Film:
The Punch and Judy Man
 Year: 1963
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Country: UK Genre: Comedy |
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Director:
Jeremy Summers |
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Starring:
Tony
Hancock, Sylvia Syms, John Le Mesurier, Hattie Jacques, Hugh Lloyd |
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No trailer Available |
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The Punch and Judy Man Synopsis - The Punch and Judy Man centres around Wally Pinner, a Punch and Judy Man in a small seaside town. He is trying to get on with life, whilst his wife, with social climbing aspirations, tries to push him into the direction of the self-serving local Councilors who are constantly living it up at the expense of the tax payers. But Wally's loathing of the beaurocrats puts him at odds with his wife, and he seeks out his friends for some words of wisdom and reassurance. In order to please his wife he agrees to go to the Mayors gala evening, but will this make him or break him. |
| Review of The Punch and Judy Man - This is Tony Hancock, but not as we know him from Hancock's Half Hour. The Punch and Judy Man is a gentle comedy that is much more a satire of small town society. The pace is rather downbeat and at times seems rather morose, but superbly done all the same. The film works rather well as long as the understanding is that this is not meant to be neither a laugh a minute film nor a serious drama, and for me it actually works best for its dramatic aspects. This film was a flop upon release as people still wanted to see the Hancock character from Hancock's Half Hour and that was a shame as he would never lead a film again. There is enough in this film to suggest that Hancocks yearning to move away from the overt humour and catchphrases of his TV past, and to go on and explore the human condition in film could have made for some excellent and very interesting films. |
| The reasons I recommend The Punch and Judy Man are: 1. A rather good script that with its gentle humour and some deep thought works way above most of its contemporaries . 2. Hancock's exceptional comic timing is still to the fore in the scenes that require it. |
