A Private function

United Kingdom, 1984

Film
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Driven by the desperate social ambitions of his wife Joyce, (Maggie Smith), one act of folly turned the life of sensitive, small-town chiropodist, Gilbert Chilvers, (Michael Palin), into a nightmare. With Britain in the grip of post-war rationing, Gilbert steals Betty, a contraband pig being secretly fattened by a group of town dignitaries for a banquet to celebrate the Other Royal Wedding. But there is a price to pay. Gilbert’s squeamishness, his mother-in-law’s senility, and Betty’s incontinence lead to trouble and Gilbert ends up with blood on his hands and the police on the doorstep.

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Collection

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Credits

director

Malcolm Mowbray

producer

Mark Shivas

production company

HandMade Films

Duration

01:29:00:00

Production places
United Kingdom
Production dates
1984

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

306114

Language

English

Audience classification

MA

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Colour

Holdings

VHS; Access Print (Section 1)

Wikidata

Q769337

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If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/84779/ |title=A Private function |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=6 May 2024 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}