What a Carve Up!

Ring Madame Tussauds and ask if anyone is missing. When Uncle Gabriel dies, all his relatives are summoned to an old country mansion in the middle of nowhere to hear the reading of his will. Once there, tho, somebody starts murdering them one by one and the remaining group must solve the mystery or expect not to see the night out. What a Carve Up! is adapted from Frank King's novel The Ghoul and stars Sid James, Kenneth Connor, Donald Pleasence, Shirley Eaton, Dennis Price, Esma Cannon and Michael Gough. Basically this fine and amusing film is a sort of British version of genre pieces like Scared Stiff, The Cat And The Canary and The Ghostbreakers, or a spoof of its source material if you like. All the elements are in place, a bunch of eccentric and odd characters land at a ghostly mansion, greeted by a limping scary looking Butler {Gough}, and they then promptly spend the night trying to stay alive. Set to a backdrop of a thunderstorm, creaking floorboards, revolving secret doors and "what was that?", did the eyes just move on that painting? There's nothing new here of course in terms of creepy house formula, it is however a premise that never grows old if it is done right. Either seriously or as a comedy. Thankfully, What a Carve Up! does everything it possibly can to make it work as a creepy house mystery spoof. The gags are excellently written by Cooney & Hilton, which in turn are delivered with comic agility from the cast. Who rightly are having a blast with the material to hand. The "who done it?" reveal is a good one after the red herrings have been and gone, and a nice cameo at the finale feeds Sid James another in a long line of fine gags within the piece. Finally getting a DVD release in late 2008, this film has now started to pick up newcomers and the revisit crowd alike. Which is real nice to see. Because as long as you are a fan of the creepy house comedy mystery then you shouldn't be disappointed in this one. 8/10

This is one of the few films that cast Kenneth Connor in a leading role, and by and large, he does an half decent job with this rather amusing, if derivative, comedy. When his uncle dies, he is invited to visit his stately pile to discuss an inheritance. He takes his mate, "Syd" (Sidney James) on his trip, but on arrival discovers that there are quite a few potential heirs to the fortune... It develops a little like a comedic "Ten Little Indians" (1965) - which also featured the imposing Shirley Eaton - only it has absolutely no menace at all, just a series of mildly comic slapstick scenarios, some secret passages and a distinctly dodgy chandelier. A good, reliable, cast of British comedy actors help out - Michael Gough is great as butler "Fisk", Dennis Price - as another would-be beneficiary (always to be found with a drink in his hand) and Donald Pleasence as the solicitor presiding over this rather dangerous process all contribute well to an amiable 90 minutes that is well steered by James and Connor. Keep eye out for a couple of scene-stealing appearances from Esma Cannon as "Aunt Emily".