Jackboots on Whitehall - Film Review - Major Flop

The other day I was not really watching TV but I my ears pricked up for a segment on the BBC One Show about films and TV Shows about the Germans actually invading Britain during World War 2.

A film was mentioned I had never heard of before and after a short clip, I was intrigued to seek it out. The film was call ‘Jackboots on Whitehall’ and had a cast of top British voices because it was a puppet movie along the lines of the Thunderbirds but without the strings. The actual puppets were dolls, they looked mostly like action man, and Sindy dolls that kind of thing. I was checking around the internet looking for a free copy and when YouTube came up light, I soon found it without much trouble.

The evacuation of Dunkirk was a miserable failure and with no army, the door is open for the Germans to invade. Because of the fog in the English Channel, the Germans tunnelled from France erupting from beneath Trafalgar Square. They make their way to Downing Street to capture Winston Churchill where he is hold up with General Montgomery protected by a group of Punjabi soldiers and a crazy American pilot who thinks he was fighting Commies and a horny French resistance fighter. Also coming to the aid of the Prime Minster was farm boy Chris while the rest of his village head to Hadrian’s Wall on the orders of Churchill.

After a short battle in Downing Street Churchill escapes with Chris on a steam engine, the Yank takes to the skies and the Punjabi soldiers catch a bus, sitting on the roof of course all heading for Hadrian’s Wall with the Germans on there tail. According to the map in Churchill’s office Scotland was an empty wilderness. Back in London Adolf and is chums are partying in Buckingham Palace while the King locked up in the Tower of London professing he is three quarters German.

At the wall, they await the Germans hordes Churchill sent Chris into the Scottish hinterland looking for help and with his trusty steam engine sets off. Chris is captured by the Scots, full on Braveheart warriors and has he is about to lose his head someone notices is hands, back in his village he is known as (Chris' big hands). Chris it turns out was Scottish has Scots have big hands and he was led away to meet the head of the Scots with an Aussie accent, yes, Braveheart himself Mel Gibson.

The battle at the wall looks bleak but then on the hill over the battlefield Chris arrives with the Scottish army. After some posturing, the Scottish love to put on a display before a charge re-Braveheart when they I did charge they ripped the Germans apart, literally in some cases. After defeating the Germans and free England and Wales, the scots decide to stay with the British Isles becoming Scotland.

I enjoyed the film, it entertained me, and that is all I want. Some critics gave it the thumbs up but not many and it was a major flop in the cinema grossing only $20,776 worldwide. The movie cost £6million to make. There were quite a few lampoons of other films like Where Eagles Dare, Battle of Britain including Zulu with the strains of Jerusalem as the Germans pushed forward instead of Men of Harlech in Zulu.