Purely Joyful Movie!

I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

There is not really much one can say about this show that hasn't already been said. Quite simply, it is one of the best sitcoms of all time. I was only a child when I first saw 'Rising Damp' so therefore I didn't really understand the humour. Now as an adult I can appreciate how great a show it truly is.Starting life as a play entitled 'The Banana Box' ( which starred Wilfrid Brambell ) and then later a Yorkshire Television pilot entitled 'Rooksby', 'Rising Damp' was all about a tight-fisted landlord known to all as Rigsby ( first name Rupert if you can believe it ), who was played to perfection by the wonderful and much missed Leonard Rossiter and who ran a squalid bedsit. His lodgers include hippie-like medical student Alan Moore, frumpy spinster Ruth Jones and black planning student Philip Smith who happens to be the son of a tribal king. Rigsby often tries to woo Ruth, without success, who instead has romantic feelings for Philip.Rigsby's attitude towards Philip has led to the show being branded as 'racist' in some quarters. True, Rigsby does not like Philip but it is not down to his colour, it is because he is jealous of Philip, jealous that Philip is all of the things that he isn't, intelligent being one of them.While of course, it is Rossiter who shines throughout, Richard Beckinsale, Frances De La Tour and Don Warrington do a fine job in supporting him. Rossiter at this time was also to be seen in 'The Fall & Rise Of Reginald Perrin' for the BBC while Richard Beckinsale was also to be seen starring alongside Ronnie Barker in 'Porridge' ( also for the BBC ). Eric Chappell's scripts were ( for the most part ) very witty and very well written.Beckinsale dropped out after the third series, which resulted in series four looking rather patchy. In 1980, Eric Chappell devised a feature film spin-off with Christopher Strauli from Chappell's 'Only When I Laugh' replacing Richard Beckinsale ( having died suddenly the year before ). It was a disappointment. No effort was made afterwards to make more episodes.Dennis Wilson wrote the show's brilliant theme tune, which suits the show so well. Four decades on, 'Rising Damp' still racks up enormous ratings even on repeat showings, and not without good reason.

Until I saw a documentary on Leonard Rossiter as a bonus on the video of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (one of my favorite British series), I knew nothing about Rising Damp. Based on the clips, I knew I had to see this series if it was available. Thankfully, all four series and the motion picture are on DVD. The writing is sensational and the cast is wonderful; the chemistry between them is as good as can be imagined. But as good as they all are (and it is particularly good to see some of the work of Richard Beckinsale), Rossiter is the star without question. He is brilliant; one cannot imagine anyone else playing this part. He took me totally by surprise. As good as he was in Perrin, his timing and delivery here are just amazing; he is clearly one of the great actors of his generation. These words are not written lightly.While it is possible that this series is not seen on U.S. television because of Rigsby's racist statements, one has to look at this in the context of the seventies, when television was exposing many different realities to audiences, and they were loving it (remember the Jeffersons and Good Times?). If Archie Bunker is still to be found on television, there is no reason why Rigsby shouldn't be seen either. Another possible reason is that this is not a BBC or Granada series. At least it lives on DVD in the U.S., and if you are a British comedy fan, this is way up there.

In light of the current Big Brother 'racist' furor raging in the UK right now, or quite frankly even with out it, it amazes me that no one ever comments on how blatantly condescending and racist the Rigby character was to Don Warrington's Philip. I remember on more than one occasion such 'choice' lines as (Rigsby to Philip): "What the hell would you know about that, it wasn't that long ago you lot were still running around half-naked with bones through your noses". Numerous other UK sitcoms were also marred with such bigoted, racist stereotyping such as Alf Garnett (Till Death Us Do Part) and the appalling Love Thy Neighbor's "Oi Sambo". Shame such talented writers and actors had to stoop so low for such cheap laughs.

'Rising Damp' is shown pretty regularly on TV all these years after production ceased on the series, which must be a testament to its staying power.Set in a grimy house where landlord Rigsby and his tenants (the refined Miss Jones, object of his affections; Alan, a long-haired student of medicine who never seemed to do anything useful; and Philip, a black man of tribal descent, possibly ...) rubbed along together week by week, with new lodgers coming and going, and Rigsby continuing his relentless pursuit of Miss Jones, 'Rising Damp' was pretty much perfect.Not dated at all when viewed recently, these are genuinely comic characters (especially the excellent performance of the peerless Leonard Rossiter as Rigsby) in amusing situations. Rather like Rigsby's cat, Vienna, we sit back and watch with interest as events unfold and entertain us.I loved it. Laurels all round (Frances de La Tour, who is an accomplished dramatic actress on stage aside from her comedy work here, as Miss Jones; Don Warrington, still around and not looking much older, as Philip; and lovely Richard Beckinsale, who sadly died in his early thirties at the end of the 1970s, as Alan) and long may the brown door and that tinkly pub piano theme grace our screens.