Review of The Punch and Judy Man

Hancock wanted to move away from his 'East Cheam' character and ditched his normal team of writers (Galton & Simpson) in favour of a co-writing credit with Philip Oakes. Although the film is nominally a comedy, it can be bleak and grim as it explores the disintegrating relationship between Wally (Hancock) and his wife Delia (a fine performance by Sylvia Syms). There's a fine cast of established British actors on show, plus some faces in the early parts of their careers, and they all do a fine job with no-one stealing the show. I watched this film from DVD last night, the first time I've seen it for many years. Far from being the miserable flop I remembered, it was very entertaining and two scenes stood out for me. The first is the scene with 'the boy' in the ice cream parlour. Wally treats the boy to a top-whack 'Piltdown Glory', chocolate sauce, nuts and wafers, the whole lot, and gets one for himself. What follows is a wonderful 'fight to the finish', as Wally tries to keep up with the kid. The finale, with Wally flipping the cherry into the air and catching it in his mouth with obvious glee, is enough to have me cheering and winding back for another look. Hancock's grinning face as the pair leave the shop speaks volumes. The second one comes at the very end of the film, as Wally and Delia have a renewed understanding of each other's wants, needs and failings. It really is quite tender, and we can almost see their marriage blossoming once again. Then it's straight into the end credits which (behind the titles) shows Wally and Delia being waved off by his friends as they drive along the promenade, heading for pastures new. The triumphant music puts the lid on in style. EDIT: I'd like to add a little to this if I may. In the 'Piltdown Glory' scene, we get a bonus in the shape of Eddie Byrne, an actor who (like Sam Kydd and Michael Ripper) popped up in almost every British film of the period. Byrne plays the ice cream salesman and although he doesn't say much, his performance is almost a scene-stealer. Only Hancock's sparkling happiness at the end of the scene keeps him at bay. The other thing is the 'comedy set pieces' which tended to be overlong and look as if they were inserted because Hancock needed some laughs. They were not particularly hilarious and tended break up the flow. However, if they had been removed the running time would have been about 60 minutes and the film could easily have been presented as a TV play, perhaps with better results. Still an enjoyable film though.