Kurt at 21:08, 20 February 2023

2023-02-20T21:08:10Z

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	~~{{short description\|1970 film by Kevin Billington}}~~
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=May 2016}}~~
	~~{{Use British English\|date=May 2016}}~~
	{{Infobox film		{{Infobox film
	~~\| name = The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer~~
	\| image = The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970) poster.jpg		\| image = The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970) poster.jpg
	\| caption = Theatrical release poster		\| caption = Theatrical release poster
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	* [http://subscene.com/subtitles/the-rise-and-rise-of-michael-rimmer/english/717508 ''The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer''] downloadable English [[Subtitle (captioning)#SDH\|SDH]] subtitle set (for use with the commercially released, but unsubtitled, DVD)		* [http://subscene.com/subtitles/the-rise-and-rise-of-michael-rimmer/english/717508 ''The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer''] downloadable English [[Subtitle (captioning)#SDH\|SDH]] subtitle set (for use with the commercially released, but unsubtitled, DVD)

	~~{{Kevin Billington}}~~
	{{Graham Chapman}}		{{Graham Chapman}}

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	[[Category:Films directed by Kevin Billington]]		[[Category:Films directed by Kevin Billington]]
	[[Category:Films scored by John Cameron]]		[[Category:Films scored by John Cameron]]
			[[Category:British comedy films]]

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en>Ser Amantio di Nicolao: Removing from Category:British films no longer non-diffusing using Cat-a-lot

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Removing from Category:British films no longer non-diffusing using Cat-a-lot

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{{short description|1970 film by Kevin Billington}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer
| image = The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970) poster.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Kevin Billington]]
| producer = Tommy Thompson
| writer = [[Peter Cook]] [[John Cleese]] [[Graham Chapman]] Kevin Billington
| starring = Peter Cook [[Vanessa Howard]] John Cleese [[Harold Pinter]] [[Arthur Lowe]]
| music = [[John Cameron (musician)|John Cameron]]
| cinematography = [[Alex Thomson (cinematographer)|Alex Thomson]]
| studio = [[David Paradine Productions]] [[London Weekend Television]]
| distributor = [[Warner-Pathé Distributors|Warner-Pathé]] (United Kingdom) [[Warner Bros.-Seven Arts]]
| released = {{Film date|df=yes|1970|11|12}} (United Kingdom)
| runtime = 100 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
}}

'''''The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer''''' is a 1970 British [[satire|satirical]] film starring [[Peter Cook]], and co-written by Cook, [[John Cleese]], [[Graham Chapman]], and [[Kevin Billington]], who directed the film. The film was devised and produced by [[David Frost]] under the pseudonym "David Paradine". Cleese and Chapman began writing the script following patronage from Frost. Cook and Billington were later called upon to complete the writing as, according to Cleese, he and Chapman "had no idea what they were doing".

The film satirised the growing influence of [[Public relations|PR]], [[Spin (public relations)|spin]] and opinion polls in British politics,<ref name="Guard">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/jun/30/television.comedy|title=Unfunny, peculiar|last=Cook|first=William|date=30 June 2007|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=2009-10-14}}</ref> as well as parodying political figures of the time such as [[Harold Wilson]] and [[Enoch Powell]]. Cook admitted later that he had partly based his portrayal of the Rimmer character on [[David Frost]], who provided funding for the film<ref name="Thompson">{{cite book|last=Thompson|first=Harry|title=Peter Cook: A Biography|url=https://archive.org/details/petercookbiograp0000thom|url-access=registration|publisher=Sceptre|year=1997|pages=[https://archive.org/details/petercookbiograp0000thom/page/259 259]–262|isbn=0-340-64969-0}}</ref> and took an executive producer credit.

==Plot==
The mysterious Michael Rimmer (Cook) appears at a small and ailing British advertising agency, where the employees assume he is working on a [[time and motion]] study. However, he quickly begins to assert a de facto authority over the firm's mostly ineffectual staff and soon acquires control of the business from the incompetent boss Ferret ([[Arthur Lowe]]). Rimmer then succeeds in establishing the newly invigorated firm as the country's leading polling agency, and begins to make regular TV appearances as a polling expert. He subsequently moves into politics, acting as an adviser to the leader of the Tory opposition, and then becomes an [[Member of Parliament|MP]] himself, for the constituency of Budleigh Moor (a reference to Cook's frequent collaborator, [[Dudley Moore]]), along the way acquiring a [[trophy wife]] ([[Vanessa Howard]]).

Relying on a combination of charisma and deception—and murder—he then rapidly works his way up the political ladder to become [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|prime minister]] (after throwing his predecessor off an [[oil platform|oil rig]]). Rimmer then gains ultimate control by requiring the populace to engage in endless postal voting on trivial matters. At last, exhausted, they acquiesce in one final vote which passes dictatorial power to him. Ferret attempts to assassinate Rimmer as he and his wife ride through the capital in an open-topped convertible, but fails and falls to his death.

