Up the Creek (1958 film)

Up the Creek
Directed by	Val Guest
Produced by	Henry Halstead
Written by	Val Guest Len Heath John Warren
Starring	David Tomlinson Peter Sellers Wilfrid Hyde-White
Music by	Tony Fones Tony Lowry
Cinematography	Arthur Grant Moray Grant
Edited by	Helen Wiggins
Production company	Byron Film Production
Distributed by	Warner Bros
Release dates	13 May 1958 (1958-05-13)
Running time	83 minutes
Country	UK
Language	English

Up the Creek is a 1958 British comedy film written and directed by Val Guest which starred David Tomlinson, Peter Sellers, Wilfrid Hyde-White, David Lodge and Lionel Jeffries.

Plot

Lieutenant Humphrey Fairweather, a well-meaning but accident-prone naval officer with a passion for rockets, is posted where he can (so the navy hopes) cause no further damage. He is given command of a mothballed Royal Navy vessel, HMS Berkeley, which has had no Commanding Officer for several years. She is moored at a wharf on the Suffolk coast near the (fictional) village of Meadows End.

He discovers that the ship is woefully under strength and is forced to contend with the schemes of his bos'n, Chief Petty Officer Dogerty (Sellers). He and the crew are running several profitable businesses, including a same-day laundry, selling naval rum and cigarettes to the local pub, the Pig and Whistle, and making pies and pastries for sale to the villagers. They also keep pigs and hens.

After the naive Fairweather is innocently drawn into the enterprises, he is politely blackmailed into covering for them. But when an Admiral makes a surprise inspection, the story eventually comes out. Whilst angrily haranguing them, Admiral Foley accidentally launches Fairweather's experimental rocket, and the ship is sunk.

Because of Fairweather's impeccable connections at the Admiralty, and because the Berkeley was Admiral Foley's first command, Fairwather is not court-martialed. Instead, he is promoted to Lt-Commander and posted to Woomera to continue his rocketry research, accompanied by Susanne, the attractive French girl he has met at the pub. The ship's crew are posted to another ship, HMS Incorruptible.

Cast

• David Tomlinson as Lieutenant Fairweather
• Peter Sellers as Chief Petty Officer Doherty
• Wilfrid Hyde-White as Admiral Foley
• Vera Day as Lily
• Liliane Sottane as Susanne
• Tom Gill as Flag Lieutenant
• Michael Goodliffe as Nelson
• Reginald Beckwith as Publican of 'Pig and Whistle'
• Lionel Murton as Perkins
• John Warren as Cooky
• Lionel Jeffries as Steady Barker
• Howard Williams as Bunts
• Peter Collingwood as Chippie
• Barry Lowe as Webster
• Edwin Richfield as Bennett
• David Lodge as Scouse

Production

Much of the film was shot at Weymouth harbour.

According to an interview with Val Guest (included on the DVD issue of the film), Up the Creek was the first starring film role for Sellers, at the time known only for radio and short television sketches. Guest was only able to obtain his services by also including established comedy film star, David Tomlinson.

A sequel Further Up the Creek was released later in the same year, with Frankie Howerd replacing Peter Sellers.

Critical reception

• The New York Times called the film, "an amiable jest that is diverting and spasmodically amusing, if not precisely unuproarious."
• TV Guide said, "it is a surprise that UP THE CREEK is as fresh and amusing as it is... Sellers, in one of his earliest roles, steals the show."