FURTHER UP THE CREEK is Hammer's rushed-out sequel to UP THE CREEK, reassembling much the same cast and crew to tell a similar story. The main difference is that Peter Sellers has gone, to be replaced by the reliably funny Frankie Howerd who is very nearly as good. The story is more straightforward this time around: David Tomlinson is once again the confuddled captain who doesn't realise that his ship's voyage to North Africa is transporting a somewhat unorthodox cargo: nine paying passengers he knows nothing about! The corrupt crew try to keep the fact hidden from him and there you have the story. I found the writing a bit weaker this time around and the political climax doesn't really work all that well. Nonetheless, there's a joy from seeing the cast members working together, with Tomlinson on top form and the likes of Sam Kydd and Lionel Jeffries proving their comedic worth. Shirley Eaton is a new addition to the cast and the sexiest she's ever been while Thora Hird has a lot of fun too as the battleaxe. Films like this prove that Hammer were just as adept with other genries as they were comedies.
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Leofwine_draca6 March 2018
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malcolmgsw8 December 2022I find Up The Creek to be particularly funny so this for me gets the same rating as the original. Mind you there is nothing particularly funny or original about this film.
I found Frankie Howard to be marginally funnier than Peter Sellers. However for me David Tomlinson is a total waste of time and as funny as a cold rice pudding.
Val Hurst was a vastly experienced writer and director,so it is difficult to understand his willingness to turn in such a third rate script together with lacklustre direction,so the prospect of any further films based on the same characters was stillborn. Hammer should have kept a closer eye on its production. -
plan9927 October 2023I've not yet seen "Up The Creek" so I can't do a comparison but this was OK. Not great but is was enjoyable enough. More like a sit-com type film than one full of many laughs as the script was not all that amusing relying on situations for laughs but this didn't really work out too well.
If I had paid to see it back in the 50s I would have been disappointed.
It's worth a watch but do not expect to be rolling about on the floor laughing as it's not that type of film at all. The two dotty old ladies were a bit wasted and they should have had a lot more do do as their total screen time was very short. -
david-69718 September 2004'Up The Creek' proved such a success that this sequel was rushed into production and in fact debuted in the same year. Val Guest remained aboard for this second voyage as did most of the supporting cast (Jeffries, Lodge etc); the only one who refused to sign on was Peter Sellers, who was busy working on 'The Mouse That Roared'. Stepping into his shoes was Frankie Howerd, who proved to be as an effective foil to top-billed David Tomlinson as Sellers was.
In many ways this sequel improves upon the original, having a faster pace and more comic incidents. Tomlinson fares better in this movie, an early scene raises the ghost of Guest's work with comic legend Will Hay, as Tomlinson's bumbling Lieutenant-Commander crosses swords with a knowledgeable Sea Cadet.
An expanded cast including Thora Hird and the very shapely Shirley Eaton (a fixture of British comedies in this period) helps to open out this movie and the sea voyage plot line takes this into different waters from the previous movie.
'Further Up The Creek' faced troubled waters when it was released, failing to match the box office performance of the first movie (partly, in Frankie's Howerd's view, because it was released too close to the original) and plans for any further on-screen voyages were scuppered. Which is a shame as it's an enjoyable little movie, well worth watching if you are in the mood for some innocent fun.