What a Whopper (1961) User Reviews

I don't see...

[kittenkongshow · 6/10 · 27 December 2017]

I don't see why this film as so many bad reviews, It's a pleasing British comedy of it's era (1961) with a cracking cast.

It's the type of film you'd get on BBC2 on a wet afternoon when I was a kid.

How can any film with Sid James, Spike Milligan (Who seems to be in the wrong film...), Charles Hawtrey not be an easy pleasing nostalgic view?.

Maybe I'm of the last generation that appreciates this type of film...I hope not.

gentile English comedy

[p-nelson-sufc · 5/10 · 16 November 2005]

I have just watched this film on b.b.c 2 , it was on a Wednesday morning at 10:30 which I feel is about right for this type of film, definitely a film of it's era with a good if somewhat unusual (in some aspects )cast. Spike Milligan seems to be a little out of place in this movie and Sid James as a Scottish hotel owner is a little strange as well,but if you can overlook the obvious flaws and not be to critical of this movie you can just enjoy an hour and a half of pure nostalgia spotting the various stars many of whom turned up later on in there careers on television,also surprised to see Terry Nation involved. p.s theme tune made me cringe!

The Serpent of the Serpentine

[richardchatten · 6/10 · 19 November 2020]

A silly British comedy written by Terry Nation rife with leering sexual and regional stereotypes (like Adam Faith in a kilt and fake beard adopting a Scottish accent pretending to be 'Hamish MacSporran'), that actually went to Loch Ness for a few shots (although with outdoor night scenes obviously shot in broad daylight).

The plot is based on a central fallacy, since Faith is reduced to faking a photograph of Nessie on the Serpentine as he can't get his book on the subject published because the Great Orm hasn't been seen for ages; yet the simple fact that this film was being made attests to the current topicality of the Loch Ness Monster. And his popularity as a pop idol accounts for his presence in this nonsense woodenly playing the lead; compensated for by a supporting cast ranging from Amanda Barrie & Trevor Peacock seen uncredited in long shot even before the credits (which do include Peacock for the original story) are over, Jamaican actor Lloyd Reckford in his only credited film role prior to the 1990s, Spike Milligan as a tramp, Terry Scott in his days typecast as a police sergeant to Fyfe Robertson and the late Freddie Frinton (the latter totally forgotten to any Briton under sixty but a household name in Germany thanks to his annual appearances every New Year's Eve in 'Dinner for One').

(SPOILERS COMING:) It's a typical bit of cynicism on Nation's part that once Faith claims to see Nessie, everybody standing alongside him on the shore jumps on the bandwagon by claiming to see him too. While the actual sound and visual effects of Nessie himself are in fact rather good.

family film firmly set in the English sixties

[stephen-63 · 7 July 2001]

This is a family film with light humour and some lovely remembrancers of the sixties era, with baby doll nightgowns and pink angora sweaters...

Some early appearances by later UK comedy greats- an early old-man Clive Dunn, some early Wilfred Brambell etc make it worth watching.

The story about the Loch Ness Monster is pure tosh but the film never takes itself seriously at all and it is similar to a rather toned down very early Carry On film, relatively gentle.

English humour from the 60's.

The Hoax Or Miss Lessley's Rear?

[boblipton · 5/10 · 22 December 2020]

Adam Faith can't sell his book about the Loch Ness Monster. All the publishers say that Nessie hasn't been seen in a long time. So he and Charles Hawtrey drive up to Scotland to fake evidence, picking up Marie France and Carole Lessley along the way. Once on site, their plans become mixed up with Sid James'. He's the owner of the pub they're staying at who's catching salmon out of season and selling them to a black marketeer.

The burlesque-like sexuality of this comedy is set in the first shot, with the camera following Miss Lessley on the street, with a close-up of her derriere. The rest of the movie seems to consist of CARRY ON hijinx, mixed with a plot which handles Faith's duplicity as if it is the most normal thing in the world. Credit, if that's the right word, with a script co-written by Terry Nation.

Faith was transitioning from a two-hit musical wonder to an actor. He seems to have had moderate success with the latter career. He died in 2003 at the age of 62.

