User reviews

Ian Carmichael and Janette Scott getting married and anxious for a home. They buy a houseboat, which turns out to be a pig: she leaks,she has dry rot, the engine doesn't work, and harbor owner Dennis Price has just doubled the docking, water and electric fees. Ian's mechanic pal, the ubiquitous Sid James, suggests they fix the engine and go on a honeymoon on the boat, with him as dogsbody. He shows up with stripper Liz Frazer. As soon as they set off, things start to go awry.

It's a rote but well executed British comedy of the early 1960s, with lots of leering and little to be observed, although the presence of some old comedy hands offers a pleasantly nostalgic air for older folk going to the cinema: Naunton Wayne (in his penultimate film appearance), Irene Handl, Noel Purcell, Bill Shine and Miles Malleson all have cameos. If it lacks the raucous humor of the CARRY ON series, it's still pleasant family-friendly fare.

One of those black & white British comedies in the Carry On mould with a competent cast playing their usual roles, particularly Janette Scott as a sharp comedy actress. Usual 1960's misogyny and somewhat done on a budget but it's a pleasant way to spend a rainy afternoon. Ian Carmichael plays probably the only car mechanic to wear a collar and tie under his oily overalls and I'm not sure why his Heinkel bubble car is left hand drive! Some of the stunts were lucky not to lead to serious injury!

Ian Carmichael ("Jack") and his fiancée "Peggy" (Janette Scott) fall foul of her rather fastidious landlady and are soon looking for a house. As luck would have it, they discover a houseboat and for a mere £750 they have their dream home/yacht. Not long after moving in they meet their landlord "Watson" (Dennis Price) who wants to double the rent for their mooring. Extortionate, so he - a mechanic, encouraged by his pal "Sid" (Sidney James), decides to get the old tub mobile again, and off they go for some fun folics on the river with "Sandra" (Liz Fraser) along too. It's a very gently paced nautical comedy, this - it is all very predictable with some easy humour that pokes a bit of fun at the "Commodore Classes" whilst leaving you knowing just what is going to happen - and what the outcome will be, too. Noel Purcell is quite entertaining, Dennis Price gets a well deserved ducking and we certainly discover that life on the ocean waves is not for everyone.

Mismatched British comic stalwarts Ian Carmichael and Sid James chug along the Thames in a barely sea-worthy houseboat with shapely Janette Scott and Lis Fraser in toe in this likeable comedy. Although it's only mildly amusing most of the time, the host of familiar and welcome names and/or faces makes it impossible to dislike. It's worth watching for Scott's hot pants alone.

When I was in hospital in 1957 my bed radio played the comedy "Take it from Here" in which a couple named "Ron" (Wallis Eaton) and "Eff" (June Whitfield) were featured.The producers of Double Bunk (1961) worked these two radio characters into the screenplay twice by portraying them hidden in a punt with a canvas cover over them so that the viewer could retain the mental image of them that they had "seen in their mind's eye" from the radio comedy which I believe Frank Muir & Dennis Norden had written.Another character I recognised from my youth was Gerald Campion who played "Billy Bunter" from the BBC TV children's programme of the 1950s.If you have followed the career of Naunton Wayne he makes a rare solo appearance, minus Basil Radford, playing a harbour master who is side-tracked by the ample charms of a young Liz Fraser.Also on display is comedienne Irene Handel playing a frumpy wife of the previous owners of the houseboat from whom Ian Carmichael & Janette Scott newly weds have purchased it in lieu of a house.In early post war Britain couples had a hard job finding marital accommodation because of blitzed buildings and general strict financial circumstances.The other reviewers have adequately commented on the plot of this very British comedy where each well known actor/actress plays well trodden & familiar roles known by a British audience.

The uppermost question occurred to me watching this film on www.IMDb.com was surely one has to show proficiency by the marine equivalent of the driving test before you can be let loose on the river.But of course the resulting slapstick forms the basis of the film comedy.

I bought the DVD of "Double Bunk" in a sale more out of curiosity than anything else. I like the early black & white comedies of the 50s and 60s starring Ian Carmichael and Dennis Price, such as 'School for Scoundrels', 'I'm All Right Jack', 'Privates Progress' and 'Lucky Jim' in which Ian played more or less the same hapless character who gets lucky in the end. I also like the early Carry Ons such as 'Sergeant', 'Cabby' and 'Regardless'. 'Double Bunk' is like a marriage of the two because several of the Carry On team appear in this comedy about a young couple who buy a rundown houseboat moored in the Thames but soon find themselves crossing the Channel in a fog and landing in France. Less than 24hrs later they are in a race back home after stealing fuel from their competitor's powerful motor launch captained by Dennis Price. The scenes of these two large boats racing up the narrow section of the Thames and creating havoc with smaller sailing boats as well as producing a massive wake that floods the banks and half drowning fishermen out for a quiet days fishing is unique in cinematic history. I can't imagine such as stunt being repeated today. I last saw this film when it first appeared in the cinema when I was still at school. I had forgotten the plot but not song which introduces the film. I'ts called "Double Bunk' (what a surprise!) and is sung by - you'd never guess - Sid James and Liz Frazer who figure prominently in this very well made film. The film has a cast of characters whose faces are immediately recognisable. To see who they are you must watch the DVD. I found it enjoyable to see it again after 45 years. I look forward to seeing it again and again.

