Bless This House (film)

Bless This House
Film poster by Arnaldo Putzu
Directed by	Gerald Thomas
Written by	Dave Freeman
Produced by	Peter Rogers
Starring	Sid James Diana Coupland Terry Scott June Whitfield Peter Butterworth
Cinematography	Alan Hume
Edited by	Alfred Roome
Music by	Eric Rogers
Production company	Peter Rogers Productions
Distributed by	Rank Film Distributors
Release date	8 September 1972
Running time	87 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Bless This House is a 1972 British comedy film directed by Gerald Thomas starring Sid James, Diana Coupland, Terry Scott, June Whitfield and Peter Butterworth. It is a spin-off from the television sitcom Bless This House.

Plot

In contemporary suburbia, somewhere in southern England, middle-aged home-owner Sid Abbot (Sid James) just wants to lie on his settee and snooze. He is initially frustrated by his wife, work-shy son, and fashion-conscious daughter.

Their next door neighbour, Mr Hobbs, puts his house up for sale. The rude and arrogant Ronald Baines (Terry Scott) and his family move in next door and things worsen.

Sid works as a rep and is trying to sell to the Fizzo Drinks company when his daughter Sally arrives with a group of environmentalists to protest the use of non-disposable containers. Meanwhile Kate, Ronald's daughter, starts working next to Mike, Sid's son, and a romance begins to blossom. He drives her home in his psychedelic Morris Minor.

Sid buys a garden shed and sits drinking there with his friend Trevor (Peter Butterworth). They find a book about distilling and decide to create an illegal still in the shed. Sid tells his wife it is for making wine. In fact they are distilling home made rhubarb wine to create brandy. As Ronald is a customs and excise officer this does not bode well.

Mike and Kate get engaged and the wedding day arrives. On the wedding day a fire starts in the shed. Ronald and Sid put the fire out and miss the wedding. A fire engine gives them a lift to the church in time for the photos.

Despite Mike getting married at the end of the film, he is still single when the tv series returned.

Cast

The film starred many of the main actors from the TV series but some were replaced; most notably Robin Stewart, who was replaced by Robin Askwith because he had already been booked for the summer season on Bournemouth Pier and could not also appear in the film; though Stewart would return for the remainder of the six series. Another change was the role of Trevor Lewis, played in the film by Peter Butterworth and on television by Anthony Jackson.

• Sid James as Sid Abbot
• Diana Coupland as Jean Abbot
• Terry Scott as Ronald Baines
• June Whitfield as Vera Baines
• Peter Butterworth as Trevor Lewis
• Sally Geeson as Sally Abbot
• Robin Askwith as Mike Abbot
• Patsy Rowlands as Betty Lewis
• Carol Hawkins as Kate Baines
• Janet Brown as Annie Hobbs
• Julian Orchard as Tom Hobbs
• Tommy Godfrey as Alf Murray
• George A. Cooper as the cafe owner
• Bill Maynard as Oldham
• Marianne Stone as Muriel
• Wendy Richard as Carol
• Patricia Franklin as Mary
• Molly Weir as Mary's Mother
• Ed Devereaux as Jim
• Johnny Briggs as Truck Driver
• Frank Thornton as Mr Jones
• Norman Mitchell as Police Sergeant
• Brian Osborne as Removal Van Driver
• Margaret Lacey as Vicar's Wife
• Georgina Moon as Moira
• Michael Nightingale as Vicar

June Whitfield and Terry Scott would play a couple two years later in Happy Ever After and the follow up Terry and June.

Filming and locations

• Filming dates – 19 June–1 August 1972

Exteriors:

• The exterior shots of the houses were filmed at numbers 7 and 9, Bolton Avenue, Windsor.
• Several exterior scenes were shot in Burnham, a village in Buckinghamshire, including St Peter's Church (wedding scene), Church Street (magistrates court/pub scene) and the High Street (fire engine scene).

Interiors:

• Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire

External links

• Bless This House at IMDb
• Bless This House at British Comedy Guide