James Bond is quite possibly the most famous film character of all time. Seducing the ladies and entertaining the men for over 50 years, any actor who is tasked to take his Martini shaken not stirred will forever be known as Bond (even if they might be Indiana Jones’s Dad as well). Shortly before loading his Walther PPK for His Majesty’s Secret Service however, the most acclaimed Bond of them all Sean Connery was a straight laced soldier turned money making con man in the 1961 British comedy, On the Fiddle.
While on the brink of worldwide mega-stardom, a fresh faced Connery actually plays second fiddle to Alfred Lynch’s comedic cockney conman during the second world war. When arrested for wheeling and dealing outside an RAF enlistment office, Horace Pope (Lynch) escapes a jail term by saying he was about to sign up for the armed forces himself. Promptly shipped off to serve with the nation’s finest, Horace meets an eager and enthusiastic Pedlar Pascoe (Connery), who quickly becomes privy to Pope’s money making schemes and hi-jinx while on duty in the army. While swindling their way through the ranks and their fellow men’s pockets, the pair become unlikely heroes in the process.
The unlikely pair. Alfred Lynch, and of course, Sean Connery.
The jokes are upbeat and light hearted albeit a little basic, and there is a touch of Sargeant Bilko about it, but Lynch’s cock-er-ny geezer is just a tad on the irritating side as opposed to Phil Silvers loveable oaf. Screwing over everyone for personal gain from the outset, it just becomes difficult to actually like the guy as he’s just a bit of a tit. Connery however, is rather expectedly the films star. Charismatic and charming, Pascoe is the real hero of On the Fiddle. He even fits in a cheeky bit of seduction that surely helped bag him the role of Britain’s finest spy. Hardly surprising to know then, that when the film was released post-Bond in the States, Connery became top billing for the newly named Operation Snafu. An obvious cash in on the back of his sky rocketing stock. They even made the poster look like an awesome spy film, instead of the throwaway threadbare comedy it actually was.
As you can see, the US poster (right) differs drastically from its British counterpart. Why there’s a scantily clad lady I do not know…there are no Bond girls sadly.
The balance of Lynch and Pascoe’s actions set against the backdrop second the word war is a strange one though. The pair’s selfish actions against those making the ultimate self sacrifice and serving for Queen and country is a little difficult to truly get behind until the final 10 minutes, where the film suddenly reminds us of the seriousness of war. The finale is actually when the film is at its best, it’s just a shame it was only left until the very end to reveal the pairs bravery and consequently, make them likeable leads.
Being a black and white film from the swinging 60s, the comedy is from a simpler time. Where conniving cheeky chappies were the ones cracking the jokes with the utmost simplicity. I had hoped for a bit of timeless slapstick to get a giggle myself, as everyone knows that people falling over with forever be funny, but alas, On the Fiddle relies fully on an old-school and dated notion of what comedy actually is. It’s more On the Buses than Sgt Bilko, and as a result, Cyril Frankel’s wartime film hasn’t aged quite as well as Ian Fleming’s iconic spy.
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