46-512: Mutiny on the Buses is a 1972 British comedy film directed by Harry Booth and starring Reg Varney , Doris Hare , Michael Robbins , Anna Karen , Stephen Lewis and Bob Grant . It was produced by Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe for Hammer Films . The film is the second spin-off film from the TV sitcom On the Buses and succeeded On the Buses (1971). It was followed by a third film, Holiday on
92-713: A camp sensibility lay behind the successful Carry On films , while in America subversive independent film-maker John Waters made camp films for college audiences with his drag queen friends that eventually found a mainstream audience. The success of the American television show Saturday Night Live drove decades of cinema with racier content allowed on television drawing on the program's stars and characters, with bigger successes including Wayne's World , Mean Girls , Ghostbusters and Animal House . Parody and joke-based films continue to find audiences. While comedic films are among
138-626: A Scandal , Breaking and Entering , Flyboys , Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy , Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith , Dancing on Ice and Are You Smarter Than A 10 Year Old? for Sky television among many others. On 25 November 2019 it was announced that Elstree Studios would continue with their partnership with BBC Studioworks to provide television studio facilities. The arrangement will see
184-700: A film studio), represented a victory for the local authority in upholding the planning agreements that protected the studios. The studios are now most commonly known for being the home of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and the Big Brother house (previously at Three Mills Studios in Bow , East London ). The Big Brother house was actually built on top of the studios' old underwater stage where scenes in The Dam Busters (1955) and Moby-Dick (1956) were filmed. Elstree Film & Television Studios Ltd's lease expired at
230-454: A new radio control system installed in all the buses, allowing Blakey to ensure that the buses are running on time while keeping the pair working hard. Seeking to stop management interfering with how they want to work, Jack tampers with the system so that it crosses over into other radio frequencies, effectively leading to several misunderstandings involving the police and airliners, before the police promptly order its discontinuation. Soon after
276-442: A result, while also learning that his friend is no longer on his bus. Instead, he is shocked to discover that Blakey will be joining him, after being demoted to a conductor for all the trouble caused recently, but is delighted to learn that three new, attractive clippies have arrived at the depot, one of whom, Gloria, is being put on Stan's bus. The story ends with Blakey preventing passengers getting on Stan's bus, much like Jack did at
322-532: A separate genre, but rather, provides a better understanding of the film. Elstree Studios (Shenley Road) Elstree Studios on Shenley Road, Borehamwood , Hertfordshire is a British film and television production centre operated by Elstree Film Studios Limited . One of several facilities historically referred to as Elstree Studios , the Shenley Road studios originally opened in 1925. The studio complex has passed through many owners during its lifetime, and
368-421: A third movie Holiday on the Buses the following year." Comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor . These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending , with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the oldest genres in film, and it is derived from classical comedy in theatre . Some of
414-491: A townscape standing set constructed at the rear of the studio site, originally for the 1961 Cliff Richard film The Young Ones . In 1969, Electric and Musical Industries (EMI) finally gained control of ABPC and the studios were renamed EMI-Elstree Studios . In 1969, Bryan Forbes was appointed head of production of the film studio (see EMI Films ). Dennis Barker , in his obituary of Forbes for The Guardian , states that "This amounted virtually to an attempt to revive
460-536: Is now owned by Hertsmere Borough Council. Known as the studios used for filming Alfred Hitchcock 's Blackmail (1929)—the first British talkie , Star Wars (1977), The Shining (1980) and Indiana Jones its largest stage is known as the George Lucas Soundstage 2 (15,770 sq ft), the studios are used both for film and television productions. With the BBC Elstree Centre nearby, a number of
506-460: The Star Wars sequels and Indiana Jones franchise being made at Elstree and also brought in directors Steven Spielberg and Jim Henson . This was the golden era of the construction picture, which essentially required large studio facilities to fulfill the filmmakers' vision, before computer-generated imagery technology and Elstree became synonymous with this kind of picture due to the success of
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#1732906117951552-540: The EMI-MGM Elstree Studios . In 1974, Andrew Mitchell took over from Ian Scott as managing director of the studios but was almost immediately told to close the facility and lay off all the staff. Due to the sterling efforts of Mitchell and the help of John Reed who was on the board of EMI and Alan Sapper the head of the ACTT Union, he turned the studios into a four-wall facility, which effectively meant reducing
