A telling of the fledging careers and early days of the comedy duo that was Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, from their dance-hall performances of northern England to cult status.A telling of the fledging careers and early days of the comedy duo that was Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, from their dance-hall performances of northern England to cult status.A telling of the fledging careers and early days of the comedy duo that was Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, from their dance-hall performances of northern England to cult status.
- Won 2 BAFTA Awards
- 8 wins & 11 nominations total
Photos
Tom Atkinson
- Little Eric
- (as Thomas Atkinson)
Vic Reeves
- George Bartholomew
- (as Jim Moir)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaReece Shearsmith plays young Ernie's father and there's a little nod to him playing Papa Lazarou (The League of Gentlemen (1999)) as he puts make up on towards the beginning.
- Quotes
Sadie Bartholomew: Do you know what's holding 'em back?
George Bartholomew: The War?
- ConnectionsFeatured in Breakfast: Episode dated 29 December 2010 (2010)
- SoundtracksPositive Thinking
Music by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent
Words by Tony Hatch
Sung by Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise over end credits
Featured review
Brought me sunshine
I'm of that generation that religiously waited for and watched Morecambe and Wise's usually superb BBC TV specials in the mid 70's when they were at their peak (although nowhere near enough credit is given to their writer Eddie Braben) and so was very interested to watch this dramatisation of their formative years.
It has to be said that their old employer does them proud with a well written, produced and acted TV movie. In truth I could find little to fault in it, my only complaints being perhaps the limited dynamic arc in the story itself and a little too much screen-time for the inspiration behind the project, Victoria Walters. That's not to say she's not good in the part of Eric's pushy, typical show-biz mother, but she takes too much focus away from our heroes, to the, as I say, slight detriment of the piece.
The other main casting credits work very well, with Jim (Vic Reeves) Moir a revelation as Eric's docile dad and the young actors playing Eric and Ern as spot on as they could be with look, voice and mannerisms. They have that essential ingredient for any double-act, chemistry. The script includes some decent gags, but enough of what really matters here, drama, to make it entertaining.
The duo's well-known personae are developed naturally and enough signposts are inserted to their future routines and catch-phrases to please admirers of their later work. As I indicated, this wasn't the most essential show-biz bio-pic I've ever watched but it was amongst the more entertaining of them.
What did I think of it (so far)? Definitely not "Rubbish!"
It has to be said that their old employer does them proud with a well written, produced and acted TV movie. In truth I could find little to fault in it, my only complaints being perhaps the limited dynamic arc in the story itself and a little too much screen-time for the inspiration behind the project, Victoria Walters. That's not to say she's not good in the part of Eric's pushy, typical show-biz mother, but she takes too much focus away from our heroes, to the, as I say, slight detriment of the piece.
The other main casting credits work very well, with Jim (Vic Reeves) Moir a revelation as Eric's docile dad and the young actors playing Eric and Ern as spot on as they could be with look, voice and mannerisms. They have that essential ingredient for any double-act, chemistry. The script includes some decent gags, but enough of what really matters here, drama, to make it entertaining.
The duo's well-known personae are developed naturally and enough signposts are inserted to their future routines and catch-phrases to please admirers of their later work. As I indicated, this wasn't the most essential show-biz bio-pic I've ever watched but it was amongst the more entertaining of them.
What did I think of it (so far)? Definitely not "Rubbish!"
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Morecambe and Wise
- Filming locations
- Salford Lads Club, Salford, Greater Manchester, England, UK(Pub Interiors)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 30 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1
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