The Funniest Foursome That Ever Fouled Up Der Fuhrer

Starring
Bill Travers
Spike Milliagn
Gregoire Aslan

Four invalid British officers plot to wipe out a German gun that has been shelling England from across the channel.


A group of injured officers escape from a military hospital and devise a plan to shell a Nazi cannon. They proceed across the English Channel in a stolen boat, sneak into France, and dismantle the weapon.

Trying to bicycle back to safety disguised as Germans, they are captured by members of the French Resistance, who naturally mistake them for the enemy.

Finally, they are released, hailed as heroes, and sent on another mission by British intelligence. This comedy works in spots, especially in its slapstick routines.

This is your typical Dad's Army style light-hearted mickey-take. It has a similar charm and, with John Le Mesurier starring, has a bit of consistency with it too. The humour is very British in style, so if this is not your taste then you had better veer well away.

The story begins in a military hospital, where several of the patients are desperate to be declared fit for active service. Shells fired from a gun over the Channel in Occupied France plague the village surrounding the hospital. Four of the patients scheme to sail over to France and destroy the gun, nicknamed "Big Herman."

Invasion Quartet is pretty disjointed, more a series of comedy sketches than a cohesive movie. However, with a cast including an on-form Spike Milligan, nobody will mind that too much. It's the kind of movie to watch on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Top matinee entertainment.

Reviewed: James Salter, 26 May 2002