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Dry Rot
Dry Rot
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Maurice Elvey
Written by	John Chapman (as John Roy Chapman)(from his play)
Produced by	Jack Clayton
Starring	Ronald Shiner; Brian Rix; Peggy Mount; Sid James
Cinematography	Arthur Grant
Edited by	Gerry Hambling
Music by	Peter Akister; Lambert Williamson
Production; company	Remus Films
Distributed by	Independent Film Distributors
Release date	31 October 1956;
Running time	87 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Dry Rot is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey, and starring Ronald Shiner, Brian Rix, Peggy Mount, and Sid James.^[1] The screenplay is by John Chapman, adapted from his 1954 Whitehall farce of the same name.^[2]

The plot concerns the practice of gambling, which was illegal in the United Kingdom at the time, other than at racecourses.

Plot

Three dodgy bookies, Alf Tubbe, Flash Harry, and Fred Phipps plan to rig a horse race by kidnapping the fancied horse and its French jockey. They stay at a country house hotel near the racecourse, run by Colonel and Mrs Wagstaff, where they conceal the horse Sweet Lavender (and later the jockey) in a hidden cellar. They substitute Fred for the real jockey, expecting him to lose, but this plan backfires when he wins. A subplot sees the dimwitted Fred fall in love with the hotel chambermaid Beth. A final chase scene has the main characters on a fire engine being pursued by the police.

The title Dry Rot refers to the rotten wood on the hotel stairs, which regularly catches every character unawares.

Cast

Ronald Shiner as Alf Tubbe
Brian Rix as Fred Phipps
Peggy Mount as Police Sergeant Fire
Lee Patterson as Danby
Sid James as Flash Harry (credited as Sidney James)
Joan Sims as Beth Barton
Heather Sears as Susan
Michael Shepley as Colonel Wagstaff
Joan Haythorne as Mrs. Wagstaff
Miles Malleson as yokel
Christian Duvaleix as Polignac
John Roy Chapman as Claude
Joan Benham as blonde
Raymond Glendenning as himself
Fred Griffiths as bookie
Wilfrid Brambell as tar man
Shirley Anne Field as waitress (uncredited)

Locations

The horse-racing sequences were filmed at Kempton Park Racecourse, Sunbury-on-Thames.^[3]

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Despite the determined efforts of cast and director, this well-worn material finally proves intractable and one is left with a theatrical farce full of simple slapstick and comic yokels. Ronald Shiner tends to overplay as the wily Alf; the remainder battle valiantly against heavy odds."^[4]

Kine Weekly said "Boisterous farcical comedy. ... The jokes contain plenty of corn, but the co-stars flog them hard and finally prove that unvarnished knockabout is no mean substitute for wit. Its riotous fire engine chase climax alone warrants the price of admission. Very good British rib-tickler."^[5]

Picturegoer wrote: "It's a dead cert that racecourse comedies need more speed than this one to romp home a winner. ... This horseplay goes at a creaking pace, mostly set in a country inn, with every tired cliché in the farce fun book working double time. ... Shiner, James and Rix gang up to get laughs – but the girls come off best. There's delightful Joan Sims, as a maid, Peggy Mount, a policewoman, and the girl with the Jean Simmons sparkle – Heather Sears, who's a real flower In the wilderness."^[6]

Picture Show wrote: "This hilarious, slapstick film of the successful stage farce tells of three unsuccessful bookies who hope to make a fortune by substituting another horse, for the favourite of a big race and backing it to lose. The comedy situations which result from this deception provide amusement and it is well acted and directed."^[7]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Amazingly bungled version of runaway stage farce; very slow."^[8]

The Radio Times wrote, "This tale of crooked bookies plods along more slowly than a doped horse, but there is the compensation of the polished performances of expert farceurs Ronald Shiner, Brian Rix, and Sid James."^[9]

Leslie Halliwell said: "Flat filming of a long-running theatrical farce."^[10]

Sky Movies wrote, "Heather Sears makes her screen debut, Joan Sims giggles infectiously, and the charms of Shirley Ann Field can be very briefly glimpsed as a waitress at the Three Frogs Cafe. But Peggy Mount sweeps all else before her in a relatively short, but devastating, appearance as the indomitable Sergeant Fire."^[11]

References

^ ""Dry Rot"". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
^ "Production of Dry Rot | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
^ "Reelstreets | Dry Rot". www.reelstreets.com.
^ "Dry Rot". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 23 (264): 154. 1 January 1956 – via ProQuest.
^ ""Dry Rot"". Kine Weekly. 474 (2567): 16. 25 October 1956 – via ProQuest.
^ "Dry Rot". Picturegoer. 32: 17. 9 December 1956 – via ProQuest.
^ "Dry Rot". Picture Show. 67 (1761): 10. 29 December 1956 – via ProQuest.
^ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 304. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.
^ "Dry Rot | Film review and movie reviews". Radio Times. 8 April 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
^ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 299. ISBN 0586088946.
^ "Dry Rot - Sky Movies HD". Skymovies.sky.com. 23 May 2002. Retrieved 29 July 2014.