Did you people see the same film I saw?

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

A Brilliant Conflict

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

I really wanted to like this British comedy short from the mid-60's. Although just before my time, Tommy Cooper and to a lesser degree Eric Sykes could reasonably make me laugh on their TV variety or sit-com shows plus I came to this piece after watching a rather fawning TV biography of the recently deceased Sykes containing eulogies of praise from the surprising likes of Eddie Izzard, Michael Palin and others. Sykes wrote and directed this off-beat, near-silent short move about two dozy workmen's encounter with a plank of wood and peopled it with friends and colleagues of the time, including the inevitable Hattie Jacques and Jimmy Edwards, but also in small parts if you closely enough the likes of Bill Oddie, Jim Dale and Jimmy Tarbuck. But the humour really is quite dated. Sykes makes reasonable use of running gags but the sketch-like sequences often run on too long and much of the material is somewhat predictable and stilted, even resorting lazily to sexism as a young female hitch-hiker gets manhandled for her trouble.In its favour, the hitch-hiker section notwithstanding, the humour is clean, gentle and inoffensive. I didn't really think Cooper and Sykes gelled together in their roles as two chippies off the old block and while I acknowledge the debt paid to Sykes comedy heroes of the Silent Era, most obviously Laurel and Hardy, there the comparison ends, indeed I was reminded more of Crackerjack's Peter Glaze and Don MacLean (now they were my era!), hapless double-act more than the immortal Stan and Ollie.The film's a nice little document of old-school comedy of a bygone age but sad to say it hasn't aged well and in truth is more a museum piece nowadays than genuine entertainment.

This is a hilarious piece of nonsense from a cast of very talented actors/comedians. Eric Sykes is one of the greatest comedy actors/writers that Britain has produced and this film should not be slated because it seems dated by todays standards (it was made over 40 years ago). The plot is simple, the story is simple, but the simplicity of it is its charm. It is a film purely designed to entertain and to make one laugh, it has no message or underlying agenda, other than to bring a smile to people of all ages and nationality. The cast are all masters of their craft, the pick of the 60's comedians, and all 'proper' comedians, they did not have to resort to shock tactics and foul language to get the audiences attention, unlike todays comics. It seems to have stood the test of time, for few people have never heard of it and it has often been referred to a a 'British Classic' .... and deservedly so.

I saw this movie at the cinema long ago. In fact, it was so long ago that the main feature still included a B-movie companion. And here 'The Plank' was it. Oddly; I can remember this, but not the A-movie it supported.Eric Sykes' effort included a who's-who of British comedy from the time. Each of them become involved at some stage or another with this plank of wood in a series of banal set-piece gags. Frankly, I found it childishly contrived even then. Which is probably why I remembered it. Some 20 years later I saw it on television and the stunts were quite painful to behold. Sphincter-puckering is the term.It's a sort-of silent movie. It might even pass for surrealism at times. But the idea doesn't quite work. If the French had done this, I suspect the result would have been an absolute scream. But it's not the kind of concept we Brits are particularly good at. And this is the proof.There's the cream of comic talent at the director's disposal. Any one of several could have a theatre rolling in the aisles; but here they, and their unique skills, are each subordinated to Sykes' old-fashioned brand of predictable variety-hall humour, and they are simply wasted.Although it was released in 1967, it represented a simplistic, juvenile 'take' that had pretty-well run its course 10 years earlier. As nice a bloke as he was, Eric Sykes was a comedian who simply couldn't move with the times. If he were in light entertainment even today, this is still the stuff he would be producing. By 1969 came 'Monty Python', with modern comedians and fresh comedy. Both styles observed back-to-back represent two different generations yet separated by just 2 years.As a chance to play 'spot the comedian' this item is a quiz in itself, but as comedic entertainment it's a bit of a disaster, unless you're under 5 years old. I suspect they'll love it in Albania.

I just happened to tape "The Plank" when it was last shown on British terrestrial television (BBC2 5/12/95) and I've held onto this treasure ever since! My family and I love it to bits.We are however die-hard British 50s/60s/and 70/s-silent film fans, e.g. Futtock's End/A Home of Your Own/Rhubarb Rhubarb etc.etc. One of the main appeals of it is that you don't have to listen to it-it's very easy to watch if you've got young kids doing their own thing in the room with you.(they'll look up every now and then and laugh at certain bits). There is now available a DVD of "The Plank" Uncut which comes out at 51 Min's allegedly; this must go some way to outlining it's obvious popularity. I definitely do not prefer the 70's T.V. remake of this as it is so obviously a dumbed down/going through the motions version.The original is the dog's ........! There is however an interesting angle about the re-make and that is several of the original locations have been re-visited so I habitually acknowledge them all each time I view the re-make(Is that sad or good?) Just had to write an uplifting review as the first review doesn't do this justice and is a tad unfair to me.