598-564: The Star Wars and Indiana Jones films. In 1979, Thorn Electrical Industries merged with EMI after EMI's debacle with its invention of the CT Scanner , and the studios were renamed Thorn-EMI Elstree Studios . The studios were put up for sale in 1985. A management team beat off all other prospective buyers with the help of Alan Bond but the team had difficulty raising their share of the purchase price and Bond took over. Soon afterwards he sold
644-412: The 1960s for productions on film for ABPC's television arm, ABC Weekend TV . Later episodes of The Avengers were among these (which were credited to "ABC Television Films Ltd, Associated British Elstree Studios"). Several similar productions by ITC for ATV were also filmed there, including The Saint , The Baron , Department S and The Champions . All of these series made extensive use of
690-685: The BIP name continued to be used for some purposes until 31 March 1937. Maxwell died in 1940 and during World War II , the studios were used by the War Office for storage. In 1946, Warner Brothers acquired a substantial interest in ABPC, appointed a new board and decided to rebuild the stages. This was completed in 1948 and work began on Man on the Run followed by The Hasty Heart starring Richard Todd and Ronald Reagan . The Shenley Road studios were frequently used in
736-567: The British box office. The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "More TV sitcom (situation comedy) transferred to the big screen, is shot in the same flat, one-dimensional style as its predecessor and appears even more hard up for humour. A typical joke taking literally an order to wear only company uniform to work ("no knickers for the girls", the distributors' handout gleefully explains), and baby's toilet habits are assumed throughout to have inherent comic qualities." The Radio Times Guide to Films gave
782-503: The Buses (1973). Mutiny on the Buses , while not as successful at the box office as the first, still came 17th in the 1972 box office. Stan Butler, a bus driver for the Town & District bus company, is so enamoured of a clippie from his company called Susy, that he agrees to marry her. While Jack, his close friend and colleague, welcomes the news, his family do not share the same view, with Stan's Mum unhappy that he will want to move out of
828-521: The Butlers' house. Although Stan is eager to get married and to find Susy a flat for them to live in, he is forced to put things on hold when he becomes the main money earner for the Butler household, after Arthur loses his job. While trying to find his brother-in-law employment, Jack reveals news, overheard from Blakey, the company's bus inspector, that a new manager by the name of Mr. Jenkins has been installed into
874-621: The ailing British film industry by instituting a traditional studio system with a whole slate of films in play." Under Forbes's leadership, the studio produced The Railway Children (1970), The Tales of Beatrix Potter (1971) and The Go-Between (1971), all successful films. His tenure though, was short-lived and marked by financial problems, brought about by deliberately withheld funding and failed projects. Forbes resigned in 1971. In his autobiography A Divided Life he states that "They were years of high hopes, of excitement, often of fulfilment and contrary to what various pundits said after
920-514: The beginning, while Stan gets a feeling of deja vu when he finds himself agreeing to marry Gloria. Apart from the location work, the film was shot at EMI-MGM Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire , England. The bus at the safari park in Mutiny on the Buses was NRN 607, a Metro-Cammell bodied Leyland Atlantean , new to Ribble Motor Services . The film was one of the most popular movies of 1972 at
966-517: The broader redevelopment of the old Television Centre site in July 2014, the lease was extended until 2017. Elstree Studios are now operated by Elstree Film Studios Ltd , a company controlled by Hertsmere Borough Council. Feature film production continues alongside television production, commercials and pop promos; recent productions include 44 Inch Chest , Bright Star , 1408 , Son of Rambow , Amazing Grace , The Other Boleyn Girl , Notes on
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#17329061179511012-407: The building. In the aftermath of the incident, Jenkins has the fire-fighting equipment upgraded and orders the inspector to stage a fire drill, but this only leads to mayhem when Stan and Jack flood the depot after breaking the depot's new foam machine. At the same time, Arthur, who secured a job at the company, is horrified when Olive arrives at the depot during the mayhem, and crashes the motorbike in
1058-557: The depot, who seeks to make the buses profitable and has intentions to make reforms at the depot to ensure its staff work harder, much to the dislike of Stan and Jack who enjoy their current layabout lifestyle. When Jenkins decides to stop the staff wearing casual, scruffy clothing under their uniform, Stan and Jack instigate a mutiny by having the male and female bus crews wear only the company's uniform that they are provided with, and nothing else. While this has little effect in stopping them having to wear smarter clothing with their uniforms,
