Dad's Army: The Movie

In the 1970s the British film industry went through a craze for turning hit TV comedies into big screen features. From On the Buses (1971) to Porridge (1979), Dads Army was one of the few which made the transition with style. Set in the small south coast town of Walmington-on-Sea in 1940, the film does have the structure of three TV episodes remade and sequenced together. Beginning with the formation of the local Home Guard, the company has a self-contained adventure on military manoeuvres, before a finale which allows for some heroism as three German officers take over the church hall. Dads Army has all the gentle character comedy of the classic BBC TV series, benefiting enormously by retaining the entire television cast, headed by the incomparable Arthur Lowe as the blustering Captain Mainwaring and supported by the equally wonderful John Le Mesurier and Clive Dunn. The cinema budget allows far superior production values to the original series, with a loving re-creation of 1940s England and some surprisingly beautiful cinematography. Above all, the film is both funny and a nostalgic reminder of a time when ordinary middle-aged and old men could be both real and movie heroes. --Gary S. Dalkin