User Reviews

'Alive & Kicking' is a surprisingly engaging and likable film that largely escapes the pitfalls within the film's narrative

The plot line - three elderly ladies escape from an old people's home - to an isolated Irish village - could potentially lead to silliness and patronising treatment of the central trio. And it threatens to be that in the early scenes of their escape which are mildly enjoyable but slightly inane.

But once the film settles in Ireland, it becomes a surprisingly deft and endearing film. Not only does it create good characterisations of the three elderly ladies, but characters like MacDonagh are charmingly handled and acted (by Stanley Holloway.

The film is so pleasant that even when MacDonagh's lawyer appears to end the trio's adventure, he is shown to be someone just doing his job and not painted as the villain as one expects.

'Alive and Kicking' is no classic but it's agreeable entertainment that gives Sybil Thorndike, Kathleen Harrison and Estelle Winwood all moments to shine, plus a very early appearance by Richard Harris.

This truly charming British comedy stars three of the great stage and screen actresses of England, one of the rare opportunities to see character actors in leading roles in a film that works. Dame Sybil Thorndike, Estelle Winwood and Kathleen Harrison are tired of aging around the cotton balls in their British retirement home and escape. It's almost choreographed how the military, police and miscellaneous locals go searching for them, leading to a hysterical montage of the various locations that go to. They somehow end up on a Russian steamer, and watching the three British eccentrics dealing with Russian soldiers reading an English translation book is also very funny.

Finally ending up on the Irish coast, the three women take over the household of eccentric Bohemian Stanley Holloway whom they believed to have jumped off a cliff. The locals, believing them to be women of ill repute involved with Holloway, confront them over their alleged immoral behavior but end up having a huge party which endears them completely, leading to the three women to basically take over the community. Like most women in films like this, they become advisors to the young, especially in the love life of one of the younger men (Richard Harris in his film debut), but questions over Holloway's estate threaten to disturb their happy stay in the village.

There are several musical numbers scattered throughout this film, especially a rousing title song sung in Holloway's house when the women move in and invite everybody over for a tea party. Even on the Russian steamer, there's a sudden energetic dance that has the Russian soldiers collapsing in exhaustion. The energy here is incredible, but the energy of the three older women is even more memorable, especially for Thorndike who finds herself hanging on the cliff at one moment nearly falling to the rocks below.

While the plot is basically a series of vignettes surrounding the women's escape and their adventures, it is so completely charming that you don't notice really that there is not a linear story. There are moments of high comedy, touching warmth and a look at how one culture mixes with another culture and simply melds because of hospitality. I don't think this film strive for Perfection, and for a character-based film like this, that is not necessary. It is about seeing how three women supposedly passed the prime of their life can change the direction of it and make their mark on the world when they find the right place to settle in.

It raining heavy outside, it is a cold day in Northern England, and the central heatings been off, its back on now and we have just had Sunday dinner, we 'clicked on this film' with no great anticipation that it would be any different from all the other car-chase trash or local hero gets his man nonsense you get on tv nowadays. The film opened slowly and did not make much sense, then the story got going and we realised this was going to be worth watching and it was, and how. Of course we knew the reputations of the four main cast members who were all leading British stage actors and actresses, but what on earth where they doing turning up in what appeared to be an Irish film about old ladies turning up on an deserted Irish (read Scottish) island, and from the moment they left the beach in search of a new home only then did this film commence. This should have been an Oscar Winner or honourable mention, I admit the story line assumed we would go along with the running-jokes every minute of the way - improbable plot - and we did. And we enjoyed it. It was a make believe Irish film, based on universally accepted Irish sentiments, and at times looked like another Whisky Galore. So what we have here is Whisky Galore vs Alive and Kicking, and they score either even-stevens, or Alive and Kicking Wins the show by a short-head. The best film seen in this house for many a long dark month. Thank you to the makers, directors and cast, Sybil Thorndike was obviously the star, but Kathleen Harrison was indispensable as the cheeky-chappie who kept the wheels turning with laughters in every scene. Richard Harris did not shine, in fact we did not recognise him, and Stanley Holloway was miscast. This role was ideal for James Hayter (Robin Hoods Friar Tuck)

Richard Harris doesn't come on for at least thirty minutes, and at first it seems that his role is little more than a bit. Fortunately, he is given plenty to do in the later stages of the movie where he leads the expedition to rescue Stanley Holloway. As for the movie itself, it's an extremely labored and unfunny farce which stretches its one joke way beyond the point of tediousness. Even its attempts at charm go somewhat astray. And it wasn't even photographed in Ireland (where the story is set) but in Scotland! Stanley Holloway is one of my favorite comedians, but his part is smaller than that enjoyed by Richard Harris. The direction, alas, is as labored as the script. And the acting generally, despite scores of attempts to be lively, can only be cataloged as tedious. Only Harris, Holloway and Olive McFarland (who leads an agreeable spinning song) deserve praise. In fact, Pohlmann and Rhodes over-act so atrociously, they leave a disagreeable taste in the mouth. The wide screen is not particularly well utilized. Instead, the director makes great and obvious use of such stratagems as back projection, stunt doubling and similar fakery. Even the photography is rather cheerless, and in any case, the screenplay cried out for color rather than dull black- and-white.