1104-658: The earliest silent films were slapstick comedies , which often relied on visual depictions, such as sight gags and pratfalls, so they could be enjoyed without requiring sound. To provide drama and excitement to silent movies, live music was played in sync with the action on the screen, on pianos, organs, and other instruments. When sound films became more prevalent during the 1920s, comedy films grew in popularity, as laughter could result from both burlesque situations but also from humorous dialogue . Comedy, compared with other film genres , places more focus on individual star actors, with many former stand-up comics transitioning to
1150-449: The end of March 2007. It was announced in 2012 that the studios would be the temporary home of BBC Studios and Post Production during the redevelopment of Television Centre . Shows such as Strictly Come Dancing and Pointless were based on the site from spring 2013. The original plan was for the BBC to move back to refurbished Television Centre studios in 2015, however due to delays in
1196-507: The event, the programme proved a commercial success, returning according to the latest [1992] figures a profit in excess of £16,000,000 on a capital outlay of £4,000,000." During the period 1970–73, EMI had a short-lived production and distribution deal with the American MGM film company, after the closure of their MGM-British Studios in Elstree. During this period the facilities were known as
1242-588: The facility over the next few years included the Agatha Christie mystery film Murder on the Orient Express (1974), directed by Sidney Lumet ; Ken Russell 's Valentino (1977; Stanley Kubrick 's The Shining (1980); Fred Zinnemann 's drama film Julia (1977); and most significantly for the studio's immediate survival through a deal brokered by Andrew Mitchell, George Lucas with Star Wars (1977). This led to subsequent Lucas productions such as
1288-399: The film 1/5 stars, writing: "Things must have been bad at Hammer for the once-famous horror studio to resort to big screen TV spin-offs such as this woefully unfunny comedy based on the popular ITV series. You'd have thought there was simply no more mileage left in the jokes about Blakey's schedules, Olive and Arthur's marriage and Stan and Jack's allergy to work, but they managed to squeeze out
1334-515: The film industry due to their popularity. In The Screenwriters Taxonomy (2017), Eric R. Williams contends that film genres are fundamentally based upon a film's atmosphere, character, and story, and therefore, the labels "drama" and "comedy" are too broad to be considered a genre. Instead, his taxonomy argues that comedy is a type of film that contains at least a dozen different sub-types. A number of hybrid genres have emerged, such as action comedy and romantic comedy . The first comedy film
1380-475: The first British talkie released, which was produced at the studios. At the end of the silent-film era, six new sound stages were built; three of these were sold to the British & Dominions Film Corporation with BIP retaining the remaining stages. Elstree Calling (1930), made by BIP, was reputedly Britain's first musical film. BIP became Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC) in 1933, although
1426-435: The first run – a trial run to determine if the safari park will accept buses on its ground. While Stan is delighted with the new uniform he is provided with, and the special safari bus he will be driving, he accidentally damages the bus's rear emergency exit, resulting in the trial run being a complete disaster when it leaves him and Blakey, assigned to supervise the run, at the mercy of lions and monkeys. With their engagement on
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1472-418: The flooded maintenance pit, after believing that her husband had lied about the fire drill. Despite Arthur now having a job, Stan discovers that he cannot afford a flat with the money he is earning, unless he can make more, and so is thrilled when Jenkins reveals to the bus crews that he is planning to arrange the company to run safari tours to Windsor Safari Park , whereupon the driver selected by him to drive
1518-743: The most popular with audiences at the box office, there is an 'historical bias against a close and serious consideration of comedy' when it comes to critical reception and conferring of awards, such as at the Academy Awards . Film writer Cailian Savage observes "Comedies have won Oscars, although they’ve usually been comedy-dramas, involved very depressing scenes, or appealed to stone-hearted drama lovers in some other way, such as Shakespeare in Love ." According to Williams' taxonomy , all film descriptions should contain their type (comedy or drama) combined with one (or more) sub-genres. This combination does not create
1564-400: The radio system is removed, Jenkins issues Blakey with a new van, in order to help him monitor the bus routes more effectively. However, when Stan and Jack accidentally cause a fire at the depot, the staff quickly find that the fire-fighting equipment is woefully inadequate, resulting in chaos that leads to the inspector's new van being crushed between two buses whilst they are being moved out of
