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Dry Rot is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey, and starring Ronald Shiner, Brian Rix, Peggy Mount, and Sid James.

Dry Rot
Brian Rix and Ronald Shiner
Directed by	Maurice Elvey
Written by	John Chapman (as John Roy Chapman)(from his play)
Produced by	Jack Clayton
Starring	Ronald Shiner Brian Rix Peggy Mount Sid James
Cinematography	Arthur Grant
Edited by	Gerry Hambling
Music by	Peter Akister Lambert Williamson
Production company	Remus Films
Distributed by	Independent Film Distributors
Release date	31 October 1956 (1956-10-31)
Running time	87 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The story is an adaptation of a 1954 Whitehall farce by John Chapman, who also wrote the screenplay, in which the sketchy story plays second fiddle to the quick-paced action and unlikely situations.[1] The plot concerns the practice of gambling, which was illegal in the United Kingdom at the time, other than at racecourses.

Plot

Three dodgy bookies, Alf Tubbe (Ronald Shiner), Flash Harry (Sidney James), and Fred Phipps (Brian Rix), plan to rig a horse race by kidnapping the fancied horse and its French jockey. They stay at a country house hotel near the racecourse, run by Colonel and Mrs Wagstaff, where they conceal the horse Sweet Lavender (and later the jockey) in a hidden cellar.

A subplot sees the dimwitted Fred fall in love with the hotel chambermaid Beth (Joan Sims).

The title Dry Rot refers to the rotten wood on the hotel stairs, which regularly catches every character unawares.

Cast

• Ronald Shiner as Alf Tubbe
• Brian Rix as Fred Phipps
• Peggy Mount as Sergeant Fire
• Lee Patterson as Danby
• Sid James as Flash Harry
• Joan Sims as Beth Barton
• Heather Sears as Susan
• Michael Shepley as Colonel Wagstaff
• Joan Haythorne as Mrs. Wagstaff
• Miles Malleson as Yokel
• Christian Duvaleix as Polignac
• John Roy Chapman
• Joan Benham as Blonde
• Raymond Glendenning as himself
• Fred Griffiths as Bookie
• Wilfrid Brambell as Tar Man

Locations

The horse-racing sequences were filmed at Kempton Park Racecourse, Sunbury-on-Thames.[2]

Critical reception

• The Radio Times critic wrote, "This tale of crooked bookies plods along more slowly than a doped horse, but there is the compensation of the polished performances of expert farceurs Ronald Shiner, Brian Rix, and Sid James."[3]
• Sky Movies wrote, "Heather Sears makes her screen debut, Joan Sims giggles infectiously, and the charms of Shirley Ann Field can be very briefly glimpsed as a waitress at the Three Frogs Cafe. But Peggy Mount sweeps all else before her in a relatively short, but devastating, appearance as the indomitable Sergeant Fire."[4]

References

External links

• Dry Rot at IMDb

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