Please Sir! ** (1971, John Alderton, Deryck Guyler, Joan Sanderson, Noel Howlett, Eric Chitty, Richard Davies) – Classic Movie Review 9369

Director Mark Stuart’s rather feeble and obvious though entirely genial enough 1971 Please Sir! is the big-screen film version of the deservedly highly popular TV school sitcom, in which caring but hapless teacher Mr Hedges (John Alderton) takes his fifth form class on a field trip and it’s summer holiday-camp time for the teachers and kids.

Feeble and obvious it may be, but it is great to have a record of the priceless performances of John Alderton, Deryck Guyler (Norman Potter), Joan Sanderson (Doris Ewell), Noel Howlett (Mr Cromwell), Eric Chitty (Mr Smith) and Richard Davies (Mr Price), and writers John Esmonde and Bob Larbey raise quite a few laughs with their original story and screenplay. Patsy Rowlands adds to the fun as Angela Cutforth.

The fifth form Fenn Street School kids look almost ready for retirement. The pupil roll call is: Peter Cleall (Eric Duffy), Carol Hawkins (Sharon Eversleigh), Liz Gebhardt (Maureen Bullock), David Barry (Frankie Abbott), Peter Denyer (Dennis Dunstable), Malcolm McFee (Peter Craven).

Everyone is good, but Alderton, Guyler and Sanderson are outstanding.

The Please Sir! TV series ran from 1968 to 1972.

Please Sir! is directed by Mark Stuart, runs 101 minutes is made by London Weekend International Productions, The Rank Organisation and Leslie Grade Film, is released by Rank Film Distributors (1971) (UK), is written by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey (original story and screenplay), is shot in Eastmancolor by Wilkie Cooper, is produced by Leslie Grade, Andrew Mitchell and Richard Bates, and is scored by Mike Vickers.

Granada Ventures released it on DVD in 2004 in the UK.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9369

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com