While in prison, Dodger plots the perfect heist: break out, steal diamonds, get back before noticed. With days left on sentence and a solid alibi, he's confident nothing can go wrong.While in prison, Dodger plots the perfect heist: break out, steal diamonds, get back before noticed. With days left on sentence and a solid alibi, he's confident nothing can go wrong.While in prison, Dodger plots the perfect heist: break out, steal diamonds, get back before noticed. With days left on sentence and a solid alibi, he's confident nothing can go wrong.
- Soapy Stevens
- (as Wilfrid Hyde White)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaLiz Fraser (Ethel) was still learning to drive at the time the film was made. In the scene where Ethel follows the army convoy in an Aston Martin, she kept stalling as she set off on cue, so ropes were attached to the front of the car, out of shot, and it was towed.
- GoofsThe prisoners are able to escape from their cell by removing the pins from the hinges. For obvious reasons real cell doors do not have hinges on the inside.
- Quotes
[Fred's wife has brought in a young baby when she visits Fred in prison]
Fred: How old is he now, my love?
Fred's wife: Eight months, dearest.
[Fred looks suspicious and counts on his fingers]
Fred: But I've been in here nearly two years.
[Fred's wife smiles sweetly]
Fred's wife: Oh yes, Fred. But you sent me some *lovely* letters.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits prologue: H.M. PRISON HUNTLEIGH
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Devil Inside (1961)
The characters are all wonderful. Peter Sellers as the suave and crafty Dodger, Bernard Cribbins as the not too bright Lenny, David Lodge as the old lag Jelly, Lionel Jeffries in a masterful performance as Mr. Crout (who bears more than a passing resemblance to Hitler), Wilfred Hyde White as the slippery and devious Soapy Stevens and, my favourite, Liz Fraser as the ravishing Ethel. Most of these characters plus others were lifted wholesale from the film, with name changes, to form the cast of the hit TV series 'Porridge', still one of the funniest things on British TV, even 30 years down the line.
The plot is inventive and extremely silly, if a little predictable, and there are plenty of laughs even if some of the vehicles are pretty well tried. The film stands the test of time well I feel. The characters are well stereotyped and so live on and prison doesn't change much, I suppose, and so it retains its relevance.
Quite what non-British viewers would make of it, I'm not sure, as there is much British slang in the dialogue and much of it would be meaningless, but if you can get round that, this film is well worth a watch.
- johnson50
- Nov 29, 2003
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Die grüne Minna
- Filming locations
- Frensham Ponds, Farnham, Surrey, England, UK(Dodger, Jelly and Lennie dump the prison van and escape in a dustbin van which returns them to the prison)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 18 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.66 : 1