Verdict
Summary
A silly, farcical Cold War comedy that wears its perpetual winks and nudges smilingly on its sleeves, Man in a Cocked Hat is amusing in an outdated sort of way, and takes relevance only in its fun performances, namely Sellers, whose supporting role adds a goofiness it needs to remain watchable. Future 007 brunette bombshell Luciana Paluzzi from Thunderball plays the sexy princess of the colony, and her pizazz adds to the fun mix of players here.
Plot:
All of a sudden, a forgotten little colony becomes the focal point for the entire world.
Review:
A tiny British colony in the Pacific Island has had 50 years of stability, but when a clerical error leaves the island unchecked and free to self-rule, no one tells the British government, which turns out to be a massive problem when it is discovered that there are extremely valuable mineral deposits on the land. The Soviets figure it out first and try to colonize the region as soon as they can, but the British try to beat them to the punch (now that they have no claim to the land) by sending an envoy (played by Terry Thomas) to get the lay of the region. He finds that the prime minister of the colony (played by a portly Peter Sellers) is completely and gleefully corrupt, and that the only hope the region has of having any kind of influence by the British is to literally divide the land by a straight line (which in practicality becomes farcical when the chalk line must be drawn over rivers and train tracks, and even the train itself) so that the Soviets have their side and the British can have theirs. When Britain chooses the north instead of the south and realize too late that all the precious minerals are on the south side, they are willing to go to war against the Soviets to get the south side of the colony. And go to war they do!
A silly, farcical Cold War comedy that wears its perpetual winks and nudges smilingly on its sleeves, Man in a Cocked Hat is amusing in an outdated sort of way, and takes relevance only in its fun performances, namely Sellers, whose supporting role adds a goofiness it needs to remain watchable. Future 007 brunette bombshell Luciana Paluzzi from Thunderball plays the sexy princess of the colony, and her pizazz adds to the fun mix of players here. From directors Roy Boulting and Jeffrey Dell, who made the equally goofy and fun farce Heavens Above! with Sellers.
Kino Lorber’s new Blu-ray edition of Man in a Cocked Hat comes in a sharp new 4K scan from the 35mm original camera negative, and it has a new audio commentary by a film historian.
