Three Men In A Boat

This 1956 film is the third film adaptation of Jerome K. Jerome's comedy classic from 1889, which by the way is still in print; this in itself must say something as to the merits of that novel. Three friends decide that they need to get out of London for at least a little while due to various reasons and together with dog Montmorency embark on a two-week boating trip along the Thames; naturally in a westerly direction…

At the time the book was written, such excursions were very de rigeur - although here we are in the Edwardian era, perhaps a little easier to capture in 1956. The friends in question are Harris (Jimmy Edwards), George (Laurence Harvey) and ‘J’ (David Tomlinson), based on Jerome himself. J quite frankly needs a break from his wife, Ethelbertha (Noelle Middleton), Harris needs to get away from Mrs. Willis (Martita Hunt - the template for all Miss Havishams) who is pressurising him into marrying her daughter Clara (Adrienne Corri) while the irrepressible George can’t wait to get away from his job as a bank clerk, at least for a little while. Or perhaps the actual reason is that George is a bit of a devil for the women… just how many has he got on the go? J and Harris witness the 'goings on' through the open bank window when our lothario George mistakes one girlfriend for another over the telephone that never stops ringing - much to the chagrin of George's put upon manager, Mr. Quilp (Charles Lloyd Pack). What better than for our three likely lads than to hire a three-man rowing boat and get paddling up the Thames - destination: Henley and the good old Regatta.

Naturally, when it comes to practicalities none of them has even the remotest clue! This, of course, will provide the mainstay of the laughs as you can imagine and often you will see it coming. You would not believe what's in store for these three... well, in truth you might. It doesn't take George long to make the acquaintance of three rather attractive young ladies, namely Sophie Clutterbuck (Shirley Eaton) and sisters Bluebell (Jill Ireland) and Primrose Porterhouse (Lisa Gastoni) who also take a ride upriver and will play a fair part in the sometimes hilarious proceedings.

Our three male ‘adventurers’ (or lovable twits, more likely) are simply hopeless when it comes to putting up a tent (perhaps you might want to look a bit more deeply into such a situation before going to Glastonbury or if you fancy a camping trip). Trying to get a campfire going turns out to be another disaster, no wonder poor Montmorency prefers to hide in the shrubbery. There is no need to tell you what happens at Hampton Court Maze. As for Harris' attempts at singing Gilbert and Sullivan’s 'When I was Lad' (although he sings it 'When I was young')... well… At least his audience finds it funny but it does go on a bit. That is somewhat true of the entire film. It does seem to go on a bit. We even have the lads getting involved in a cockeyed village cricket match presided over old cricketers A. E. Matthews and Miles Malleson, while Ernest Thesiger is positively underused in the part of an umpire.

The film is well handled by Ken Annakin who showed a definite deft touch in this area (he later directed the wonderfully wacky 'The Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines') and the new 4K restoration is splendid to look at. One of the Extras features leading J. K. Jerome expert Jeremy Nicholas looking resplendent in his Garrick Club tie (so you have to take him seriously) - he is indeed point- device the right man to talk about this film. He even did a successful one-man show based on the novel. He also mentions this being more like 'Carry on up River' as opposed to Jerome K. Jerome – a moot point perhaps as this admittedly enjoyable cinematic romp provides little idea of the wit and wisdom of a debatably comic masterpiece still in print after all these years.