Dry Rot
(Dry Rot 1956)
Tagline: "A trio of not particularly bright bookmakers tries to fix a horse race."
Starring: Ronald Shiner, Brian Rix, Peggy Mount, Sid James
Featured Racecourse: Kempton Park
Director: Maurice Elvey
Producer: Jack Clayton
Writer: John Chapman
Release Date: October 1956
Runtime: 87 mins
Wikipedia Synopsis: Three dodgy bookies plan to rig a horse race by kidnapping a fancied horse and its French jockey. They stay at a country house near the racecourse where they conceal the horse and jockey.
Where to Buy: eBay
Personal Review
Bungling bookmakers Alf Tubbe (Ronald Shiner), Flash Harry (Sid James) and Fred Phipps (Brian Rix) have to make a hasty retreat from Seldon racecourse (Kempton) after they are unable to meet their financial obligations. They concoct a "get rich quick" plan which involves substituting Cardinal, the hot French favourite for an upcoming handicap race at Seldon, with another inferior animal. They purchase a horse called Sweet Lavender from a yokel (Miles Malleson) and enlist the help of John Danby (Lee Patterson) to be their racing secretary. The whole party then check into a nearby hotel run by Colonel Wagstaff (Michael Shepley), Mrs Wagstaff (Joan Haythorne), their daughter Susan (Heather Sears) and maid Beth Barton (Joan Sims), and hide their newly acquired horse in a secret basement. Mayhem ensues as the bookmakers try to hide the horse from the hotel owners and local police Sergeant (Peggy Mount) as well as avoiding any mishaps on the dry rot infested staircase. When the intended French jockey for Cardinal, Polignac (Christian Duvaleix) arrives at the hotel and with their own horse Sweet Lavender falling ill, the bookmaker gang decided to switch the jockeys instead. Fred Phipps draws the short straw and is sent to ride Cardinal at Seldon with the sole aim of losing but will the jockey switch go to plan?
Good to see Ronald Shiner again as bookmaker Alf Tubbe - this was his fifth and last racing film from what I have found so far and although his acting is over the top he fits the part of a dodgy bookie very well. Good to see future Carry On stars Sid James and Joan Sims appearing together in this film (they first appeared together in "The Square Ring" 1953) but Beth's accent was peculiar, a sort of west country / Irish mix, and Flash Harry wasn't the classic Sid we came to love. Fred Phipps played by Brian Rix CBE was far too soppy for my liking and I could have sworn he appeared in more than the eight movies he is credited with - he entered the House of Lords in 1992 and was also the president of Mencap until his death in 1998. Lee Patterson and Heather Sears were a nice enough couple in the film but their characters and relationship were never fully developed and Peggy Mount's role as Sergeant Fire was quite bizarre. The stars of the show in my opinion were Michael Shepley and Joan Haythorne playing hotel owners Mr and Mrs Wagstaff who shared some delightful quips and also the French Jockey played by Christian Duvaleix who was as mad as a hatter and very entertaining.
It was also good to see yet another glimpse of legendary BBC sports commentator Raymond Glendenning (1907-1974) in this film having already appeared in The Galloping Major, Derby Day, The Rainbow Jacket and The March Hare. By the end of the second world war, Raymond was the leading BBC commentator and covered a variety of sports including football (FA Cup Final every year from 1946 to 1963 and even the World Cup in 1962), racing, greyhounds, show jumping and Wimbledon tennis. As Wikipedia states, "He was noted for his horn-rimmed glasses, his handlebar moustache and for his fast-paced, excitable, somewhat plummy broadcasting style, which is evocative of the time."
The plot of Dry Rot was completely outrageous and there must have been easier ways to nobble a favourite although horses and indeed jockeys have been switched in the past to try and outsmart the bookmakers. The racing scene at Kempton where Fred wins on Cardinal and the subsequent fire engine chase were both farcical but I'm sure very funny for the cinema audiences of the time. We do however get to see some excellent footage of Kempton racecourse (known as Seldon in the film) both at the start and end of the film and it's sad that this course is now under threat from closure, possibly going the same way as Alexandra Palace and Hurst Park before it.
Quite a stellar cast in this Maurice Elvey racing comedy but sadly the plot and jokes were as dry at the rot in the hotel staircase and it's certainly no Carry On film. (Rating 4/10)
Favourite Quotes
Blonde: "Oh look Claude, there's a horse running called Claudes Folly"
Claude: "Oh whipping good show, I think it's ten to one isn't it?"
Blonde: "No darling it's half-past three"
Claude: "Ha ha, you delicious creature"
MOVIE STILLS