A highly underrated film,BRILLIANT.

[rubiotodo · 7/10 · 16 November 2005]

I saw this film advertised in the paper but with no review. So I taped it off BBC2 then watched it having just seen that it had Adam Faith and Sid James in it. I would rate it as a 12 because although there is no swearing or actual sex scenes in it;the humour is mostly innuendo. This film is not mentioned in 1)the Virgin film guide

2)Halliwells Who's Who in the movies

3)Leonard Maltins movie & video guide. Which I have found to mean films they want to forget which are generally gems.Another example being "Langrishe go down" with Dame Judi Dench. Besides the afore mentioned "What A Whopper" also had Wilfred Bramble Charles Haughtrey, Spike Milligan and Clive Dunn make for an impressive if refreshingly UNPC mild comedy.

Quality comics flounder in Scotland

[GazHack · 3/10 · 26 November 1999]

Sadly, despite a whole host of reliable British comedy actors in the cast list and some well known names behind the scenes (Terry Nation and John Barry) this is a pretty dreadful movie. Even by the low standards of pop star film vehicles, this is a yawn inducing non-event. Dull jokes about people misunderstanding each other, the heroines' clothes 'accidentally' coming off and stereotypical Scots rhubarbing in the background. Only for nostalgic Adam Faith fans I'm afraid or possibly "Carry On" fans wanting to catch Sid James and Charles Hawtry in their typical guises.

Almost makes Plan 9 seem workable.

[peterjamesyates · 1/10 · 19 March 2002]

It's almost sad to see dependable British comedy actors like Sid James and Terry Scott involved with such rubbish. Even they are just going through the motions. The Daleks must have been the highlight of Terry Nation's career; reckon he scribbled parts of this screenplay in his sleep.

The real star is the Phantom II? hearse, UW 3000, used in the filming. Where is she now - known to the RREC?

So bad it's almost watchable

[RobW · 2/10 · 14 November 1999]

Dire British comedy, so pathetic it's almost worth watching as an object lesson in how not to make a film (I've seen better amateur films). Largely wooden cast are baffled by an inept script. The only glimmers of light are some stalwart comedy actors trying hard (but vainly) to inject some grains of humour. Wilfrid Brambell impersonates a Scottish postman, and there's a neat little cameo from Spike Milligan as a tramp fishing in the Serpentine. Fortunately he's near the beginning so you can turn it off once he's said his lines.

Lighthearted comedy

[carollaw51-41-56256 · 9/10 · 20 September 2018]

I dont understand why this film has so many bad reviews and some are even claiming it as the worst comedy ever made,really?? i think these people need to see more comedies as i would say the film version of On The buses takes the honour of being the worst comedy. This was one of my favourite films as a kid and when ever i watch this it always brings back fond memories of the days when my father used to take us on holidays to Scotland,we used to visit Loch Ness and Loch Lomond etc.And i remember always seeing tourists taking photos hoping to get a glimpse of the mysterious monster.There was a reward back then for whoever could come up with a genuine photo to prove Nessie existed,but to my knowledge no one ever has.There were a lot of tricksters about then faking photos hoping to get the generous reward,and this is what the plot of this film is all about.Its a simple story and very innocent.Its a little sexist in parts but not enough to make any libbist to write up about.And the film makes up for being PC by having a black man in the cast who plays one of their flatmate artists,you rarely saw ethnic minorities in comedies in the early 60s,so the film deserves some credit here for being diverse. Its a fun film with a familiar cast of British comedians of that era,Sid James,Terry Thomas,Charles Hawtrey,Wilfred Brambell ,Spike Milligan and some other well known faces. Its probably best watched in an afternoon with the family,sit back and enjoy

Awful. Give it a big miss!

