Frankie Howerd: Rather You Than Me
- Director: John Alexander
- Writer: Peter Harness
- Producer: Abi Bach; Ben Evans
CGiii Comment
This is, simply, unkind and cramped.
The performances are faultless, Walliams excels.
IT'S THE SCRIPT - it's boring. Did no-one notice?
It focuses more on Heymer than Howerd - which is missing the point.
Howerd was an entertainer and this is not even entertaining, it's a dirge.
A gross misuse of public funds and disparaging to Howerd's memory.
It would have been wonderful just to have seen the love story that existed between these two men...
Pity.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
In the 1950s Frankie Howerd, the famous radio and film comedian, meets a young waiter Dennis Heymer, who,like himself,is a closet homosexual. Their relationship blossoms into a partnership, rather than a purely sexual one, and Dennis becomes Frankie's manager. By the early 1960s however things are looking bleak for Frankie. He has lost popularity with mainstream audiences and suffered a nervous breakdown.He is full of self hatred about his appearance - he wears a wig - and his homosexuality, putting huge stress on his relationship with Dennis. Matters are not helped by the death of Frankie's mother Edith. However, Frankie is able to reinvent himself as a satirical comedian, with a gig at Peter Cook's Establishment Club and his fortunes soar,with successful television comedies and a well-publicised appearance at the Oxford Union.
Cast & Characters
David Walliams as Frankie Howerd;
Rafe Spall as Dennis Heymer;
Peter Sandys-Clarke as Sheridan;
Sally Leonard as Jane;
Paul Anderson as Roger;
Benedict Martin as Gunman;
Melanie Hill as Ruth;
Dilys Laye as Edith Howerd;
Jeffrey S. Perry as Director;
Chris New as Rent Boy;
Peter Harness as Promoter;
Paul Courtenay Hyu as Dr. Ling;
Jake Maskall as Don;
David Reed as Peter Cook;
Tom Allen as Lighting Technician