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CLOCK-WISE.
Signed and dedicated to the title page by the author. 'To Jackie and Turner with Best Wishes From Michael Frayn'. Includes several pages of stills from the film starring John Cleese
Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
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About the author
Michael Frayn
112 books261 followersMichael Frayn is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce Noises Off and the dramas Copenhagen and Democracy. His novels, such as Towards the End of the Morning, Headlong and Spies, have also been critical and commercial successes, making him one of the handful of writers in the English language to succeed in both drama and prose fiction. His works often raise philosophical questions in a humorous context. Frayn's wife is Claire Tomalin, the biographer and literary journalist.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 1, 2018
Clockwise from 1986, started out as the first film script ever written by Michael Frayn, who was then better known as a novelist and playwright. He was already familiar as the author of hugely successful and enjoyable plays such as “Benefactors” and “Noises Off”, and seemed to write this one on a whim:
“I had always wanted to write something about a man who is late because I have considerably problems in relation to that myself, and only get places early by enormous expenditure of psychic energy.”
Michael Frayn had no idea who he wanted to star. He showed his script to the producer of his stage plays, Michael Codron, who also had never worked in film before, but liked the idea. And when John Cleese received the script, he called it: “The funniest thing that has ever landed on my doormat”, and immediately rang his agent to insist on taking the part. To imagine anyone else in the role now, would be extremely difficult.
The script is about the headmaster of a large comprehensive School, Brian Stimpson, who has been elected to chair the annual Headmasters’ Conference. He is aware of the great honour, as the first headmaster of a comprehensive school to ever be selected, since the candidate would usually be the head of a more privileged private school. We see the way Stimpson runs his own school, which is like clockwork. He is obsessively organised and punctual, to the point of obsession although .
Stimpson repeatedly rehearses his speech and goes over the routine preparations for the journey to the conference, but of course we know that it must inevitably go badly wrong. Sure enough, his carefully ordered world falls apart, as he is plagued by a series of misadventures. Each one is increasingly ridiculous, and yet through the skill of Michael Frayn’s writing, it seems logical - and even likely.
For instance, the first thing to go wrong is
From then on, the situations become more ludicrous, involving a sixth form girl, a monastery, three very eccentric old ladies in a care home, a wealthy car salesman, a childhood friend, and all the distinguished headmasters at the conference. The plot is fast, furious, and farcical. The police are involved, as it concerns kidnap, theft, driving off roads, assault, affairs, and the apparent abduction of a minor. Nevertheless it is all very innocent; a real feel-good script with heart, and ultimately pathos too.
John Cleese has said of Clockwise: “Stimpson is a victim of circumstance. As the pressures increase, his behaviour becomes more and more erratic. Comedy is about things always going wrong, and that’s just what happens to him. When you first see him, he’s in charge. But as events take over and he can’t cope - that’s when he falls apart.”
Other memorable performances in the film come from the three dotty old ladies, including Joan Hickson, and stalwart actors Penelope Wilton, Alison Steadman and Stephen Moore in key roles. But the casting throughout and the timing, is superb. Oddly the film was not very received in the USA, perhaps because of its innocent silliness, and quirky English details. Some of the in-jokes, such as the unreliability of our public phone boxes, are so typically English, that another culture may not have such a delightedly rueful reaction.
I would award the film 5 stars hands down, but the script has to have the rating shaved a little. It is such a visual comedy, that the only benefit from reading it, is that it reminds the reader of the film. My mother, who insisted she did not like John Cleese, found herself falling about laughing by the end. So in this very rare instance, I would say simply, go and watch the film!
“I had always wanted to write something about a man who is late because I have considerably problems in relation to that myself, and only get places early by enormous expenditure of psychic energy.”
Michael Frayn had no idea who he wanted to star. He showed his script to the producer of his stage plays, Michael Codron, who also had never worked in film before, but liked the idea. And when John Cleese received the script, he called it: “The funniest thing that has ever landed on my doormat”, and immediately rang his agent to insist on taking the part. To imagine anyone else in the role now, would be extremely difficult.
The script is about the headmaster of a large comprehensive School, Brian Stimpson, who has been elected to chair the annual Headmasters’ Conference. He is aware of the great honour, as the first headmaster of a comprehensive school to ever be selected, since the candidate would usually be the head of a more privileged private school. We see the way Stimpson runs his own school, which is like clockwork. He is obsessively organised and punctual, to the point of obsession although .
Stimpson repeatedly rehearses his speech and goes over the routine preparations for the journey to the conference, but of course we know that it must inevitably go badly wrong. Sure enough, his carefully ordered world falls apart, as he is plagued by a series of misadventures. Each one is increasingly ridiculous, and yet through the skill of Michael Frayn’s writing, it seems logical - and even likely.
For instance, the first thing to go wrong is
From then on, the situations become more ludicrous, involving a sixth form girl, a monastery, three very eccentric old ladies in a care home, a wealthy car salesman, a childhood friend, and all the distinguished headmasters at the conference. The plot is fast, furious, and farcical. The police are involved, as it concerns kidnap, theft, driving off roads, assault, affairs, and the apparent abduction of a minor. Nevertheless it is all very innocent; a real feel-good script with heart, and ultimately pathos too.
John Cleese has said of Clockwise: “Stimpson is a victim of circumstance. As the pressures increase, his behaviour becomes more and more erratic. Comedy is about things always going wrong, and that’s just what happens to him. When you first see him, he’s in charge. But as events take over and he can’t cope - that’s when he falls apart.”
Other memorable performances in the film come from the three dotty old ladies, including Joan Hickson, and stalwart actors Penelope Wilton, Alison Steadman and Stephen Moore in key roles. But the casting throughout and the timing, is superb. Oddly the film was not very received in the USA, perhaps because of its innocent silliness, and quirky English details. Some of the in-jokes, such as the unreliability of our public phone boxes, are so typically English, that another culture may not have such a delightedly rueful reaction.
I would award the film 5 stars hands down, but the script has to have the rating shaved a little. It is such a visual comedy, that the only benefit from reading it, is that it reminds the reader of the film. My mother, who insisted she did not like John Cleese, found herself falling about laughing by the end. So in this very rare instance, I would say simply, go and watch the film!
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December 25, 2018A script that grows on you with repeated viewings.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews