Monty Python At 50 - Yellowbeard

We’re firmly into the post-Python realm with this one and now have, surprisingly perhaps, a Python-related film that I’d never seen before. Surprising given that it’s not only a Python film but also one co-written by and co-starring Peter Cook (yes, I did just make a Not Only..But Also.. joke) and that is has a truly impressive comedy cast - Graham Chapman (one of the other co-writers), Marty Feldman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Peter Boyle, Madeleine Kahn, Nigel Planer, Spike Milligan, Beryl Reid, Cheech & Chong, Michael Hordern, James Mason(!). Kenneth Mars. It features four actors from Young Frankenstein (Boyle, Feldman, Kahn and Mars) and a who’s who of UK comedy. It even has an uncredited cameo from David Bowie (who was a big comedy fan so it’s unsurprising he’d pop up in Python-ish film at some point). So why is it so overlooked?

Yellowbeard
Dir. Mel Damski / Dur. 96 min

It’s a swashbucklling pirate adventure yarn in which Chapman plays the titular Yellowbeard who escapes from prison after twenty years to track down his treasure pursued by various parties, including his hitherto unknown son who has the treasure map tattooed on his head. It’s got a raft of talent attached to it with Chapman and Cook on scripting duties so why is it so obscure? There’s a simple answer to that - it’s just not very funny (I’m not even saying something that those involved don;t themselves think; John Cleese and Eric Idle have both cited it as one of the worst films ever made - bit harsh maybe). There are a few flashes of what could be a better film in there - Peter Bull as a simple and bemused Queen Anne raises a smile as does Spike Milligan being suitably Milligan-ish along with the thwarted attempts to smuggle aboard women only for the reveal to be that James Mason’s Captain has a thinly disguised woman as one of his officers which feels like a callback to Life Of Brian (“are there any women here?”) - but these moments are sadly few and far between. Overall, the cast are mostly wasted on material that just barely raises a smile.

Sadly, this film will be mostly remembered for being both the last film appearance of Graham Chapman (who as to die on the eve of Python’s 20th anniversary) and Marty Feldman (who tragically died while filing this). It’s not a bad film as such but, when compared to the other Python and post-Python efforts, it just doesn’t stand up.

A Note About The Screening
Bening that this isn’t exactly a shining jewel in the Python crown, there was no intro or Q&A for this one. What there was in a largely empty cinema (for which I’d booked my ticket well in advance) was a cluster of people sat around me who were of seemingly poor health. The woman next to me spent a fair bit of time coughing and blowing her nose, the man behind me spluttering and heavy breathing and the man in front snorting and, at one point, snoring (fair enough on that one - not the greatest of films). My main question here is - who sees a mostly empty cinema and thinks, “Yeah, I’ll make sure I get us seats next to one of the few people in here?” Spread out, folks, spread out...