Plot Synopsis
Lieutenant Humphrey Fairweather, a well-meaning but accident-prone naval officer with a passion for rockets, is posted where he can (so the navy hopes) cause no further damage. He is given command of a mothballed Royal Navy vessel, HMS Berkeley, which has had no Commanding Officer for several years. She is moored at a wharf on the Suffolk coast near the (fictional) village of Meadows End.
He discovers that the ship is woefully under strength and is forced to contend with the schemes of his bos'n, Chief Petty Officer Dogerty (Sellers). He and the crew are running several profitable businesses, including a same-day laundry, selling naval rum and cigarettes to the local pub, the Pig and Whistle, and making pies and pastries for sale to the villagers. They also keep pigs and hens.
After the naive Fairweather is innocently drawn into the enterprises, he is politely blackmailed into covering for them. But when an Admiral makes a surprise inspection, the story eventually comes out. Whilst angrily haranguing them, Admiral Foley accidentally launches Fairweather's experimental rocket, and the ship is sunk.
Because of Fairweather's impeccable connections at the Admiralty, and because the Berkeley was Admiral Foley's first command, Fairwather is not court-martialed. Instead, he is promoted to Lt-Commander and posted to Woomera to continue his rocketry research, accompanied by Susanne, the attractive French girl he has met at the pub. The ship's crew are posted to another ship, HMS Incorruptible.
Much of the film was shot at Weymouth harbour.
According to an interview with Val Guest (included on the DVD issue of the film), Up the Creek was the first starring film role for Sellers, at the time known only for radio and short television sketches. Guest was only able to obtain his services by also including established comedy film star, David Tomlinson.
A sequel Further Up the Creek was released later in the same year.
Read more about this topic: Up The Creek (1958 Film)
Famous quotes containing the word plot:
“After I discovered the real life of mothers bore little resemblance to the plot outlined in most of the books and articles I’d read, I started relying on the expert advice of other mothers—especially those with sons a few years older than mine. This great body of knowledge is essentially an oral history, because anyone engaged in motherhood on a daily basis has no time to write an advice book about it.”
—Mary Kay Blakely (20th century)