Stiff Upper Lips

Gary Sinyor (1997)

91min

15 Certificate

Review

Our Score

by David McGillivray

A parody (long overdue, some might feel) of the "white flannel" school of British film-making that produced the likes of Brideshead Revisited, Chariots of Fire and Gandhi, which are all amusingly ridiculed here by Gary Sinyor, one of the directors of Leon the Pig Farmer. Prunella Scales is delightful as the aristocratic Aunt Agnes, who takes her soppy family on a grand tour, on which many awful mishaps occur. A genuinely witty script, and locations in Italy and India, make one forget that the joke could have been made in a three-minute television sketch. A marvellous cast does not include producer Ismail Merchant, who refused a part - as a merchant.

Summary

An Edwardian upper-class twit plots to marry off his sister to his equally dim friend, but she is far more interested in the family's working-class gamekeeper. The siblings' eccentric aunt tries to resolve the crisis by leading the whole family on a tour of Italy and India in the misguided hope that romance will blossom. Comedy, starring Peter Ustinov, Prunella Scales, Sean Pertwee, Georgina Cates and Samuel West.

Cast & Crew

Horace Peter Ustinov

Aunt Agnes Ivory Prunella Scales

Emily Ivory Georgina Cates

Edward Ivory Samuel West

George Sean Pertwee

Eric Brian Glover

Hudson Junior Frank Finlay

Cedric Trilling Robert Portal

Hurdler Kevin Furlong

Station master Jon Croft

Hudson senior Charles Simon

Rosie Anna Livia Ryan

His Butler's voice Geoffrey Palmer

Dr Henry David Ashton

Mr Tweeb Richard Braine

American husband Mac McDonald

American wife Kate Harper

Director Gary Sinyor

Other Information

Language: EnglishColourTheatrical distributor: Rank Film Dists LtdAvailable on: video

Comedy

Full Episode Guide

Gary Sinyor (1997)

Review

Summary

Cast & Crew

Other Information

Latest News