Rent You Must Be Joking! (1965)
3.1 of 5 from 56 ratings
1h 35min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Fall In for madcap military mayhem and plenty of barmy army antics in this zany British comedy gem set in Swinging Sixties London Town? An eccentric Army psychiatrist (Terry-Thomas) decides to test the gumption of our boy's in Khaki by sending a bunch of them off on a grand scavenger hunt around the streets of London. Their mission - to grab everything from a pop star's autograph to the famous Lutine Bell from Lloyd's of London? No trick is too dirty, no cheat too shabby as the Army boy's take to the streets to win the ultimate prize - a luxury round-the-world holiday?
- Actors:
- Michael Callan, Lionel Jeffries, Denholm Elliott, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Bernard Cribbins, James Robertson Justice, Leslie Phillips, Gabriella Licudi, Patricia Viterbo, Terry-Thomas, Lee Montague, Irene Handl, Richard Wattis, Miles Malleson, Gwendolyn Watts, Clive Dunn, Tracy Reed, James Villiers, Graham Stark, Arthur Lowe
- Directors:
- Michael Winner
- Producers:
- Charles H. Schneer
- Writers:
- Alan Hackney, Michael Winner, Jan Read
- Studio:
- Sony
- Genres:
- Classics, Comedy
- Collections:
- Remembering Bernard Cribbins, Remembering Leslie Phillips
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 23/02/2026
- Run Time:
- 100 minutes
- Languages:
- English Mono
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.66:1
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Audio commentary with film historians Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby (2026)
- From Stage to Screen (2016, 72 mins): career-spanning interview with actor Lee Montague
- The Guardian Event: Michael Winner on Censorship (1990, 78 mins): archival audio recording of a talk given by the infamous director at the National Film Theatre, London
- The Guardian Lecture with Bob Godfrey (1985, 54 mins): archival audio of the animator and designer of You Must Be Jokingl's opening title sequence recorded at the National Film Theatre, London
- The BEHP Interview with Bernard Gribble (1995, 100 mins): archival audio recording featuring the film editor in conversation with John Legard and Dave Robson
- Original theatrical trailer
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
- World premiere on Blu-ray
More like You Must Be Joking!
Reviews (2) of You Must Be Joking!
Classic Old Comedy - You Must Be Joking! review by pk
love these old comedies why they don't make them like this anymore is just so sad but still great to be able to watch them
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.
Nostalgic British Comedy - You Must Be Joking! review by GI
A typical madcap British comedy of the mid 1960s, the era of the Carry On series and the sort of comedy that harked back to the Ealing ones but unfortunately ended up being more silly than funny. There's the benefit of the nostalgia of the Swinging Sixties and the host of popular British character actors on show.
This is a slapstick farce that highlights the popular theme often found in these films of the class structure and conflicts in British society here exemplified in the British military with it's officers and other ranks scenario.
A batty Army psychologist (Terry-Thomas) has devised a plan to identify the quintessential soldier by having a selected group sent out into London with a list of bizarre objects they have to obtain. These include a rare rose, an electric hare of the greyhound racing variety and lastly the famous Lutine Bell from Lloyds of London. For reasons unexplained they soldiers picked are a motley bunch of incompetents and include an American (Michael Callan).
Lionel Jeffries gets to play his martinet Sergeant Major Scot, often treated as a foreigner by the various Londoners he encounters. Bernard Cribbins is the reluctant ordinary soldier who can't get past the first hurdle and Denholm Elliott is the smarmy officer who gets everyone around him to do all the work. The cast includes cameos from some great British talent such as James Robertson Justice, Arthur Lowe, Clive Dunn and Leslie Phillips.
Viewed today it will come over as a novelty perhaps childish and clichéd and it certainly doesn't hold up as well as other British comedies of this time and type.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.