Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Skyler Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

malcolmgsw Before TV spin offs there came radio spin offs such as Life With The Lyons,The Grove family and 20Questions Murder Mystery.In those films the original radio cast was used but not here.Only Leslie Phillips survives,presumably because he was established as a film actor.As to the replacements i would have preferred to see Jon Pertwee and Ronnie Barker reprise their roles.However the addition of Cecil Parker is quite inspired as he was a truly great comedy actor in his later years.The film is quite funny up to the half way point but then sags with the rather unfunny revolution.Also i think that Ronnie Shiner was clearly an unfortunate choice for the CPO.He looks very aged and not really up to it.

bkoganbing After watching The Navy Lark which for years was a popular British radio show about the crew of a minesweeper on peacetime duty I now know where a lot of the comedy and the general idea for McHale's Navy came from. The situations seemed remarkably close.Commander Cecil Parker has command of a minesweeper stationed upon a channel island of Boonsey which seems to have a mixed population of British and French. The mission is for the minesweeper to clear out all mines left from the late war, but that's been fulfilled a long time ago. But not according to Parker who sends in reports regularly about the work his crew is doing. Parker and the rest of the crew has grown to like it on the island and don't want to join the real Royal Navy any time soon.The Captain Binghamton of The Navy Lark is Nicholas Phipps who wants to close down the Boonsey Island operation, but not if Parker and his trusty crew can stop him.In the end through a series of misunderstandings the Navy believes that a revolution against British imperialism is taking place. What happens then is for you to see.What I can see is why The Navy Lark was such a popular radio show in the United Kingdom. And I think American viewers will see the parallels with McHale's Navy and respond favorably.

jrg135 Its quite good as I remember but apart from Leslie Phillips there are no other members of the radio cast in the film, Herbert Wilcox bought the rights during the broadcast of the first radio series which was written with Jon Pertwee as the leading actor, as long as fans of the radio version are not expecting this to have any resemblance to that then it comes over as a good British comedy. I don't believe it has ever been released on VHS or DVD , the only times I have seen it is either the middle of the night or I think its been broadcast on a Saturday afternoon. Hopefully this has been some use to people who would like to see it.

steamerstimpson Here is another great old British comedy from the 1950s about life in the British Navy just after WWII. I believe this film is up there with the Carry on films and "Doctor" series, indeed sharing some of the same cast such as Hattie Jacques, Cecil parker, Nicholas Phipps and Leslie Phillips. The Navy Lark should be given the respect of a release on DVD soon.I remember watching the movie about ten years ago on TV and thoroughly enjoying it at the time. Its a great put your feet up, disengage brain and enjoy experience.If you are a fan of Carry on you will also be a fan of the Navy Lark