[Inspector Abberline]

George and Mildred (1980).
Reading some of the critics reviews about this film at the time of release, you would think that it was some sort of depraved video nasty destined to create hate and violence to whoever watches it.The sad fact was that this was the last thing Yootha Joyce made before she died in 1980, which probably isn't the best epitaph to her long and varied career.So in the film's defence, I have to say you cannot really blame the cast, everybody from the tv show is present and correct, except dear old Roy Kinnear who often popped up in the tv show as George's dodgy mate as a recurring guest, and would of definitely brighten up the proceedings if he had been included in the film.The plot as thin and as ludicrous as it is, involve's Brian Murphy as George Roper taking Mildred on a second honeymoon at the London Hotel, only to be mistaken as a ruthless assassin,(yes pushing the boundaries of credibility to the max, the mind literally does boggle).With Stratford Johns as Harry Pinto a bald-headed London gangster and Kenneth Cope as Harvey a rival assassin, the plot is about as far removed from the mundanity of suburban life that the tv show created as you could get.Apart Mildred's dresses the film also looks bland and drab, which to be honest is pretty much how I remember that transition from the 70's to the early 1980's. This was pretty much the death of the TV sitcom movie spin-off, with the Rising Damp movie coming out the same year.While no one in their right mind can say its a particularly good movie, it does have the same appeal as slowing down to look at a car crash, you know you shouldn't look but you just can't help yourself.Probably not getting the HI-def treeatment anytime soon.