The Plank (1967)

A short, slapstick British comedy from the late '60s. Be warned that there's also a remake from 1979 with Arthur Lowe in the Tommy Cooper role. The main inspiration behind THE PLANK seems to be the silent comedies of yesterday and the early talkies that followed, particularly the Laurel & Hardy film where they starred as a couple of workmen.THE PLANK is fun, albeit slightly overstated. It doesn't have the feel of a timeless classic to it, and for the most part it goes through the motions with all kinds of predictable humour. Saying that, there are quite a few decent gags, particularly those involving the plank being tied to the top of a car and all the accidents and incidents that ensue.The film is well worth watching for fans of classic British comedy, because the cast is a veritable who's who of famous names. Tommy Cooper, as one of the two central workmen, is by far the best value, essaying a kind of naturalistic humour that never seems force. Beside him, as straight man, Eric Sykes seems almost staid.Look out for Roy Castle in an ill-fitting wig, short cameos for Jim Dale and Hattie Jacques, plus plenty of other notables from the time.

The Plank by Eric Sykes is one of my favourite Comedy Shorts so I was very glad when I found that a DVD version was available - that is until I actually bought one with the intention of replacing my ageing copy of The Plank on VHS tape.Unfortunately I found the DVD was not the version I had gotten used to and despite having Eric Sykes and Jimmy Edwards repeating their TV roles, this DVD seems to be aimed at a cinema audience with an IQ of zero since the film Tittles are accompanied by a stupid laughter sound track which is both overbearing and unnecessary but seems to have been added in case people didn't know they were about to watch a comedy.The DVD is clearly based on the the same script as the TV version available on VHS Cassette but there are many small changes which somehow conspire to cause most of the jokes, which are very funny with the VHS cast, to fall flat and as mentioned before, the sound track irritates rather than complements.I find the VHS version to be extremely funny and if you like British Humour and enjoy trying to name all the people involved, you will find the VHS tape is packed with well known faces from TV, Film and Sport.For me the highlight is Charlie Drake failing to deliver a cake but it's also fun to see Diana Dors sending herself up - as she used to in later life when she lost her slender shape - in fact I just cannot watch this film without getting a very broad grin on my face.It was very disappointing to find this DVD was NOT of the TV production and in my opinion it is an unsympathetic production. Though similar in content to the Charlie Drake version it just doesn't manage to rise to the same level of comedy and the sounds over tittles on the DVD makes me cringe and want to turn it off without even watching it.I genuinely urge anyone who has only known this DVD to try and see the VHS version before concluding that The Plank is not a very funny film indeed

This short is very reminiscent of the antics of many of the early silent film stars. Eric Sykes remade this piece in 1979, this time with Arthur Lowe (of Dad's Army and Mr. Men fame)in the role of the larger worker. Whichever version you choose to see, both Lowe and Cooper are very funny to watch, so you really can't go wrong no matter which you view.Things like the car doors that must be closed at the same time to prevent the other popping open, and narrowly avoiding hitting people when they swing the plank around are straight from the realm of Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd or even Laurel and Hardy. So if you like classic physical comedy and sight gags, in the vein of the classics, then find a version of The Plank and enjoy with a friend.

I just happened to tape "The Plank" when it was last shown on British terrestrial television (BBC2 5/12/95) and I've held onto this treasure ever since! My family and I love it to bits.We are however die-hard British 50s/60s/and 70/s-silent film fans, e.g. Futtock's End/A Home of Your Own/Rhubarb Rhubarb etc.etc. One of the main appeals of it is that you don't have to listen to it-it's very easy to watch if you've got young kids doing their own thing in the room with you.(they'll look up every now and then and laugh at certain bits). There is now available a DVD of "The Plank" Uncut which comes out at 51 Min's allegedly; this must go some way to outlining it's obvious popularity. I definitely do not prefer the 70's T.V. remake of this as it is so obviously a dumbed down/going through the motions version.The original is the dog's ........! There is however an interesting angle about the re-make and that is several of the original locations have been re-visited so I habitually acknowledge them all each time I view the re-make(Is that sad or good?) Just had to write an uplifting review as the first review doesn't do this justice and is a tad unfair to me.