Like another reviewer, I watched this film because it was a British comedy from a "good" era, when a lot of excellent British comedy was being produced, and this one promised well, as it contained proved stars such as Liz Fraser, Dennis Price and Sid James, as well as Ian Carmichael....but be warned - this is not even half as funny as "School for Scandal", for example, or "The Naked Truth", or even "Carry On Screaming", with the plot full of contrived humour and situations that are just simply not funny, though they are obviously meant to be. It was a strain to continue watching it to the end....so I gave up on it before then, considering it beyond rescue.

A nice little comedy. The adventures of a young couple who are forced to buy a house boat for somewhere to live.

Not mega budget and no special effects to speak of - just something to make you smile every now and then.

Sid James is his usual self. Liz Fraser is absolutely gorgeous and Irene Handl shows what a real star she was in her all to brief role

A film that begins with that awful title song - sung by Sid James & Liz Fraser! - can only get better; but not much. (And we continue to hear the theme repeated regularly thereafter on the soundtrack.)

Obviously made on a shoestring, the frequent bawdy innuendo surpasses even the 'Carry On's of the period. Both leading ladies are delightful, however; and even though Ian Carmichael was nearly twenty years older than Janette Scott he looks youthful enough for them to make convincing newlyweds. (Miss Scott's boyishly short hair, by the way, though extremely becoming, obviously presented continuity problems, since it varies throughout the film and is noticeably shorter and neater in the interiors shot back at the studio at Twickenham).

What a great little film this is! It's a British comedy starring various alumni from the CARRY ON franchise, and one which takes place almost entirely on a houseboat. The film stars the hardworking Ian Carmichael and the elfin Janette Scott as a newlywed couple who through various machinations of the plot decide to go on a short cruise with a friend and his girlfriend; the usual hijinks and hilarity ensue.

Films like DOUBLE BUNK seem to get by on their effortless charm and genuine humour. Certainly there are a few saucy moments here, but the film for the most part belongs to an earlier, cleaner time in which the laughs feel unforced and entirely natural. And when your film is chock full of seasoned comic performers as it is here, it's hard to go wrong.

Inevitably for a film with Sid James in a leading role, he ends up stealing all of the best bits. You can rely on Sid, and he doesn't disappoint. Scott is saddled with a fairly dull 'straight' role although she does have a few good moments - and check out those shorts! - but the best female performance comes from Liz Fraser, playing your usual sex siren. Here, she's a striptease artist, and as well as being breathtakingly gorgeous she's very funny too.

The supporting cast is exemplary. Dennis Price essays the caddish role with ease, while Naunton Wayne's cameo was to be his last performance. Watch out for Miles Malleson as a fishing vicar, and another nice cameo from Irene Handl, who seems to spend all of her screen time in the kitchen! There's plenty of slapstick humour here, and it all holds together very nicely. I think that as a film, DOUBLE BUNK certainly holds its own against the CARRY ONs of the era.

With a cast that includes Price,James and Fraser it would be impossible to make a film without funny moments.The script is formulaic so any joke you laugh at is because of familiarity rather than originality.

Double Bunk is directed by C.M. Pennington-Richards and features music by Stanley Black and photography by Stephen Dade. It stars Ian Carmichael, Sid James, Janette Scott, Liz Fraser and Dennis Price.

When newlyweds Jack (Carmichael) and Peggy (Scott) face eviction from their rented London abode, they get tricked into buying a ramshackle houseboat. Taking the challenge on with determination in their hearts and love in their eyes, they are further knocked back when Mr. Watson (Price), the owner of the mooring station, tells them of the charges they must pay to stay where they are. Rebuilding the engine, Jack decides to treat Peggy to a honeymoon trip down the Thames, so with best pal Sid (James) and his stripper girlfriend Sandra (Fraser) along for the trip, they set off on what will prove to be a mighty adventure.

It opens with James and Fraser singing the delightfully catchy title song, and from there on in the film never lets up the jovial mood created. There's nothing uproarious here, this is a gentle British comedy built to keep the smile on your face, though it does slot in a few laugh out loud moments (double dose of gangplank frivolity, Sid's Vodka hangover, a punch up after a bum squeeze). It's well performed, often sexy (wolf whistles at the ready here for both our lady protagonists) and the water setting is very easy on the eye.

Fans of vintage British comedy are sure to get much from this easy going feel good comedy. 8/10

Of interest as a good example of pre Carry On comedy films, but that is all. All the actors played the same characters as most of the other films they did. Rather tedious and predictable. Probably the most interesting aspect of this film was how Janette Scott got into those shorts ... or more to the point, out of them.

This is a story about Jack and Peggy (Ian Carmichael and Janette Scott) who get thrown out of a rooming house for being in the same room together. They end up buying a somewhat dilapidated houseboat. enter Sid James playing a man named Sid who offers to sail the boat as part of a honeymoon for Jack and Peggy. He brings along Sandra, the always welcome Liz Fraser. After wreaking havoc with other leisure boaters they get stuck in a fog and end up in France. They have to get back and end up racing another boat owned by Watson, who was charging Jack and Perry ridiculous rent to keep the houseboat in the harbor in England. This is a fun film which gets better as it goes along. There is some slapstick and, since Sandra is a stripper, a little titillation but not much. Sid James plays a character we've seen him play so many times, the wise cracking friend not always up to complete good. I miss him a lot in films. If you like British humor that doesn't rely on tawdriness, just a decent plot with good performances, here it is. I don't think you will be disappointed.