Here's a list of actors and comics taking part, some for just one scene, some for more, and much between. For someone of my age who grew up watching this kind of stuff on the telly, along with related comedy and sitcoms, it's a feast for the eyes and memory! The ones that I'll pick out are Bruce Forsyth, Bernard Bresslaw, Joan Sims, Roy Hudd, Harry Secombe, June Whitfield, Leslie Phillips, Bill Pertwee, Ian Carmichael, Alfie Bass, Spike Milligan, Melvyn Hayes, Ronnie Barker, Marty Feldman, Stephen Lewis and Felicity Devonshire as the nude girl, top of the shop! And many more besides - it's 'spot the 1970s celebrity' time!
The one I wanted to highlight, though, was Harry H. Corbett in the segment 'Lust', in which he quite brilliantly plays a man looking for love (or even a quick date would do, let alone a wriggle in the sack)! He stumbles into a situation where opportunity knocks with a girl who has been stood up for a date - and with whom he ends up chatting in two adjacent phone boxes in a tube station. It's thoughtful, poignant, funny, sad and moving all at the same time as the sketch unfolds and reveals its substance. It was specifically written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, the creators of Steptoe and Son, which explains why they knew how to balance his comic timing with melancholy so well. Corbett is incredibly convincing, a long way from the bitter and twisted Harold in Steptoe! Worth checking out that segment for sure.
But I'm getting ahead of myself here and should explain that it's a film basically made up of sketches. They are loosely held together by some fun cartoon sequences looking very Monty Python and Terry Gilliam, but here designed and animated by Bill Sewell, with the distinctive, bizarre voiceovers provided by Spike Milligan! It's made up of seven sections, each depicting that religious nonsense relating to the 'seven deadly sins' (as you may have guessed by the title)! Each one spins a tale supposedly depicting the ins and outs of each of these: Avarice, Envy, Gluttony, the aforementioned Lust, Pride, Sloth and Wrath.
The 'Sloth' sketch (written by Spike Milligan) features himself and Ronnie Barker in a completely silent, slapstick duel of laziness that is almost pure silent-era comedy - a stark contrast to the dialogue-heavy Galton and Simpson or Marty Feldman segments. The segments were penned by a range of top comedy writers from the day, including Graham Chapman, Barry Cryer, Marty Feldman, Alan Simpson, Ray Galton, Spike Milligan and more. Each one brings a 1970s TV feel and flavour to the sketches. For someone like me from that era, it's not only great fun but pure nostalgia as we step back into a world I remember well growing up as a kid. The cars, the streets, the coppers, the colours, the shops, the buses, the phone boxes and so much more - a proper trip down Memory Lane.
Of course, nothing is perfect and some sketches are better than others, but they all have a real engagement to them. It's great to see these comedy greats at work together under the leadership of director Graham Stark (known mostly as a comedy actor across the decades and for his roles in the Pink Panther films). It's worth noting that this was his directorial debut, for which he managed to assemble virtually the entire comedy establishment of 1970s Britain purely through his personal address book and industry friendships!
Even if you aren't from my era, I reckon you might still have some fun with this, dated as young people would no doubt consider it coming in cold - and yes, dated is the word. But that's the point, really! Anyway, if you fancy the challenge and don't have the DVD lurking at the back of your collection like some of us, you can grab it from the likes of MusicMagpie for the price of a large coffee, or catch it on YouTube when someone uploads it and gets away with it! Great fun, bawdy and recommended!
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