1610-474: The rocks following the incident, Stan persuades Susy to come to his family's house for tea the following night to talk things over. But when it is announced that Olive is pregnant again, an annoyed Susy realises that she will never be married and storms out of the Butler household, giving back her engagement ring to Stan in the process. The next day, Stan finds out from Jack that Jenkins's wife learnt of his affair with Norah and had him transferred to another depot as
1656-476: The safari job, trouble arises when he, Jack and Mum are forced to take Olive home, after she starts a fight with Arthur's clippie, Norah, for trying to flirt with her husband and getting more attention than herself. A couple of nights later, when they are in the depot after hours, Stan and Jack witness Jenkins having an affair with Norah and use the information to blackmail him into giving Stan the safari job, much to Blakey's shock. A few days later, Stan prepares for
1702-434: The site from the consortium for £32.5 million. A month later, Brent Walker bought out Tranwood Earl, proposing to retain seven of the ten soundstages and post-production units. Much of the backlot was sold off and demolished with a Tesco superstore being built on the land. A "Save Our Studios" campaign was launched in 1988 by managing director, Andrew Mitchell, local Town Councillor and studio historian Paul Welsh, with
1748-429: The special bus for the tour will receive a larger wage and keep any tips they earn. However, any hope of Stan getting the job are dashed when Blakey informs him that, because both he and the depot manager agree that he is accountable for the mayhem with the fire drill, he will never be allowed to get the job. Later that evening, attending the company's darts competition in the busmen's canteen while debating on how to secure
1794-435: The staff to administration, with the exception of the dubbing facility and having freelance crew being brought in by each production company. This was inevitable due to the changing nature of cinematic styles that relied increasingly on location shooting and the reduced financial involvement of EMI in its own film productions, thus rendering a permanent production staff employed full-time at the facility redundant. Films shot at
1840-417: The stages are leased to BBC Studioworks , and are used for recording television productions such as Strictly Come Dancing . British National Pictures Ltd purchased 40 acres (16 ha) of land on the south side of Shenley Road and began construction of two large film stages in 1925. After discord among the partners, which by this time included Herbert Wilcox , their solicitor John Maxwell invested and
1886-519: The studios to the Herron-Cannon Group in 1986. In 1987, Weintraub Entertainment Group attempted to buy the studios, but the deal collapsed. In June 1988, Cannon sold the studios to a consortium of property developers formed by merchant bank Tranwood Earl. Following industry concerns over the plans of the property developers, the leisure and property company Brent Walker plc formed a joint venture with Tranwood Earl two months later and acquired
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1932-516: The stunt embarrasses Blakey and annoys Jenkins, who blames the Inspector for letting the staff get away with their prank. A few days later, Stan discovers that Jenkins is hiring new drivers and realises that this will provide the needed work for Arthur that can allow him to proceed with marrying Susy. In order to ensure this, Stan decides to teach Arthur how to drive a bus. However, his plans to get him properly trained soon become threatened when Jenkins has
1978-566: The support of many film actors and the general public. Hertsmere Borough Council stepped in and bought the remaining facilities in February 1996 and appointed a management company, Elstree Film & Television Studios Ltd. , to run the studios in 2000. The purchase ended an eight-year struggle that was due to have culminated in High Court action. Brent Walker's offer to sell the site to the council, for an undisclosed sum (but no more than its worth as
2024-508: The use of comedy film to make social statements by building their narratives around sensitive cultural, political or social issues. Such films include Dr Strangelove, or How I Learned to Love the Bomb , Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? and The Graduate . In America, the sexual revolution drove an appetite for comedies that celebrated and parodied changing social morals, including Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and Fanny Hill . In Britain,
2070-414: Was L'Arroseur Arrosé (1895), directed and produced by film pioneer Louis Lumière . Less than a minute long, it shows a boy playing a prank on a gardener. The most notable comedy actors of the silent film era (1895–1927) were Charlie Chaplin , Harold Lloyd , and Buster Keaton , though they were able to make the transition into “ talkies ” after the 1920s. Film-makers in the 1960s skillfully employed
2116-422: Was able to gain control of the company. The first film produced there was Madame Pompadour (1927). By 1927, Maxwell controlled all the stock, and the company was renamed British International Pictures (BIP) and the second stage was ready for production in 1928. Maxwell placed Alfred Hitchcock under contract in a 3-year, 12-picture deal, and after several silents, he was responsible for Blackmail (1929),
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