[geoffm60295 · 2/10 · 15 July 2019]

A very tedious and unfunny film. Adam Faith wasn't exactly a great singer and his acting here can only be described as wooden, and that's being generous! The film is essentially a series of weak and feeble cobbled together scenes where Adam Faith (Tony) tries to raise money by getting his book about the Loch Ness monster published, so he and a few chums, including the glamorous Carole Lesley, travel to Scotland to fabricate evidence of seeing 'Nessie' - which he then recounts to our unsuspecting 'highland cousins.' The daft and contrived storyline, together with the corny dialogue, renders the film almost unwatchable from beginning to end! To inject genuine humour into the narrative, Spike Milligan, Charles Hawtrey and Wilfred Brambell feature by playing eccentric characters, but despite their best efforts, even they struggle to enliven the proceedings. Sid James, with his conspicuous cockney accent and gravelly throated laughs, plays 'Harry,' a wily and 'dodgy' Scottish publican, who has a nice illegal sideline going on with trout fishing. James basically reprises the good natured 'spiv' role so often seen in the countless films he starred in during the 1950's. At least James helps to inject some humour into the film, but Terence Longdon, a distinguished, notable B film actor, who plays Tony's irritating and naive pal called 'Vernon,' is wasted in this tripe, and after 60 minutes of watching this at home, I think any sane audience at the time would have walked out of the cinema! The film meanders from one tedious scene to another, which left me begging for the credits to roll!

Pleasant

[kmoh-1 · 23 February 2008]

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 Worst Comedy Ever Made!

[naxos33 · 1/10 · 17 April 2011]

After watching this dire garbage for 25 minutes I thought that perhaps even death would be infinitely more preferable than carrying on viewing! I bought this stinker on DVD recently,mainly to view the gorgeous Carole Lesley,but I presumed that any film boasting such an array of talent(Adam Faith apart) would be worth watching........boy,was I wrong! This is arguably the WORST comedy in history.............maybe even the worst FILM ever made!! An irritating melange of mind numbing proportions! Some films are so bad that they take on a charm of their own.......this is not one of them. It's bad......very bad.......tedious.......painful! I rest my case....do not waste your cash....or your time....you have been warned!

Watch it for the familiar faces

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 28 February 2017]

WHAT A WHOPPER is a comic vehicle for one time pop star hit Adam Faith who plays a writer and photographer desperate to sell his new book on the subject of the Loch Ness Monster. In order to boost flagging sales, he decides to head to Loch Ness itself and with the help of some friends, fake a photograph of Nessie in order to drum up some much-needed publicity.

This film starts off on a great footing with Clive Dunn's hilariously doddery cameo and some great turns from supporting players. Faith himself is only average in this one, but Terence Longdon puts a lot of effort in as his best buddy and Carole Lesley is a beautiful delight as the blonde friend in a Barbara Windsor/Liz Fraser type role. Charles Hawtry also pops up as an artist in scenes which heavily satirise Jackson Pollock.

Unfortunately once the action moves to Scotland, the pacing begins to flag and it feels as if writer Terry Nation (well known to DR WHO fans) ran out of good gags. There's fun from Sid James and Ewan Roberts (the latter known for playing Inspector Ames in the COLONEL MARCH TV series) as a double-act running a country hotel and the likes of Terry Scott as a copper, Wilfrid Brambell as a postman, and Spike Milligan as a tramp. However, these are highlights amid some more tedious moments and the dated pop songs don't help. The plot really seems to fall apart at the end and needed more structure a la a rival CARRY ON picture from the era.

what a load of rubbish

[malcolmgsw · 1/10 · 3 December 2005]

At the time this film was made British cinema audiences were on a steep nosedive from 1 billion in the late 4o0s to around 350 million when this pile of junk was made.The only idea that the film industry seemed to have in those days was to close as many cinemas as they could rather than make decent films.They were just floundering around and the fact that this film ever got made shows why.If when you next in your local High Street look where the supermarkets are.They are tombstones to the great cinemas on that same spot.Cinemas that were closed by films such as these.This film has one thing going for it,it is so bad it is actually watchable for that reason.

