"Director: Mario Zampi"

• The Terry Thomas Movie Collection | DVD | (27/05/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £10.89

  The three films in this Terry Thomas Collection--The Naked Truth, Too Many Crooks and Make Mine Mink--are each an unalloyed delight from beginning to end. Though produced on slim budgets they possess witty scripts by Michael Pertwee, deft direction in two instances by Mario Zampi, inventive music scores and marvellous casts featuring two generations of British actors, from Athene Seyler to a young Kenneth Williams. Individually and as an ensemble these players are a pleasure to watch. But of course Terry Thomas, the catalyst of the collection, runs the gamut with a plethora of facial expressions, body language and verbal repartee that contribute so much to the unbuttoned joy of each film. In the earliest of them, The Naked Truth (1957), TT plays a dodgy peer of the realm being blackmailed in the company of Peter Sellers, Peggy Mount and Shirley Eaton by a gutter press journalist, Dennis Price ("Don't try to appeal to my better nature, because I haven't one"). The moments of slapstick are brought off to a tee as when the larger-than-life Peggy Mount attempts a suicide drop from her window to be saved by an awning on a shop front. Too Many Crooks (1959) has TT being blackmailed once again, this time for the hoards he's stashed away as a renowned tax dodger. Look out for the very funny court scene, where TT makes three appearances on separate charges, before a bemused magistrate, John Le Mesurier. Make Mine Mink (1960), the odd one out in this collection, was adapted from a West End stage farce, Breath of Spring. TT leads a gang of middle-aged biddies who decide to brighten up "the dullness of the tea time of life", by staging a series of robberies on furriers, then donating the proceeds to charitable concerns. The splendid cast includes Hattie Jacques and Kenneth Williams. On the DVD: The Terry Thomas Collection comes in an attractive box containing the three discs. All are 4:3 ratio and with mono sound. The only extras are a trailer for each film which, in the instance of Make Mine Mink, is introduced by Terry Thomas himself, who presents us to his gang of fur thieves as the voice on the soundtrack announces him as "fur, fur funnier than you've seen him before". --Adrian Edwards

• Bottoms Up! | DVD | (07/04/2014) from £7.62   |  Saving you £2.37 (31.10%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Based on the enormously popular television and radio sitcom Whack-O!, this 1960 comedy feature stars Jimmy Edwards in the classic role of devious, cane-brandishing headmaster. A later addition to the impressive series of comedies by Two Cities Films co-founder Mario Zampi, Bottoms Up! was co-scripted by Michael Pertwee and Whack-O! writers Frank Muir and Denis Norden; Edwards co-stars include Melvyn Hayes and, in an early film role, Richard Briers. The film is presented here in a brand-new tr...

• Laughter in Paradise | Blu Ray | (29/06/2020) from £10.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The four remaining relatives of famed practical joker Henry Russell are brought together to hear his last will and testament, revealing a £50,000 inheritance each if they can all complete a set task completely out of character. The assignments are designed to reflect their greatest shortcomings and test their abilities to adapt and ultimately change for the better. Law-abiding retired army officer Deniston (Alastair Sim), secretly writes scandalous novels until he is given a week to get himself arrested for an actual crime and jailed for exactly 28 days. Haughty Agnes (Fay Compton) must find employment as a housekeeper in a middle-class home and retain her position for a month despite her disdain. Simon (Guy Middleton), a penniless womanising rogue, would have to marry the first single woman he speaks to, such as the cigarette girl at the club he frequents (Audrey Hepburn). Finally, timid Herbert (George Cole) needs to hold up the bank manager he works for with a mask and a toy pistol. Can they all pull it off in order to grab the cash? Special Features NEW Alastair Sim and Laughter in Paradise: Interview with Stephen Fry Ministry of Information short Nero: Save Fuel (1943) starring Alastair Sim & George Cole Behind the Scenes Stills gallery Alastair Sim's Rectorial Address at Edinburgh University (1949)

• British Film Comedy: The 60s | DVD | (29/10/2018) from £7.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  BOTTOMS UP! Chiselbury School, according to the prospectus, is an academy 'for the sons of gentlefolk'. Regardless of what the prospectus says, however, the boys are very far from being gentlemen; they are an undisciplined rabble! DON'T BOTHER TO KNOCK Bill Ferguson's troubles begin when he gives a house key to each of the glamorous girls he meets on a continental holiday all of whom turn up at his flat just as he is about to marry his British fiancée! SHE'LL HAVE TO GO When Francis and Douglas Oberon learn that their late grandmother has bequeathed the family fortune to distant cousin Toni, they immediately start plotting to get their hands on the money either by murder... or marriage! THE IRON MAIDEN Aviation designer Jack Hopkins' greatest passion is an old showman's traction engine called The Iron Maiden. Jack has his heart set on entering the prestigious Annual Steam Rally at Woburn Abbey, but hadn't reckoned on some fierce and devious opposition!

