New Releases
Network Distributing takes us to Futtocks End this summer
New to Network Distributing’s The British Film label this summer, comes a duo of releases that will take you on a silly and psychedelic trip through 1960s British comedy with Futtocks End and Other Short Stories and Just Like a Woman, from prolific director, producer and writer Bob Kellett.
A notable presence in the British film industry throughout the 1960s-70s, Bob Kellett was known for directing classic British comedy feature film spin-offs, including Up Pompeii and its sequels (1971-72) with Frankie Howerd, The Alf Garnett Saga (1972) with Warren Mitchell and Are You Being Served? (1977) with John Inman. Futtock’s End and Other Short Stories was his foray into fiction films and includes a collection of four of the funniest short films ever made for British comedy.
These wordless ‘sound effect comedies’ utilised the talent of their hilarious ensembles, harking back to the silent era comedies incorporating slapstick and music. Drawing from a band of British talent, they feature Ronnie Barker, Richard Briers, Bernard Cribbins, Barbara Windsor, David Lodge, Wilfrid Brambell, Joan Sims, Michael Hordern and many more.
Futtocks End and Other Short Stories (1964-70)
A HOME OF YOUR OWN
A young couple select a site to build their new dream home, setting in train a series of incompetent events!
SAN FERRY ANN
A hilariously wicked look at the British at play, as a group of holidaymakers board the San Ferry Ann to France.
FUTTOCKS END
A gathering at the decaying country pile of Futtocks End give rise to an ongoing series of saucy misunderstandings.
VIVE LE SPORT
Two swinging dolly-birds roar through Europe in their Mini Cooper, with a sinister organization in hot pursuit!
Just Like a Woman (1966) marked Bob’s first full length feature film production and Robert Fuest’s directorial debut, with whom Kellett would later collaborate with for the short Vive Le Sport. This psychedelic oddity captured the swinging sixties vibrancy and idiosyncrasies as Wendy Craig (Butterflies, And Another Makes Three & Five) and Francis Matthews star as a bickering couple going through an acrimonious separation.
This offbeat comedy co-starred John Wood, Dennis Price, Miriam Karlin, Peter Jones, and Clive Dunn as the eccentric interior designer Graff von Fischer.
Futtocks End and Other Short Stories and Just Like a Woman are presented by Network as brand-new High-Definition restorations from their original elements in their as exhibited theatrical aspect ratios by Networks’ award-winning inhouse team. Making their Blu-ray and Digital debuts, they contain a host of special features including newly recorded interviews with Bob’s wife, Anne Kellett, and Oscar winning cinematographer Billy Williams (Gandhi), who shot San Ferry Ann and Just Like a Woman.
Network have previously released the Bob Kellett directed feature Spanish Fly and series Space 1999 for which he directed three episodes. To explore more from Network, visit The British Film.
Both available on Blu-ray/DVD and Digital from Amazon Prime from 5th July Pre-order now: www.networkonair.com
