What a Whopper (1961)
A writer attempts to raise some cash by writing a book about the Loch Ness Monster. No publisher will take it because they all think there isn't really a monster. The writer and some of his friends make a fake monster and take photographs and then travel to Scotland to see if they can convince the locals.
- Gilbert Gunn
- Terry Nation
Rating: 6.2/10 by 13 users
Alternative Title:
Vesipeto valloillaan - FI
Nu tar vi monstret - SE
Country:
United Kingdom
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 30 minutes
Budget: $0
Revenue: $0
Plot Keyword: scotland, writer, photograph, sculptor, loch ness monster, loch ness, fake, scottish highlands
Heart-throb pop star Adam Faith ("Tony") is a struggling author who cannot get his book about the famed Loch Ness monster published. It purports to be a serious work and naturally all the publishers know there's no such beastie. Determined to prove them wrong, he and some pals fake some photos and soon the world and it's wife is heading to verify the sightings. Now as a Scot, this irked on a couple of levels - not least Faith's appalling attempt at the accent and director Gilbert Gunn's determination not to use any Scottish actors at all, as far as I could see. Sidney James as the Highland hotel owner really did take the proverbial biscuit. Despite these rather obvious, doubtless budget-driven clangers, at times it's actually quite a fun, light-hearted, wheeze but it's really let down by the fairly stilted acting across the board which is almost as ropey as the stereotype-ridden script. Needless to say, the filming never left the home counties and as for the theme song - well, least said. It does have a nostalgia value - simple comedy around an even more simple story, but it's still not very good.