What a Whopper

[CinemaSerf · 5/10 · 22 October 2023]

Heart-throb pop star Adam Faith ("Tony") is a struggling author who cannot get his book about the famed Loch Ness monster published. It purports to be a serious work and naturally all the publishers know there's no such beastie. Determined to prove them wrong, he and some pals fake some photos and soon the world and it's wife is heading to verify the sightings. Now as a Scot, this irked on a couple of levels - not least Faith's appalling attempt at the accent and director Gilbert Gunn's determination not to use any Scottish actors at all, as far as I could see. Sidney James as the Highland hotel owner really did take the proverbial biscuit. Despite these rather obvious, doubtless budget-driven clangers, at times it's actually quite a fun, light-hearted, wheeze but it's really let down by the fairly stilted acting across the board which is almost as ropey as the stereotype-ridden script. Needless to say, the filming never left the home counties and as for the theme song - well, least said. It does have a nostalgia value - simple comedy around an even more simple story, but it's still not very good.

This small scale, frequently fishy caper proves to be a Loch of monster-sized laffs!'

[Weirdling_Wolf · 8/10 · 21 April 2022]

A young, raffish down-on-his-luck writer with a gimlet-sharp eye for the young ladies (Adam Faith) ambitiously hatches an ingeniously madcap plot to orchestrate a sighting of the infamously elusive Loch Ness Monster with a little help from his amiably eccentric, Nessie-faking beatnik chums in Gilbert Gunn's delightfully kooky 60s comedy caper! 'What A Whopper!' is not only endowed with a truly 'whopping' cast of iconic film and telly-box favourites, including Terry Scott, Clive Dunn, Wilfrid Brambell, Spike Milligan and bawdy comedy Lothario par excellence Sid James, and Blake's 7 showrunner Terry Nation's pratfall-perfect, wonderfully whacky, slapstick n' tickle script, while admittedly a small scale, frequently fishy cinematic affair is also a Loch of monster-sized laffs!

The soothingly nostalgic British comedy 'What A Whopper!' is atmospherically set against the bucolic majesty of mountainous, myth-laden Scotland, a suitably bracing backdrop for the hilariously outlandish hi-jinks and blissfully bonkers buffoonery of our bungling beatniks! Their intrepid attempt to contrive a media frenzy about the sudden return of the legendary lake dwelling diva Nessie not infrequently inspires some especially inspired lunacy by our endearingly shambolic, far from expert fraudsters! Frothily factor in some dreamy sing-along Adam Faith pop, alongside no less fine compositions by music maestro Laurie Johnson, heroically hyping up the crowd-pleasing multitude of amusingly silly rough N' tumble comedy shenanigans, all being breezily directed by the talented Gilbert Gunn guarantees that fans of vintage British comedy will find the galloping gag-fest 'What A Whopper!' a warmly-fuzzy feel-good delight from start to finish.

Memento from a bygone age

[heedarmy · 21 March 2002]

"There's something funny going on", mutters Terry Scott's policeman to his colleague Gordon Rollings. Well, I'm not sure about that, but "What a Whopper!" is at least mildly diverting, mainly for the pleasure of spotting the stars in the extraordinary cast. It is also noteworthy for the screenplay by future "Daleks" scribe Terry Nation, music by Laurie "Avengers" Johnson and for Adam Faith's quite dreadful theme song, which is arranged by none other than John Barry!

The film itself is innocent seaside postcard humour, full of comic misunderstandings. Charles Hawtrey plays a beatnik artist (!), Spike Milligan is a befuddled fisherman and Sid James a Scottish publican, although he wisely makes no attempt at a Scots accent. There is also a rare big screen outing for Freddie Frinton's famous sozzled aristocrat performance. This film is truly a souvenir from a bygone age, when the idea of an inebriated man driving from London to Scotland was funny and when outrageous sexism was tolerated. The treatment of women in this film makes the "Carry On" series positively 'PC' by comparison!

Cheeky, family fun!

[Woolhat · 5 May 2002]

I saw this film today and must say, it made me laugh. It didn't aim to be a major box office smash and it wasn't, but it was fun and relaxing to watch. I was amazed and glad to see so many great names appear, and it made a nice change to have a plot that wasn't so complex that it gave you a headache. I enjoyed it greatly and i know my cousin of eleven years old enjoyed it too!