is left in the maze. They are instructed to obtain six items, supposedly symbols of the British way of life. The reward for the winner is to be fast-tracked for promotion and a ten-day, all-expenses-paid trip around the world for two. Among the feats to be accomplished within 48 hours are escaping from a maze, retrieving a rare rose and the
mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...
from a
Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
motorcar, and procurement of a lock of hair and an autograph from a popular French singer. The final challenge involves the famous ''Lutine'' bell from the Underwriting Room of
Lloyd's of London Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is a insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gover ...
. MacGregor arrives at the finish line by
parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...
, Tabasco comes in an ambulance, Clegg digs his way in from below. Morton arrives last (by car), but is declared the winner and resigns. General Lockwood is arrested for misuse of the requisition system. Foskett is arrested for conspiracy to steal the Lutine Bell.


Cast


Production

The film was based on an original story by Michael Winner which was inspired by a real army initiative test where soldiers were asked to get as far away as possible from their camp at Catterick. He hired Alan Hackney, who had written several Boulting Brothers screenplays, to write the script. While looking for finance, Winner was approached to make a film with
the Dave Clark Five The Dave Clark Five, also known as the DC5, were an English rock and roll band formed in 1958 in Tottenham, London. Drummer Dave Clark was the group's leader, producer and co-songwriter. In January 1964, they had their first UK top-ten single, ...
, but Winner did not like the idea. Charles H. Schneer liked the Hackney script and agreed to make it under a deal he had with Columbia and Winner says he suggested John Boorman take over the Dave Clark movie. Winner said Columbia insisted that Michael Callan play a lead role. Winner called the actor "a nice fellow who didn't sell the film in America and didn't help it in England either." Winner hired a cameraman who felt they could not film in the locations that had been chosen, so Winner replaced him with Geoff Unsworth. Johnny Speight did some uncredited writing on the film.


Critical reception

Winner says the film received good reviews but was not popular at the box office. ''
The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...
'' wrote: "In spite of the enormous odds against it, all the old jokes come off again quite well. Highlights are Terry-Thomas, blowing a hunting horn as he pursues escaped contestants with a view to throwing them back into the maze, and becoming hopelessly entangled with a real fox hunt; and Michael Callan madly parodying a television dance routine. Also the new waviness, now bringing its share of frozen shots and speeded-up photography to even as unlikely a subject as this, can be said to enliven the look of things somewhat." ''
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'' called the film: "Lunacy and laughs galore, with director Winner's gimmicky style much in evidence." Hal Erickson wrote in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'': "Director
Michael Winner Michael Robert Winner (30 October 1935 – 21 January 2013) was an English filmmaker, writer, and media personality. He is known for directing numerous action, thriller, and black comedy films in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, including several c ...
was still in his 'mad mod' period when he lensed the wacky goings-on of'' You Must be Joking?'' His '' Death Wish'' pictures of the 1970s were in 1965 as remote as another galaxy."


References

Note: references 2–5 refer to the "location numbers" used on the Kindle edition of the book ''Winner Take All: A life of Sorts'' (Winner, 2004). These numbers are dependent on the zoom factor in effect when viewing the e-book, so are not helpful as general page references. These references should be replaced with page numbers from the paper/PDF edition of the book.


External links

* {{Michael Winner 1965 films 1965 comedy films British comedy films 1960s English-language films Films directed by Michael Winner Films scored by Laurie Johnson Films set in England Films set in London Films shot in London Military comedy films Films produced by Charles H. Schneer Films with screenplays by Michael Winner Films about the British Army Greyhound racing films 1960s British films