Pan-European schmutz focussing on the titular vintage ’30s Roller, a sporting Rex Harrison losing a feather-hatted Jeanne Moreau, Shirley MacLaine in Yootha Joyce beehive, and Art ‘Who?’ Carney looking after shyster George C Scott. The best thing about this by far is the fact it inspired Marty Feldman and Bary Took to create Memoirs of a Chaise-Longue, with Alan ‘Merely’ Melville voicing the titular saucy banquette as it narrated its way between tales of the clandestine gropings of its various historical owners.
Y is for…
Yellow Rolls-Royce, The
Yellow Submarine
Well-worn and (whisper it) not great animated chestnut. We’ve said it many times, but there’s more wit and invention in The Rutles’ three-minute parody than in this film’s entire duration. And said skit also cheekily renders all the cartoon Rutles’ voices as the same flat Liverpudlian drone, thus sniping at the poor quality of the original’s vocal stand-ins. Magical Mystery Tour, or even Help!, is always preferable.
TV CREAM SAYS: THIS DESPITE EDDIE YATES AS PAUL MCCARTNEY!
You’re a Big Boy Now
Naive young librarian rejects wholesome advances of Karen ‘Easy Rider’ Black for kinky dominatrix Elizabeth ‘Mrs. Frisbee off of The Secret of NIMH’ Hartman. Surely that bit of casting’s the wrong way round? Rip ‘Artie’ Torn co-stars in very probably the closest Francis Ford Coppola has ever got to making a version of that episode of Sorry! where Ronnie Corbett runs away from home and shacks up with unconvincing squatter Cathy ‘House of Elliott’ Murphy. You know – “Hi, I’m Sharon – ‘Shaz’.” “I’m Timothy – ‘Tiz’.” That one.


Points of View