The Punch and Judy Man
| The Punch and Judy Man | |
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Original UK quad poster by Tom Chantrell
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| Directed by | Jeremy Summers |
| Produced by | Gordon Scott (as Gordon L. T. Scott) |
| Written by |
Philip Oakes Tony Hancock |
| Starring |
Tony Hancock Sylvia Syms Ronald Fraser Barbara Murray |
| Music by |
Don Banks Derek Scott |
| Cinematography | Gilbert Taylor |
| Edited by | Gordon Pilkington |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Warner-Pathé Distributors(UK) |
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Release date
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Running time
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96 min. |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Punch and Judy Man is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Jeremy Summers from a script by Philip Oakes and Tony Hancock for the Associated British Picture Corporation. It was Hancock's second and last starring role in a film, following The Rebel (1961).
Based on Hancock's childhood memories of Bournemouth, the movie is set in 1963 in the sleepy fictional seaside town of Piltdown. Hancock plays Wally Pinner, the unhappily married Punch and Judy Man. Wally and the other beach entertainers, the Sandman (John Le Mesurier) who makes sand sculptures, and Neville the photographer (Mario Fabrizi) are socially unacceptable to the town's snobbish elite.
Wally's wife, Delia (Sylvia Syms), runs a typical seaside curios shop of the time below their flat, and is socially ambitious. To achieve this she needs to have Wally invited to entertain at the official reception for Lady Jane Caterham (Barbara Murray), who is to switch on the town's illuminations, and at the Mayoress' suggestion the Reception Committee invites Wally to entertain.
The illumination ceremony ends in farce when Wally's electric shaver shorts out some of the lights, causing some of the illuminated signs to display unflattering comments about the town. The dinner degenerates into a food fight when one of the drunken guests heckles Punch, and when Lady Jane rounds on Wally, Delia floors her with a punch. Her dreams of social acceptance are gone, but Wally and Delia retire, wiser and closer.
The town of Piltdown is apparently named after Piltdown Man.
The film is a gentle but bitter-sweet comedy, and provides some considerable insight into Hancock himself. The screenplay by Hancock and Philip Oakes appears to be based partly on Hancock's own life and marriage. In one scene, Wally and Delia have breakfast in almost total silence, and the scene demonstrates that Wally and Delia are married from habit, and no longer have anything in common. The scene is often considered to be an observation on Hancock's marriage to the former Cicely Romanis at the time.
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Wikipedia