'Rising Damp' ended on Yorkshire Television after four series in 1978. Two years later. It went down the same route of most popular sitcoms of the '70's and transferred over to the big screen. The director was Joe McGrath. Sadly, the film failed at the box office and overall is generally disliked by fans. I can understand why as while it was not dreadful, overall it was not very good either.
There was no plot as such, just segments taken from the TV scripts and stitched together like Frankenstein's monster whilst dotted in amongst were 'Billy Liar' style fantasy sequences which by common consensus did the film no favours. The 'Grease' parody featuring Rigsby as John Travolta and Miss. Jones as Olivia Newton John was particularly embarrassing.
Another black mark is the casting of Christopher Strauli ( who by this time was appearing in Eric Chappell's hospital based sitcom 'Only When I Laugh' ) as art student John. Richard Beckinsale died the year previous so his character was written out. The character of John was Alan Moore in all but name. It simply did not work, though Strauli was not to blame for that. In fact neither Leonard Rossiter, Frances De La Tour or Don Warrington could be blamed for the movie being a flop. Chappell was to blame for writing a substandard script.
The bad response the film met with also ensured that there would not be a fifth television series. Such a disappointing way to round off a great show.
The same year this film went out, another ITV sitcom was adapted to the big screen - Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke's 'George & Mildred' ( adapted for the big screen by Dick Sharples ). It fared no better than the movie of 'Rising Damp' but was immeasurably more amusing in comparison.
Funniest bit - Rigsby and Miss. Jones' picnic ending in disaster after the two get chased out of the field they were sitting in by an angry bull!
There was no plot as such, just segments taken from the TV scripts and stitched together like Frankenstein's monster whilst dotted in amongst were 'Billy Liar' style fantasy sequences which by common consensus did the film no favours. The 'Grease' parody featuring Rigsby as John Travolta and Miss. Jones as Olivia Newton John was particularly embarrassing.
Another black mark is the casting of Christopher Strauli ( who by this time was appearing in Eric Chappell's hospital based sitcom 'Only When I Laugh' ) as art student John. Richard Beckinsale died the year previous so his character was written out. The character of John was Alan Moore in all but name. It simply did not work, though Strauli was not to blame for that. In fact neither Leonard Rossiter, Frances De La Tour or Don Warrington could be blamed for the movie being a flop. Chappell was to blame for writing a substandard script.
The bad response the film met with also ensured that there would not be a fifth television series. Such a disappointing way to round off a great show.
The same year this film went out, another ITV sitcom was adapted to the big screen - Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke's 'George & Mildred' ( adapted for the big screen by Dick Sharples ). It fared no better than the movie of 'Rising Damp' but was immeasurably more amusing in comparison.
Funniest bit - Rigsby and Miss. Jones' picnic ending in disaster after the two get chased out of the field they were sitting in by an angry bull!