| Privates on Parade | |
| Director: | Michael Blakemore |
| Starring: | John Cleese David Bamber Denis Quilley Bruce Payne |
| Music: | Denis King |
| Editing: | Jim Clark |
| Studio: | HandMade Films Orion Classics |
| Distributor: | Orion Pictures |
| Runtime: | 113 minutes |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | under £2 million[1] |
Privates on Parade is a 1983 film adaptation of the Peter Nichols play of the same name about a fictional – and mostly gay – military entertainment group, the "Song and Dance Unit, Southeast Asia" assembled to entertain the troops in the Malayan jungle during the Malayan Emergency.[2]
One critic stated that Privates on Parade was 'better suited to the theatre'.[3] Derek Winnert stated that 'there are some good jokes and songs, but Privates on Parade is sometimes a bit dodgy and dated, and the lurch into serious drama at the end works no better on film than it did on stage'.[4] Vincent Canby described the film as 'fine, witty, extremely self-assured [and] something seldom seen in movies-a melodramatic farce that comes complete with songs, dances, lewd jokes, sudden death, teary sentiment and smashing performances'.[5]