Spanish Fly (1975 film): Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox film | {{Infobox film | ||
| name = Spanish Fly | | name = Spanish Fly | ||
| image = | | image = Spanish Fly (1975 film).jpg | ||
| image_size = | | image_size = | ||
| caption = | | caption = | ||
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==Production== | ==Production== | ||
Impact-Quadrant Films was a company run by Peter James and Kent Walwin which specialised in financing and distributing horror films. They wanted to move into the British domestic sex comedy market, having noticed that there were no challengers to the [[Carry On Films]]. They made a small investment in ''[[Can You Keep It Up for a Week?]]'' which was successful and they began to look at making a whole feature.<ref name="barry"/> | Impact-Quadrant Films was a company run by Peter James and Kent Walwin which specialised in financing and distributing horror films. They wanted to move into the British domestic sex comedy market, having noticed that there were no challengers to the [[Carry On (franchise)|Carry On Films]]. They made a small investment in ''[[Can You Keep It Up for a Week?]]'' which was successful and they began to look at making a whole feature.<ref name="barry"/> | ||
A Canadian distributor had success with a [[Leslie Phillips]] film and asked if they could have another. Phillips was about to go to Australia for a year so they had a script written quickly, about an escort agency. Nobody liked it so James and Walwin wrote a 110-page treatment over "a long weekend" which was turned into a script by a writer.<ref name="barry"/> | A Canadian distributor had success with a [[Leslie Phillips]] film and asked if they could have another. Phillips was about to go to Australia for a year so they had a script written quickly, about an escort agency. Nobody liked it so James and Walwin wrote a 110-page treatment over "a long weekend" which was turned into a script by a writer.<ref name="barry"/> | ||
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*{{British Comedy Guide|film|spanish_fly|Spanish Fly}} | *{{British Comedy Guide|film|spanish_fly|Spanish Fly}} | ||
*{{IMDb title|0073407|Spanish Fly}} | *{{IMDb title|0073407|Spanish Fly}} | ||
* | *{{BFI|4ce2b6b69a638|Spanish Fly}} | ||
[[Category:1975 films]] | [[Category:1975 films]] | ||
Latest revision as of 16:47, 20 February 2023
| Spanish Fly | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Directed by | Bob Kellett |
| Written by | Peter James José Luis Martínez Mollá Robert Ryerson |
| Produced by | Gerald Flint-Shipman Peter James |
| Starring | Leslie Phillips Terry-Thomas Graham Armitage Sue Lloyd |
| Music by | Ron Goodwin |
Production companies | Winkle Productions Quadrant Films Izaro Films |
| Distributed by | EMI Films |
Release date | February 1976 |
Running time | 86 minutes |
| Countries | United Kingdom Spain |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £250,000[1] |
Spanish Fly is a 1975 British-Spanish comedy film directed by Bob Kellett and starring Leslie Phillips, Terry-Thomas, Graham Armitage, Sue Lloyd and Nadiuska.[2][3]
Plot
Mike Scott, an impotent British fashion designer, heads out to Spain for a photo shoot and encounters an old school rival, Sir Percy de Courcy, who has inadvertently added an aphrodisiac to the local wine.
Cast
- Leslie Phillips as Mike Scott
- Terry-Thomas as Sir Percy de Courcy
- Graham Armitage as Perkins
- Nadiuska as Julie
- Sue Lloyd as Janet Scott
- Frank Thornton as Doctor Johnson
- Ramiro Oliveros as Juan
- Andrea Allan as Bruce
- Sally Farmiloe as Francesca
- Jaleh Haddah as Annette
- Nina Francis as Isabel
- Sergio Mendizábal as Pons Prades
- Emiliano Redondo as Clean Domingo
- Fernando Villena as Dirty Domingo
- Marisa Porcel as Maria
- José Lifante as Pedro
Production
Impact-Quadrant Films was a company run by Peter James and Kent Walwin which specialised in financing and distributing horror films. They wanted to move into the British domestic sex comedy market, having noticed that there were no challengers to the Carry On Films. They made a small investment in Can You Keep It Up for a Week? which was successful and they began to look at making a whole feature.[1]
A Canadian distributor had success with a Leslie Phillips film and asked if they could have another. Phillips was about to go to Australia for a year so they had a script written quickly, about an escort agency. Nobody liked it so James and Walwin wrote a 110-page treatment over "a long weekend" which was turned into a script by a writer.[1]
The film's budget was £250,000, of which 40% was provided by EMI Films and a Spanish company 8%. The majority capital was split between James, his associate and four English backers, one of them a lawyer.[1]
The film was part of a six-picture slate from EMI Films, which also included Evil Under the Sun, Aces High and cinema adaptations of The Likely Lads and Sweeney!.[4]
It was filmed in Menorca. Terry-Thomas was suffering from the effects of Parkinson's disease.[5] However, he was still able to withstand the rigours of filming, in what was his last major film role.
Reception
The film was released with a heavy advertising campaign, including a novelisation of the script, a song "Fly Me" (because the BBC would not play a song called "Spanish Fly").[1]
Responses
Barry Norman in The Observer called it the least funny British funny film ever made.[1] Radio Times reviewer Jeremy Aspinall described it as a "curio from the 1970s" which "looks awfully dated now. However, the stars still manage to exhibit consummate charm and professionalism despite the bawdy nonsense going on around them."[6] Time Out refers to it as being a "[d]ire comedy which doubles as a series of plugs for an underwear company."[7] The film featured designs from Peter Reger.[8]
Box-office
Screening rights to the film were sold to 25 countries, something James attributed to the fact that unlike many British sex comedies it featured foreign locations.[1]
James wanted to make a sequel French Kiss but none eventuated.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Decline and fall of the funny film The Observer 8 February 1976, p. 32
- ^ "BFI Film & TV Database: SPANISH FLY (1975)". The British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 28 January 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
- ^ SPANISH FLY Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 43, Iss. 504, (Jan 1, 1976), p. 34.
- ^ Boost for studios The Guardian 9 July 1975: 5.
- ^ "Features". Terry Thomas Fellowship.
- ^ Aspinall, Jeremy. "Spanish Fly". Radio Times. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ "Spanish Fly". Time Out. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ 'We hold our board meetings in bed' The Guardian 26 August 1975: 11.
External links
- Articles with short description
- Pages using infobox film with unknown parameters
- Pages using infobox film with nonstandard dates
- IMDb title ID not in Wikidata
- 1975 films
- Spanish comedy films
- Films shot at EMI-Elstree Studios
- 1975 comedy films
- Films directed by Bob Kellett
- British comedy films
- Films scored by Ron Goodwin
- EMI Films films
- Films set in London
- Films set in Spain
- 1970s English-language films
- 1970s British films
