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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
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