Directed by Darcy Conyers, 'The Night We Got The Bird' is a very funny film loosely based on a Basil Thomas play called 'The Lovebirds' and adapted for the big screen by farce specialist Ray Cooney. Brian Rix plays a nervous young Brighton-based antiques expert called 'Bertie' who gets a job with crooked dealer 'Cecil' ( Ronald Shiner ), a fellow in the habit of selling the public worthless items of junk made to look like priceless antiques! After Cecil gets involved with a local gangster ( John Slater ), he dies in a van crash, leaving Bertie free to wed his dippy fiancée Julie ( Dora Bryan ). But there is a nasty shock in store for Bertie on the wedding night - Cecil has been reincarnated as a parrot!
Daft as they come, this British comedy is typical of the period, benefiting from an amusing script and good performances from a sterling cast including Terry Scott, Liz Fraser, Kynaston Reeves, Robertson Hare, and John Le Mesurier. I burst out laughing when Irene Handl purchased a toilet seat made to look like a valuable French mirror. Why this film isn't better known is a mystery. The same production team also made the equally underrated 'Nothing Barred'.
Daft as they come, this British comedy is typical of the period, benefiting from an amusing script and good performances from a sterling cast including Terry Scott, Liz Fraser, Kynaston Reeves, Robertson Hare, and John Le Mesurier. I burst out laughing when Irene Handl purchased a toilet seat made to look like a valuable French mirror. Why this film isn't better known is a mystery. The same production team also made the equally underrated 'Nothing Barred'.