This is a very mild diversion, but an enjoyable one.
The plot is remarkably unmotivated. A group of Chelsea Bohemians are threatened with eviction from their house (by Clive Dunn, in an early outing for his old man routine). They need money fast. But rather than - say - one of them getting a job, they decide to spend more money on sending Adam Faith and two other tenants up to Loch Ness, to fake an appearance of Nessie, which will then help sell Faith's book on the monster. Faith appears not to have visited Loch Ness at all before, which may imply that his book isn't all that good.
Not only is that a bit tenuous, the plan actually fails, so presumably they all end up homeless. But by the end of the film, the beginning has been totally forgotten, so who cares? At least part of the film is remarkably similar to a cut-price Summer Holiday, which it precedes by a year or two. For Cliff Richard, read Adam Faith; for London bus, read hearse. A stupefyingly boring girl, whose oft-seen underwear is the most complex thing about her, is picked up on the road to become the romantic entanglement for Faith. Misunderstandings abound, before the various lovers pair off.
But about this rickety superstructure are lodged several nuggets of almost surreal comedy. Poor Carole Lesley, in her penultimate film, is a splendid scene-stealing dumb blonde. A (literal) running gag has drunken Freddie Frinton chased by copper Gordon Rollings, who, when he finally catches up, has completely forgotten why he is in pursuit. A carload of salmon spends the film being moved hither and yon. Wilfred Brambell plays a cadging postman with relish. Terry Scott, Archie Duncan and Lance Percival are all effective; Spike Milligan, doing his Irish tramp, and Charles Hawtrey are wasted.
Faith hasn't yet developed the acting personality he showed in the sublime 'Budgie', but takes himself refreshingly unseriously. At one point, a song, actually sung by Faith, appears on the radio, announced as by 'Eden Charity' (geddit?). Faith looks disgusted, and mutters "I can't stand that nit!" Faith himself was very much more popular with the girls than the boys. The tongue in cheek theme tune is splendidly daft.
Perhaps the greatest scene is one where Fyffe Robertson, a genuine BBC journalist, tries to film a report on the monster, but is overwhelmed by the crowds trying to get on camera.
To sum up, not a masterpiece, but a minor milestone on the path from 50s realism to 60s surrealism. Several soon-to-be-famous folk get screen time. And you feel that the 60s, if not quite swinging yet, will be some time soon.
The plot is remarkably unmotivated. A group of Chelsea Bohemians are threatened with eviction from their house (by Clive Dunn, in an early outing for his old man routine). They need money fast. But rather than - say - one of them getting a job, they decide to spend more money on sending Adam Faith and two other tenants up to Loch Ness, to fake an appearance of Nessie, which will then help sell Faith's book on the monster. Faith appears not to have visited Loch Ness at all before, which may imply that his book isn't all that good.
Not only is that a bit tenuous, the plan actually fails, so presumably they all end up homeless. But by the end of the film, the beginning has been totally forgotten, so who cares? At least part of the film is remarkably similar to a cut-price Summer Holiday, which it precedes by a year or two. For Cliff Richard, read Adam Faith; for London bus, read hearse. A stupefyingly boring girl, whose oft-seen underwear is the most complex thing about her, is picked up on the road to become the romantic entanglement for Faith. Misunderstandings abound, before the various lovers pair off.
But about this rickety superstructure are lodged several nuggets of almost surreal comedy. Poor Carole Lesley, in her penultimate film, is a splendid scene-stealing dumb blonde. A (literal) running gag has drunken Freddie Frinton chased by copper Gordon Rollings, who, when he finally catches up, has completely forgotten why he is in pursuit. A carload of salmon spends the film being moved hither and yon. Wilfred Brambell plays a cadging postman with relish. Terry Scott, Archie Duncan and Lance Percival are all effective; Spike Milligan, doing his Irish tramp, and Charles Hawtrey are wasted.
Faith hasn't yet developed the acting personality he showed in the sublime 'Budgie', but takes himself refreshingly unseriously. At one point, a song, actually sung by Faith, appears on the radio, announced as by 'Eden Charity' (geddit?). Faith looks disgusted, and mutters "I can't stand that nit!" Faith himself was very much more popular with the girls than the boys. The tongue in cheek theme tune is splendidly daft.
Perhaps the greatest scene is one where Fyffe Robertson, a genuine BBC journalist, tries to film a report on the monster, but is overwhelmed by the crowds trying to get on camera.
To sum up, not a masterpiece, but a minor milestone on the path from 50s realism to 60s surrealism. Several soon-to-be-famous folk get screen time. And you feel that the 60s, if not quite swinging yet, will be some time soon.