Rhubarb Rhubarb
| Rhubarb Rhubarb | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Eric Sykes |
| Produced by | David Clark |
| Written by | Eric Sykes |
| Starring |
Eric Sykes Jimmy Edwards Bob Todd Charlie Drake |
| Music by | Denis King |
| Cinematography | Dusty Miller |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 28 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Rhubarb Rhubarb is a 30-minute television comedy special made by Thames TV and transmitted in 1980. The special is a re-make of Eric Sykes' 1969 film, Rhubarb.
Plot
A police inspector is so intent on winning a round of golf against a vicar, despite his lack of ability at the game, that he employs his constable to furtively disentangle his ball from the odd spots in which it usually comes to rest - while his opponent looks for help from a higher power...
Said help takes on an increasingly miraculous appearance, to the extent of inanimate objects appearing to move in order to block the inspector's shots. However, when the vicar attempts to lie about the number of shots it took to free his ball from a sand trap he gets his comeuppance from a bolt of lightning.
In the final scene the entire game is revealed to have been a dream that the vicar had during a brief nap in church.
Dialogue
The word "rhubarb" is the only one uttered, many times over, in this film. (Likewise, the golf game takes place at the Royal Rhubarb golf course, and at one point a character is seen reading a newspaper called the Daily Rhubarb whose headlines consist entirely of the word 'rhubarb'.)
In the United Kingdom it is or was common for a crowd of extras in acting to shout the word "rhubarb" repeatedly and out of step with each other, to cause the effect of general hubbub. It was this use which inspired Sykes to use it as the only word in Rhubarb Rhubarb.
Cast
- Eric Sykes .... Police Inspector/Groom
- Jimmy Edwards .... Police Officer
- Bob Todd .... Vicar
- Charlie Drake .... Golf Club Pro
- Bill Fraser .... Golf Club Secretary
- Hattie Jacques† .... Nanny
- Roy Kinnear .... Home Owner
- Beryl Reid .... Home Owner's Wife
- Norman Rossington .... Church Organist
- April Walker .... Lady Golf Pupil/Bride
- Nicholas Bond-Owen .... Little Boy
- Robert Carter .... Baby
†Hattie Jacques died between the making of Rhubarb Rhubarb and its screening.
See also
- Walla
- Rhubarb the 1969 film remade for television as Rhubarb Rhubarb (1980) by Thames TV.
- Other Eric Sykes short silent films in similar style: The Plank (1967) which was a remake of the b/w TV episode 'Sykes and A... Plank' (1964), The Plank (1979 television remake of the 1967 film), and other TV specials such as It's Your Move (1982), Mr. H Is Late (1988) and The Big Freeze (1993).
Sources
Rhubarb Rhubarb in the BBC Guide to Comedy