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Futtocks End

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Futtocks End

Futtocks End is a 1970 British comedy short film directed by Bob Kellett and starring Ronnie Barker, Michael Hordern, Roger Livesey and Julian Orchard. It was written by Barker. Almost entirely without dialogue, the film includes a musical score, sound effects and incoherent mutterings.

The story revolves around a weekend gathering at the decaying country home of the eccentric and lewd Sir Giles Futtock and the series of saucy mishaps between the staff and his guests.

Sir Giles Futtock is another variation on Barker's Lord Rustless character.

It was filmed at Grim's Dyke, the former home of W. S. Gilbert, now a hotel.

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Like Rhubarb, this comedy featurette dispenses with all dialogue except for a series of mumbled noises and squeaks (the rest of the track consists of loud sound effects and a continuous, undistinguished score). Though one or two small gags work quite nicely (as Sir Giles reads a letter in the shower the water removes the writing), they are far too thinly spread, and the whole venture reeks of ancient music hall jokes. The cast seem to be enjoying themselves, but their over-emphatic performances and bits of speeded-up action hardly communicate the fun to the audience."

British film critic Leslie Halliwell said: "A collection of visual gags, rather thinly spread, with dialogue replaced by squeaks and mumblings. Like all Barker's subsequent comedies on similar lines (The Picnic, By the Sea, etc) one chuckles in constant anticipation of guffaws which never come."

Writing in The Observer, Clive James likened the film to being "given a lolly to suck".

In 1979 the film was shown, with no prior announcement or explanation, by the BBC in the middle of that year's Miss World broadcast. The programme had in fact been affected by industrial action by sound engineers.[citation needed]

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