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The Case of the Mukkinese Battle-Horn

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The Case of the
Mukkinese Battle-Horn
Cover of DVD release
Directed byJoseph Sterling
Written byLarry Stephens (original story and screenplay)
Harry Booth (screenplay)
Jon Penington (screenplay)
Peter Sellers (additional material)
Spike Milligan (additional material)
Produced byHarry Booth
Michael Deeley
Jon Penington
StarringPeter Sellers
Spike Milligan
Dick Emery
CinematographyGerald Gibbs
Music byEdwin Astley
Distributed byArchway Film Distributors
Release date
  • 1956 (1956)
Running time
27 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£4,500[1]
Box office£45,000[1]

The Case of the Mukkinese Battle-Horn (also known as Gone Goon) is a 1956 British short comedy second feature ('B')[2] film directed by Joseph Sterling and starring Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Dick Emery.[3] It was written by Harry Booth, Jon Penington and regular Goon show co-writer Larry Stephens, from a story by Stephens, with additional material by Sellers and Milligan.

It was made in November 1955 and released in 1956.[4][5]

Plot

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Supposedly filmed in "Schizophrenoscope" ("the New Split-Screen"), it concerns Superintendent Quilt of Scotland Yard's attempts to retrieve a "Mukkinese Battle-Horn'" stolen from a London museum. Along the way he meets characters not dissimilar to Eccles, Henry Crun and Minnie Bannister from The Goon Show.

Cast

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  • Peter Sellers as Inspector Quilt/Henry Crun/Sid Crimp et al.
  • Spike Milligan as Sergeant Brown/Eccles/Minnie et al.
  • Dick Emery as Nodule/Maurice Ponk
  • Doug Robinson as waiter
  • Pamela Thomas
  • Bill Hepper
  • Wally Thomas
  • Gordon Phillott

Production

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The budget of £4,500 was raised from Archway Film Distributors (£1,500); Peter Weingreen, who worked with Michael Deeley and Harry Booth on The Adventures of Robin Hood (£1,500); and Joseph Sterling, who wanted to direct (£1,500). Peter Sellers was paid £900.[1]

Emery replaced Harry Secombe, who was too expensive for the film's low budget.[citation needed]

The titular battle horn prop was based on a serpent.[6]

Release

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The film was unable to secure a release in the US but screened widely as a supporting short in British cinemas. Michael Deeley says it remains the most profitable film he was ever associated with, returning its cost ten times over.[1]

Critical reception

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Kine Weekly wrote: "Its players work hard, but its humour, pretty crude, is mainly addressed to the lowbrows."[7]

The New York Times wrote: "It is a good thing Mr. Sellers and his helpers didn't try to stretch it for longer than a half hour. But within that time and with reservations ... it makes a lively little lark."[8]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "Dick Emery stands in for Harry Secombe in this pseudo-Goons picture. The theft of the eponymous instrument is of virtually no significance other than to give Peter Sellers the opportunity to play three characters. Spike Milligan also gets to reprise his beloved character, Eccles. The opening "Crime Does Not Pay" pastiche and the door-knocking sequence are the highlights."[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Michael Deeley, Blade Runners, Deer Hunters and Blowing the Bloody Doors Off: My Life in Cult Movies, Pegasus Books, 2009 p 17-20
  2. ^ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 233. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
  3. ^ "The Case of the Mukkinese Battle-Horn". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  4. ^ Scudamore, Pauline (1985). Spike Milligan: A Biography. London: Granada. ISBN 0-246-12275-7. p.173. Scudamore states the film was made by Richard Lester, but it is not clear from other sources that this was the case
  5. ^ Lewis, Roger (1995). The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. London: Arrow Books. ISBN 0-09-974700-6.
  6. ^ Bevan, Clifford (2000). The Tuba Family (2nd ed.). Winchester: Piccolo Press. p. 120. ISBN 1-872203-30-2. OCLC 993463927. OL 19533420M. Wikidata Q111040769.
  7. ^ "The Case of the Mukkinese Battle-Horn". Kine Weekly. 468 (2540): 31. 19 April 1956. ProQuest 2732602088 – via ProQuest.
  8. ^ Crowther, Bosley (31 July 1962). "Screen: British 'Coming-Out Party':Comedy on Prisoners of War at the Plaza". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  9. ^ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 159. ISBN 9780992936440.
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