==Cast==
* [[Peter Cook]] as Michael Rimmer
* [[Denholm Elliott]] as Peter Niss
* [[Ronald Fraser (actor)|Ronald Fraser]] as Tom Hutchinson
* [[Vanessa Howard]] as Patricia Cartwright
* [[Arthur Lowe]] as "Ferret"
* [[George A. Cooper]] as "Blacket"
* [[Harold Pinter]] as Steven Hench
* [[James Cossins]] as Crodder
* [[Roland Culver]] as Sir Eric Bentley
* [[Dudley Foster]] as Federman
* [[Dennis Price]] as Fairburn
* [[Ronnie Corbett]] as Interviewer
* [[John Cleese]] as Pumer
* [[Diana Coupland]] as Mrs. Spimm
* [[Michael Bates (actor)|Michael Bates]] as Mr. Spimm
* [[Graham Chapman]] as Fromage
* [[Valerie Leon]] as Tanya
* [[Zakes Mokae]] as Mugger (uncredited)

==Production==
The concept of the film was devised by [[David Frost]] in 1967, and the first draft of the screenplay was then co-written by Cleese and Chapman, during a three-month sabbatical in [[Ibiza]]. Cook was lined up to star, but it took another two years before funding could be secured. It was the third of three films Cook was contracted to make for Columbia, the previous two being ''[[The Wrong Box]]'' and ''[[A Dandy in Aspic]]''.<ref name=few>{{cite book|first=William|last=Cook|title=One Leg Too Few: The Adventures of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore|publisher=[[Random House]]|year=2014|pages=298–302}}</ref>

Cook, Cleese, Chapman and director Kevin Billington jointly reworked the script prior to filming, and Cook reportedly made a strong contribution to the final script. It was produced during 1969, and the team hoped it would maximise its topicality with a release prior to the forthcoming UK general elections (the result of which it in fact predicted). However, the studio feared that it might become a source of controversy, so the film was held back until November 1970, almost a year after the election, thus losing most of its topical 'punch'.<ref name=few/>

The film is also notable for its distinguished cast of well-known British comedy and character actors, including Cleese and Chapman, [[Denholm Elliott]], [[Arthur Lowe]], [[Dennis Price]], [[Ronald Fraser (actor)|Ronald Fraser]], [[Michael Trubshawe]], [[Julian Glover]], [[Michael Bates (actor)|Michael Bates]], and cameos by [[Ronnie Corbett]] and renowned stage and screenwriter [[Harold Pinter]]. The film also reunited Corbett, Cleese, Chapman and Frost, all of whom had worked extensively together during the 1960s on ''[[That Was The Week That Was]]'' and ''[[The Frost Report]]'' (although only Cleese appears with Corbett on screen).

The story satirises many well-known British political figures including [[Harold Wilson]], [[Harold Macmillan]], and [[Enoch Powell]], and although the resemblances were played down at the time of the film's release, Cook later admitted that the title character of Rimmer was heavily based on David Frost himself. Like Frost, Rimmer effectively appears from nowhere, "rises without trace" (the famous phrase coined by [[Jonathan Miller]] to describe Frost's ascent to prominence) and becomes one of the most influential people in the country. The imitation even extended to Cook copying Frost's standard greeting of the time, "Super to see you", and the coincidental fact that the set of Rimmer's living room was almost identical to Frost's real living room, even though the designer had never seen it.<ref name=few/>

Alongside the more overt satire and parodies of prominent public figures, the movie also includes numerous hidden jokes and visual gags. For example, in the scene in which Arthur Lowe gropes his secretary's legs as she stands in front of a shelf, the spine of one of the folders on the shelf is clearly marked with a [[swastika]]. In Harold Pinter's cameo appearance as fictional TV host Steven Hench, the initials of his show's title, "Steven Hench is Talking To You" spell S-H-I-T-T-Y. Most obvious is that of the surname, Rimmer, which is a slang term for someone who engages in oral intercourse with the anus, i.e., an arselicker.

==Release==
The film had its world premiere on 12 November 1970 as the first film at the newly-opened [[Vue West End|Warner Rendezvous]] in [[Leicester Square]], London.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Daily Variety]]|page=12|title=WB Opening Its 2 New London Theatres|date=23 October 1970}}</ref>
==Reception==
Cook's performance was panned by critics, and both he and John Cleese subsequently acknowledged that he did not perform well. The commercial and critical failure of the movie, which did not receive an American release, effectively dashed Cook's hopes of establishing himself as a solo screen star - although he appeared in many more film and TV projects, he only co-starred (with Dudley Moore) in one other film, and ''Rimmer'' proved to be his only solo starring film role.<ref name="Guard"/><ref name=few/>
==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb title| 0066302 }}
* [http://subscene.com/subtitles/the-rise-and-rise-of-michael-rimmer/english/717508 ''The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer''] downloadable English [[Subtitle (captioning)#SDH|SDH]] subtitle set (for use with the commercially released, but unsubtitled, DVD)

{{Kevin Billington}}
{{Graham Chapman}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer, The}}
[[Category:1970 films]]
[[Category:1970s English-language films]]
[[Category:1970 comedy films]]
[[Category:1970s satirical films]]
[[Category:1970s political comedy films]]
[[Category:British political comedy films]]
[[Category:British satirical films]]
[[Category:Films about advertising]]
[[Category:Films directed by Kevin Billington]]
[[Category:Films scored by John Cameron]]

The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer - Revision history

Kurt at 21:08, 20 February 2023

Kurt: 1 revision imported

en>Ser Amantio di Nicolao: Removing from Category:British films no longer non-diffusing using Cat-a-lot