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Further up the Creek
Further up the Creek
	UK trade advertisement
Directed by	Val Guest
Written by	Val Guest; Len Heath; John Warren
Produced by	Henry Halstead
Starring	David Tomlinson; Frankie Howerd; Shirley Eaton
Cinematography	Gerald Gibbs; Len Harris
Edited by	Bill Lenny
Music by	Stanley Black
Production; company	Hammer Film Productions
Distributed by	Columbia
Release date	28 October 1958;
Running time	91 minutes
Country	UK
Language	English

Further Up the Creek is a 1958 British comedy film written and directed by Val Guest and starring David Tomlinson, Frankie Howerd, Shirley Eaton, Thora Hird and Lionel Jeffries.^[1] It served as a follow-up to Up the Creek (1958), with Peter Sellers not reprising his role because it clashed with the filming of The Mouse That Roared (1959). Frankie Howerd replaced him.^[2]

Plot

Navy frigate the "Aristotle" is sold to a Middle Eastern power, and against regulations the ship's bosun tries to make a profit by selling tickets to passengers seeking a luxury cruise. When the Captain discovers what is going on, he attempts to straighten things out.^[3]

Cast

David Tomlinson as Lieutenant Fairweather
Frankie Howerd as Bosun
Shirley Eaton as Jane
Thora Hird as Mrs. Galloway
Lionel Jeffries as Steady Barker
Lionel Murton as Perkins
David Lodge as Scouse
John Warren as Cooky
Sam Kydd as Bates
Edwin Richfield as Bennett
Peter Collingwood as Chippy
Ian Whittaker as Lofty
Harry Landis as Webster
Esma Cannon as Maudie
Tom Gill as Philippe
Jack Le White as Kentoni brother
Max Day as Kentoni brother
Eric Pohlmann as President
Michael Goodliffe as Lieutenant Commander
Basil Dignam as Flagship Commander
Judith Furse as Chief Wren
Ballard Berkeley as Whacker Payne
Michael Ripper as ticket collector
Stanley Unwin as porter
John Stuart as Admiral
Patrick Holt as First Lieutenant (uncredited)

Production

Guest said "it wasn't a big success at all. Today you can do Police Academy 2, 3, 4, I don't think Up the Creek 2 was … the gag had been blown somehow."^[2]

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Like its predecessor, Up the Creek [1958], this film starts with a fine comic idea which is then exploited in the least enterprising way. Only the most obvious jokes are extracted from the situation and there is a constant desperate scramble to pile absurdity on top of absurdity. In the prevailing poverty David Tomlinson and Frankie Howerd have to resort to grotesque capers to persuade themselves that they are being funny – but with only intermittent success. Shirley Eaton, acting come-hither with supreme lack of restraint, beams her way good-humouredly through a non-existent role, and only Thora Hird, with her bitter aggressiveness, can bring a dash of badly needed astringency into this rather assorted mixture of established gags."^[4]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Made in something of a hurry by director Val Guest, as he sought to cash in on the success of Up the Creek, this sequel suffers from both indifferent plotting and the absence of Peter Sellers from the role of the scheming bosun. Exploiting the sale of his ship to the ruler of Algerocco by flogging tickets for a Mediterranean cruise, Frankie Howerd (not a natural before the movie camera) works every gag, as the floating con trick is called to action stations."^[5]

TV Guide wrote, "less rather than more, as most follow-ups are."^[3]