Rent French Dressing Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental

Rent French Dressing (1964)

3.3 of 5 from 52 ratings
1h 23min
  • General info
  • Available formats
Synopsis:
Gormleigh-on-Sea is the sort of typical, boring English seaside resort where the landladies lock away the jam at 5 o'clock and there's little do except carve your initials on the bus shelters. Then, deck-chair attendant Jim has a brain-wave - persuading the Mayor (Bryan Pringle) to host a film festival and import a French movie siren. It's not long before the mayors of Gormleigh's rival towns look on with jealous eyes and scheming minds…
Actors:
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Directors:
Producers:
Kenneth Harper
Writers:
Peter Myers, Ronald Cass, Johnny Speight, Peter Brett
Studio:
Network
Genres:
Classics, Comedy, Drama
BBFC:
Release Date:
13/04/2015
Run Time:
83 minutes
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono
Subtitles:
None
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 2.35:1
Colour:
B & W
Bonus:
  • Original Theatrical Trailer
  • Image Gallery
  • Promotional Material PDF's

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Reviews (1) of French Dressing

Youth Upon Hernia Bay - French Dressing review by CH

Spoiler Alert
10/11/2021

With such a title as French Dressing, being made in 1963 and set in, er, Gormleigh-on-Sea, one might reasonably assume that this would be a low-grade British farce.

It has, thankfully, elements of that, but these are transformed by its being the first feature film directed by Ken Russell, its script tweeted by Johnny Speight (as that verb used to mean) and sporting an array of character actors.

Here, for one, is James Bolam who works as a deckchair attendant smitten with local reporter Alita Naughton (who should have appeared on screen more often). He hits on the idea of bringing new vim to bathchair-ridden (as it were) Gormleigh by staging a film festival in which place of honour will be given to a Bardot lookalike (Marissa Mell).

All of which meets with the opposition of the Mayor (Bryan Pringle) who continually sports a top hat while his civic dignity crumbles as he duly welcomes the bombshell to his shores (Herne Bay does sterling service throughout, not least its seemingly endless pier), where the rain machine must have added considerably to the budget.

To this Russell brings a relish not only of whimsical Tati but all manner of New Wave tropes, such as speeded-up sections, an array of bicycle rides – and even a score provided by the composer favoured by Truffaut: Georges Delarue. And there is even a touch of Bunuel when, at the eventual festival: in front of the screen outraged, rampaging viewers are sucked into Miss Mill's close-up lips. And at the very moment when, backstage, Hitchcock-fashion, a champagne bottle explodes as she asks the Mayor what is on his mind.

And if this is not surreal enough, the turbulent festival is chronicled by a television reporter: a wonderfully droll cameo by eternal quizmaster Robert Robinson.

This being Ken Russell, there is even nudity - at the opening of a beach, a decade before Brighton did so, Miss Naughton's bottom proves as sporting as those of Mayor's office staff.

A final twist. Ken Russell turned down the offer of Cliff's Summer Holiday to make this – and the credits show that, none the less, one of the Shadows, Brian Bennett, was prevailed upon to add a foot-tappin' instrumental to it.

Here is something which anticipates A Hard Day's Night and Monty Python.

The higher frippery rarely reaches such levels. One to watch again.

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