ShadeGrenade The fad for British films based on hit sitcoms came to an end as the '80's dawned. Among the last batch were 'Rising Damp' and 'George & Mildred' ( both 1980 ), and, of course, this, derived from Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais' masterpiece about wily convict 'Norman Stanley Fletcher' ( magnificently played by the late, great Ronnie Barker ). The series had ended three years before. In between we had had 'Going Straight' which chronicled the ex-lag trying to adjust to life without the iron bars across the windows. 'Porridge' begins with a mini-bus pulling up at the gates of H.M. Slade Prison - among the new arrivals are poker-faced officer 'Beal' ( Christopher Godwin ), first-time offender 'Rudge' ( Daniel Peacock ) and bank robber 'Oakes' ( Barrie Rutter ). Contrary to what was established at the end of 'Going Straight', Fletcher and Godber are back behind bars in the same nick and even sharing the same cell again. Godber's status as Fletcher's son-in-law is never mentioned. And 'Mackay' ( Fulton Mackay ) is once again making Fletcher's life difficult even though he left the prison service at the start of 'Going Straight'. So the movie's clearly set during the original run of the series. Yet at one point 'Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick' by Ian Dury & The Blockheads can be heard on the radio. It wasn't a hit until late 1978.Continuity problems aside, what about the film itself? It is episodic in structure, as though three episodes had been bolted together. The first features Fletcher coming into possession of Mackay's false teeth after he has sneezed them into a big pot of curry in the prison kitchen ( note that Godber's assistant - played by Zoot Money - is called 'Lotterby'. Named after Sydney Lotterby, the show's producer, no doubt ). The second has Grouty ( Peter Vaughan ) ordering Fletcher to organise a celebrity football match to provide cover for Oakes' escape ( he has money from his last job stashed away somewhere ). The third and final part has Fletcher and Godber making their way back to the nick across open country, dodging police cars and having run-ins's with angry farmers.All this is very good stuff, if not quite in the same class as the show itself. It was overshadowed on its release by the sad death of Richard Beckinsale a few months before. As the critic of 'Photoplay' magazine noted, his was a great talent and the film does nothing to disprove this. Paul Ableman wrote a novelisation for Pan Books entitled 'Porridge: The Inside Story' in which he took the opportunity to develop the characters and expand the situations a bit further, such as having Fletcher and Godber working behind the bar in the Prison Officers Club ( and which explains how they knew about it at the end of the film ). Alongside the regulars ( only Christopher Biggins' 'Lukewarm' is missing and Michael Barrington's 'Mr.Treadaway' has been replaced by Geoffrey Bayldon's ), the irreplaceable Brian Wilde shines as the tame warder 'Mr.Barraclough', who drinks in the cellar because its an alternative to going home and facing his wife! Funniest moment? Fletcher commenting on Mackay's adjustment to the evening meal. "He sees himself as an authority on curry on account of where he was stationed during the war!". "India?", his friend asks. "No, Bradford!", comes the reply. Not a great joke admittedly, but impeccably delivered by Barker.

BJJManchester PORRIDGE was without doubt one of the greatest (if not the greatest) sitcoms ever produced on British TV,and two years after it's final episode (and a year after the sequel GOING STRAIGHT),everyone involved decided to produce a big screen version with all the familiar elements at hand.Looking at the rather cheap-jack and crude attempts in previous years (STEPTOE AND SON,ON THE BUSES and ARE YOU BEING SERVED? instantly come to mind among others),most critics and audiences would have dreaded such a prospect,as the film version of another great sitcom DAD'S ARMY was the only one that adequately cut the mustard.The cinema version of PORRIDGE generally comes across rather well,though with definite flaws.The first half-hour or so is certainly the best,with plenty of very funny incident and occasionally hilarious one-liners,with such performers as Brian Wilde,Richard Beckinsale,Fulton Mackay,Peter Vaughan and of course,the brilliant Ronnie Barker,more than effectively repeating their memorable comic characterisations from the classic TV series.In the film's final two-thirds however,inspiration begins to flag,with a somewhat over-stretched plot involving the smuggling out of a new con (Barrie Rutter) during a football match.And much unlike virtually every episode of the TV version,the incidents depicted become rather foolish,flabby and lacking in credulity,which inevitably would have been far more subtle,taut and concise in it's regular half hour sitcom format.Being filmed almost wholly on location in the middle of winter also doesn't help;it all looks very bleak and morose which gives the film a rather pessimistic mood,in stark contrast to the TV version which despite the obviously grim countenance of a prison,still managed to amuse with spectacular success with a minimum of location work,and mainly being set in a convincingly constructed studio set with less harsh lighting,which despite it's claustrophobic feel still managed to produce a consistent vein of optimism.Still,the performances from Barker,Beckinsale,Mackay and co. remain as good as ever to the final shot,and there's enough amusing moments to prevent the film from being anything near the vapid quality of most TV to film spin-offs from this period of British film history.With the execption of the forgettable sitcom BLOOMERS,it was sadly the final released work to feature the immensely talented young actor Richard Beckinsale;he had previously made a name for himself in the slight but amusing sitcom THE LOVERS,before he really hit the big time with his performances in PORRIDGE and another great sitcom of the 1970's, RISING DAMP (arguably the best example of this genre the ITV network ever produced) opposite Leonard Rossiter.He would undoubtedly have become a very big star in the 1980's and 1990's had it been not for his tragically premature death of a heart attack in 1979 aged only 31.Like his fellow co-stars,his performance isn't quite as good as it was in the peerless TV series,but it is still a perfectly acceptable epitaph to his talents and a genuinely classic BBC TV original.RATING:6 and a Half out of 10.

CharltonBoy What is odd about this film is that i didnt know it existed.There are many spin off films made from British Comedy series's such as Steptoe and Son , On The Buses and Are You Being Served all of which are shown at christmas at far too shorter intervals and all are far inferior to the actual TV shows. Porridge is different. This has hardly ever been seen on TV and is very funny , even funnier than the TV series. Ronnie Barker has a fantastic knack of comedy timing. When he delivers the punch lines you cant help but smile or in the case of this film laugh out loud. The film is very true to the programme and has all the characters we have grown to love over the years.The story is nothing spectacular but it does not need to be because the interaction between wardens and lags is what makes the film. This is one of the best comedy series to film i have ever seen. 8 out of 10.

hacker-9 "Porridge" the movie was made some time after the last episode had been completed-some time, in fact, after the sequel "Going Straight" had been shown. This does not deter at all from the fun, and as TV spin-offs go, this rates as one of the best; due almost entirely to the quality of the original characters from the timeless BBC comedy series. Ronnie Barker was never better than when he assumed the mantle of our anti-hero Norman Stanley Fletcher; aided in no small way by outstanding character support- the wonderful Fulton Mackay as his strutting nemesis Prison Officer Mackay, coupled with the genial Barroclough (Brian Wilde) and a menacing Peter Vaughan as Grouty. Add to this the poignancy of seeing Richard Beckinsale in his last film appearance before his tragically early death at 31 a few weeks after the film's completion and it becomes clear that the film, although no masterpiece in itself, should be treasured keenly by all who value British comedy at its best.