• Terry-Thomas Collection - Comic Icons | DVD | (14/05/2007) from £26.79   |  Saving you £-1.80 (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Terry-Thomas one of Britain's finest cinematic cads gets his very own box set. Good show! Featuring: 1. School For Scoundrels (1960) 2. His & Hers (1961) 3. Private's Progress (1956) 4. Make Mine Mink (1960) 5. Too Many Crooks (1959) 6. The Naked Truth (1957)

• The Naked Truth | DVD | (27/05/2002) from £6.73   |  Saving you £3.26 (48.44%)   |  RRP £9.99

  In 1957's The Naked Truth Terry Thomas plays a dodgy peer of the realm being blackmailed in the company of Peter Sellers, Peggy Mount and Shirley Eaton by a gutter press journalist, Dennis Price ("Don't try to appeal to my better nature, because I haven't one"). One fascinating element in this picture is the portrayal of those relationships that could be only suggested in a period of tighter censorship, such as Peter Sellers' TV personality and Kenneth Griffith as his dresser, whose gay relationship is only faintly etched in here. More overt is the characterisation of a masculine looking authoress, known only by her initials, but sporting Agatha Christie's hairdo. The moments of slapstick are brought off to a tee, as when the larger-than-life Peggy Mount attempts a suicide drop from her window to be saved by an awning on a shop front. On the DVD: The Naked Truth comes to DVD in 4:3 ratio and with a mono soundtrack. The only extra feature is a trailer. More TT tomfoolery can be found in the three-disc Terry Thomas Collection. --Adrian Edwards

• Too Many Crooks | DVD | (27/05/2002) from £4.99   |  Saving you £5.00 (100.20%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Too Many Crooks (1958) boasts an intricate plot in which Terry Thomas is being blackmailed for the hoards he's stashed away as a renowned tax dodger. Driving around in a Jaguar XK 150, a desirable sports car of the period, his intricate private life unravels as his put-upon wife, Brenda de Banzie, draws on her expertise as a wartime PT instructress to turn the tables on him by marshalling the support of a band of crooks (George Cole, Sidney James, Bernard Bresslaw and Joe Melia). Look out for the very funny court scene, where TT makes three appearances on separate charges before a bemused magistrate, John Le Mesurier. On the DVD: Too Many Crooks is in 4:3 ratio and has a mono soundtrack. The only extra feature is a trailer. More TT tomfoolery can be found in the three-disc Terry Thomas Collection. --Adrian Edwards

• Alastair Sim - The Comic Icons Collection | DVD | (29/10/2007) from £49.99   |  Saving you £-15.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  Titles Comprise: The Green Man (Dir. Robert Day/Basil Dearden 1956) Folly To Be Wise (Dir. Frank Launder 1953) Geordie (Dir. Frank Launder 1955) Left Right And Centre (Dir. Sidney Gilliat 1959) Laughter in Paradise (Dir. Mario Zampi 1951)

• Now and Forever | DVD | (12/10/2015) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Former child star Janette Scott stars opposite Vernon Gray in a story of runaway romance that transcends the class barrier. Based on R.F. Delderfield's play The Orchard Walls, Now and Forever stars Scott as a well-to-do girl for whom the path of true love runs anything but smooth, and Gray as the young car mechanic who fails to impress his future fiancee's snobbish mother. This heart-warming drama is featured here in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements, in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio.Janette Grant is a lonely schoolgirl with divorced parents. She lives with her mother in a provincial town, where she falls in love with Mike, the son of a local garage owner. Appalled on discovering the alliance, Mrs Grant decides to send Janette to Canada. When a desperate bid to kill herself thankfully fails, the young girl hatches a plan to elope with Mike to Gretna Green...SPECIAL FEATURESOriginal theatrical trailerImage galleryPromotional material PDFs

• Happy Ever After | DVD | (14/03/2011) from £21.99   |  Saving you £-6.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The whole village mourns when General O'Leary owner of a hunting estate in South Ireland is killed in an accident. His nephew Jasper O'Leary takes over the state and soon has aroused the displeasure of all with the exception of Serena McGluskey as much a schemer as he is a cad. Led by Thady O'Heggarty the villagers plot to drive Jasper away.

• Happy Ever After | Blu Ray | (28/10/2019) from £13.19   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Cinema icon David Niven is on top form as the improbably-named Jasper O'Leary in this uproarious culture clash comedy from director Mario Zampi. Also featured are Hollywood star Yvonne de Carlo, professional Irishman Barry Fitzgerald and George Cole as a gormless yokel, Filmed in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio, Happy Ever After was framed for 1.66:1 for those few theatres at the time of release that could exhibit widescreen features. Both versions are included on this release. When General O'Leary goes to meet his maker after an unfortunate hunting mishap his Irish estate is bequeathed to a distant relative, Jasper. Jasper's new-broom tactics soon annoy the locals, however, and it's not too long before they decide he has to be removed ... Special Features: Image gallery PDF material

• David Niven Box Set | DVD | (02/06/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  Titles Comprise: Bonnie Prince Charlie The Love Lottery Happy Ever After Eternally Yours Happy Go Lovely

• Laughter In Paradise | DVD | (29/06/2020) from £7.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The four remaining relatives of famed practical joker Henry Russell are brought together to hear his last will and testament, revealing a £50,000 inheritance each if they can all complete a set task completely out of character. The assignments are designed to reflect their greatest shortcomings and test their abilities to adapt and ultimately change for the better. Law-abiding retired army officer Deniston (Alastair Sim), secretly writes scandalous novels until he is given a week to get himself arrested for an actual crime and jailed for exactly 28 days. Haughty Agnes (Fay Compton) must find employment as a housekeeper in a middle-class home and retain her position for a month despite her disdain. Simon (Guy Middleton), a penniless womanising rogue, would have to marry the first single woman he speaks to, such as the cigarette girl at the club he frequents (Audrey Hepburn). Finally, timid Herbert (George Cole) needs to hold up the bank manager he works for with a mask and a toy pistol. Can they all pull it off in order to grab the cash? Special Features NEW Alastair Sim and Laughter in Paradise: Interview with Stephen Fry Ministry of Information short Nero: Save Fuel (1943) starring Alastair Sim & George Cole Behind the Scenes Stills gallery Alastair Sim's Rectorial Address at Edinburgh University (1949)