I've been contacted by somebody researching sitcom feature film spin-off's for a book and he'd appreciate the addition of any missing titles from this list. (titles between 68-80)
TILL DEATH US DO PART 1968
ON THE BUSES 1971
DAD'S ARMY 1971
PLEASE SIR 1971
UP POMPEII 1971
BLESS THIS HOUSE 1972
STEPTOE AND SON 1972
MUTINY ON THE BUSES 1972
THE LOVERS 1972
NEVER MIND THE QUALITY, FEEL THE WIDTH 1972
THAT'S YOUR FUNERAL 1972
STEPTOE AND SON RIDE AGAIN 1973
FOR THE LOVE OF ADA 1973
HOLIDAY ON THE BUSES 1973
FATHER DEAR FATHER 1973
LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR 1973
MAN ABOUT THE HOUSE 1974
THE LIKELY LADS 1976
ARE YOU BEING SERVED 1977
PORRIDGE 1979
GEORGE AND MILDRED 1980
RISING DAMP 1980
I Only Arsked was a spin off of The Army Game.
The TV series of "The Man from Uncle" (1964) went into a spin to produce:
The Spy with My Face (1965)
One Spy Too Many (1966)
"The Girl from U.N.C.L.E." (1966)
The Karate Killers (1967)
How to Steal the World (1968)
The Helicopter Spies (1968) (TV)
The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1983) (TV)
The Alf Garnett Saga (1972) was a second spin off feature after Till Death Us Do Part (1969) from "Till Death Us Do Part" (1965)
Sweeney! (1977) and Sweeney 2 (1978) were spin offs from "The Sweeney" (1975) (not exactly a sitcom but it did have a few laughs in it)
Up the Chastity Belt (1971) and Up the Front (1972) were two further spin offs from "Up Pompeii" (1969) after Up Pompeii (1971)
Steve
name='Steve Crook'] "The Sweeney" (1975) (not exactly a sitcom but it did have a few laughs in it)
As in The Mini Metro, not exactly a Ferrari F40!
Funnily enough I watched The Likely Lads film last night and to me it was possible the only sit-com film spin-off that I can remember which didn't lose the charm, humour and appeal of the original TV series.
I think a few of these sit-com films took the characters away from their normal surroundings (situation) and tried to cobble a story around them but often the finished piece ended up like a poor imitation of a Carry-On film.
This trend continued into the 80s and 90s away from the cinema with those two hour TV Christmas Specials of Only Fools and Horses and One Foot in the Grave, and they seemed to lose their identity and credibility. With more padding than Charles Hawtrey playing Henry VIII, they were also overly long (but in Christmas living rooms in post turkey dinner, pudding belt-strainer and a few glasses of Piat D'Or most people fell asleep after half an hour anyway)!
Drama films like The Sweeney faired better with a longer format, and also being X certificate they could get away with more on the big screen in terms of sex, violence and swearing which would not have been tolerated in the 70s on mainstream TV!
I always rated Steptoe and Son Ride Again and enjoyed Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy's playing of George and Mildred as they rekindle their marriage.
Bottoms Up (1960) - spin-off from "Whack-O".
Do radio sit-coms count?: Life With The Lyons (1954) & The Lyons in Paris (1955).
D
name='samkydd']Funnily enough I watched The Likely Lads film last night and to me it was possible the only sit-com film spin-off that I can remember which didn't lose the charm, humour and appeal of the original TV series.
I always liked Till Death Us Do Part (1969) because it gave us some good background to explain how the characters in the TV series got to be like they are. It also stands up quite well by itself even if you know nothing about the series.
And it does have the 1966 World Cup final in it.
I'm not a sports fan but even I've heard of that one
Steve
name='JamesM']I always rated Steptoe and Son Ride Again and enjoyed Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy's playing of George and Mildred as they rekindle their marriage.
Agreed. Steptoe and Son Ride Again didn't take the characters out of their usual environment until the very end and of the film and it was perfectly executed when done.
I probably like the George and Mildred movie for exactly the opposite reasons - it gave the opportunity for some great scenes and good characters away from the norm - Dudley Sutton as Jacko the biker and David Barry as Elvis (nephew to Stratford Johns character) were particularly memorable.
Another of my favourites is the Bless This House movie - though possibly because I saw the film three or four times before I ever got a chance to see the series. It was also a rare occasion when the cast changes were for the better.
name='samkydd']Funnily enough I watched The Likely Lads film last night and to me it was possible the only sit-com film spin-off that I can remember which didn't lose the charm, humour and appeal of the original TV series.
It's not bad at all.
Shame Bob & Thelma's house is not the one from the TV series though.
name='Cuffy']
Another of my favourites is the Bless This House movie - though possibly because I saw the film three or four times before I ever got a chance to see the series. It was also a rare occasion when the cast changes were for the better.
I think it's alright as a sort of mild 'Carry On' but I much prefer the TV series with Robin Stewart and Anthony Jackson as Mike & Trevor.
Not quite a sitcom spin-off, but I feel it belongs in this group: Ooh, You Are Awful, (1972) featuring Dick Emery doing much the same thing as he did in his TV series.
Before the dates specified as well as 'I Only Arsked' and 'Bottoms Up' you've also got The Larkins film 'Inn for Trouble'. After the dates there is 'Whoops Apocalpyse', 'Bean', 'Guest House Paradiso' 'Kevin and Perry Go Large' and 'The League of Gentleman's Apocalypse'. Between 68 and 80 you also had spin off from two sketch shows 'And Now For Something Completely Different' (refilmed Monty Python's Flying Circus sketches) and 'The Best of Benny Hill' which was a complimation film. There were also 'Up the Chastity Belt' and 'Up the Front' which weren't situation comedys as such but sequels to 'Up Pompeii'. As for radio spinoffs there was also 'Band Waggon' and 'It's That Man Again'
One film that does fit the criteria is 'Love Thy Neighbour'
I suppose you could add Up The Chastity Belt which is a spin-off movie of a spin-off movie. Not to mention the appalling Up The Front.
Rising Damp movie was just a remix of episodes and a practically word-for-word script. Christopher Strauli was terrible too.
Wasn't there an "Are You Being Served?" spin-off ?
Certainly was, in 1977. It sees the cast on holiday in the Costa Plonka. It was ok if you liked the characters.
For anyone who is interested in this thread, you may want to read a good article at Bright Lights Film Journal | British Sitcom Spin-off Films
name='samkydd']Funnily enough I watched The Likely Lads film last night and to me it was possible the only sit-com film spin-off that I can remember which didn't lose the charm, humour and appeal of the original TV series.
I think that's true, but it's more like Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads than the original. I really like the Porridge and Dad's Army films too. I thought the Steptoe and Son films were just too sad.
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