Jabberwocky (1977)

Country of Origin: UK
Year of Production: 1977
Running Times: 105 mins
Format: Technicolor     35mm
Ratio:
Sound: mono

CREDITS

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: Python Films / Umbrella Films
Executive Producer: John Goldstone
Producer: Sanford Lieberson
Associate Producer: Julian Doyle
Production Supervisor: Joyce Herlihy
Production Manager: Bill Camp

SCRIPT
Script: Terry Gilliam, Charles Alverson
Poem: Lewis Carroll (real name: Reverend Charles Dodgson)

DIRECTION
Director: Terry Gilliam
2nd Assistant Director: Peter Cotton
3rd Assistant Director: John Dodds
Continuity: Jenny Reid

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Terry Bedford
Additional Photographer: Julian Doyle
Camera Operator: Simon Ransley
Clapper Loaders: Andy MacDonald, Roy Cornwall
Focus Puller: Roger Pratt
Gaffer: Micky Thomas
Best Boy / Electrician: Micky Wilson
Grip: Micky Howard
Stills: David Appleby

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: Michael Bradsell
Assistant Editors: Michael John Bateman, Roy Burge
2nd Assistant Editor: Tim Jordan

MUSIC
Music: De Wolfe; Modest Mussorgsky (from A Night on Bald Mountain and Pictures at an
Exhibition (The Great Gate of Kiev) - uncredited)

SOUND
Sound Recordist: Garth Marshall
Camera Sound: Bob Doyle
Boom Operator: Godfrey Kirby
Dubbing Mixers: Bill Rowe, Bob Jones
Dubbing Editor: Alan Bell

COSTUMES AND MAKE-UP
Make Up / Hair: Elaine Carew, Scota Rakison, Maggie Weston
Costume Designers: Charles Knode, Hazel Pethig
Costume Assistants: Sue Cable, William Pierce

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects: John Brown
Monster Creators: Clinton Cavers, Valerie Charlton

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer: Roy Forge Smith
Art Director: Millie Burns
Assistant Art Director: Roger Cain
Props: Chris Sheehan, John Cole
Construction Coordinator: Bill Harman
Carpenters: Craig Hillier, Leon Apsey, Nobby Clarke, Ted King
Painter: Adrian Start
Plasterer: Kenneth Clarke

OTHER CREW
Production Accountant: Ron Swinburne
Accounting Assistant: Sue Raper
Assistant to Producer: Celia Bogan
Transportation: Tony Andrews
Armour: Peter Leight, Terry English
Horse Supplier: George Mossman
Stagehands: Allen McKellar, Bunny Southall
Rigger: Ray Jones

LOCATIONS
Locations: London, England, UK; Wales, UK
Studio: Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks To: Reverend Charles Dodgson

STUNTS
Stunt Arranger: Bill Weston
Stunts: Billy Horrigan

CASTING
Casting: Irene Lamb

CAST
Michael Palin (Dennis Cooper)
Harry H. Corbett (squire)
John Le Mesurier (Passelewe)
Warren Mitchell (Mr Fishfinger)
Max Wall (King Bruno the Questionable)
Rodney Bewes (other squire)
John Bird (1st herald)
Bernard Bresslaw (landlord)
Antony Carrick (3rd merchant)
Peter Cellier (1st merchant)
Deborah Fallender (princess)
Derek Francis (bishop)
Terry Gilliam (man with rock)
Neil Innes (2nd herald)
Terry Jones (poacher)
Bryan Pringle (2nd gate guard)
Frank Williams (2nd merchant)
Glenn Williams (2nd guard at gate)
Simon Williams (Prince)
Annette Badland (Griselda Fishfinger)
Kenneth Colley (1st fanatic)
Brenda Cowling (Mrs Fishfinger)
Graham Crowden (fanatics' leader)
Paul Curran (Mr Cooper Sr)
Alexandra Dane (Betsy)
Brian Glover (armourer)
Jerold Wells (Wat Dabney)
Tony Aitken (flagellant)
Peter Casillas (3rd squire)
Derrick O'Connor (Flying Hogfish peasant)
Derek Deadman (apprentice armourer)
Janine Duvitski (fanatic)
Roy Evans (ratman)
Bill Gavin (old man with petition)
Harold Goodwin (3rd peasant)
John Gorman (2nd peasant)
Julian Hough (4th peasant and fanatic)
Des Jones (door opener)
Gorden Kaye (Sister Jessica)
Christopher Logue (spaghetti-eating fanatic)
Dan Muir (Crescent and Red Dog knights)
Dave Prowse (Red Herring and Black knights)
Gordon Rawlings (King's taster)
Sheridan Earl Russell (Kevin Fishfinger)
Peter Salmon (the monster)
Hilary Sesta (scrubber)
John Sharp (sergeant at gate)
George Silver (bandit leader)
Tony Sympson (4th peasant)

PLOT SUMMARY

When his father dies, young Dennis Cooper heads out to see some of the Medieval world and make his fortune. But he becomes involved in a bid to rid the countryside of the terrifying monster Jabberwocky and Dennis finds himself being set up as the most unlikely of heroes.

CAPSULE REVIEW

A wonderfully silly film, full of the expected Pythonesque surrealism and the peopled by a cast of the kinds of grotesques that Gilliam specialised in in his early days. Michael Palin is perfectly cast as the wide-eyed naïf whose besting of the title monster is the comic highlight, and he's given a fine run for his money by a supporting cast of excellent British comedy comedy stars. Completely mad and totally wonderful.

AVAILABILITY

UK
Theatrical Distributors: Columbia-Warner Distributors (1977); Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment / Cinema 5 Distributing

USA
Theatrical Distributors: Ipma Inc (2002)
Video Distributors: Columbia TriStar Home Video; RCA / Columbia Pictures Home Video
Laserdisc Distributors: RCA / Columbia Pictures Home Video
DVD Distributors: Columbia TriStar Home Video

CENSORSHIP HISTORY

Australia
Rating: PG; M

UK
Rating: PG

USA
Rating: PG

West Germany
Rating: 16

TIMELINE

1999
October
1: Spain theatrical re-release

2001
September
21: USA theatrical re-release

POSTER TAGS

Before Time Bandits... Before The Missionary... But not before breakfast...

ALTERNATIVE TITLES

La bestia del reino - Spanish title
Jappervokki - Finnish title
Monty Python's Jabberwocky - West Germany title
Stackars Dennis - Swedish title

LINKS

FOOTAGE INCLUDED IN
The Pythons (1979)

KEYWORDS

castles, medieval, monsters

Last Updated: 8 October, 2009