Every Home Should Have One (1970) User Reviews

Meh

[artpf · 4/10 · 28 December 2013]

Very 70's and very English. The Brits love their vicars. And the 70s loved the exploration of sex. Catchy theme song.

There's lots of Monty Python-esque tomfoolery as well. It's a weird films. Especially the sound. It has a dubbed quality to it, almost like it was made in Japan and dubbed in English. Only it's not.

Makes for weird viewing.

Not a lot of nudity despite the cover art and film concept.

The bottom line is this -- I really wanted to like this film. I'm a fan of English humor and Marty Feldman. But in the end, it's not really a good film. It will not deliver any belly laughs.

Some good sequences in a misfire

[malcolmgsw · 5/10 · 16 January 2019]

Marty was one of the great talents of his generation.I was a fan particularly of his writing on Round The Horne. However he didn't seem to have great success when it came to films in the UK.There are some funny sequences in this film,but as a whole it is wanting.He didn't try again here for 7 years.Incidentally it is curious that this film has a low rating but 14 out of 20 reviewers have rated this 7 or above.

Marty Feldman

[mufdivtwo · 5/10 · 18 June 2006]

i came across this film after it being in storage within my large film collection for a number of years and i must say it is an interesting film.

it is rather deliberately indecent throughout the film but i still like it. its well acted and i love the clothes worn by Marty! he really had that 60s look which suited him perfectly.

Judy corn well is very good too she gives a confident performance as Marty Feldman's wife. there are certain bits in the film that are rather unsavoury but maybe it was acceptable to make a joke about 'fetishes' in 1970. Marty Feldman was one of a kind and I'm sure he is missed even today.

An all-time favourite for maybe the wrong reasons!

[gpshovlin · 21 November 2004]

I remember seeing this for the first time when I was about 7. Children In Need was on BBC 1 (or maybe Comic Relief) and I was allowed to sleep downstairs to watch the whole event. Anyway, I found this on the other channel at about 2.30am, and I was totally blown away by it. Not least the funky theme tune, the cartoons, those eyes, Julie Ege etc. Anyway, a couple of years later I got it on VHS...surprise surprise, the cut I'd seen on ITV had been trimmed significantly. The bit with the hot dog vendor, the fantasy sequence where Teddy imagines a fight sequence with the vicar had both been cut, with maybe some other bits. I've seen this film more than any other film, and have collected as much stuff to do with it as I can; 4 posters, lobby cards, and approximately 60 black and white stills. If anyone has anything else related to this film, please get in touch. A few things bother me though; how did Shelley Berman get involved?Why is Alan Bennett uncredited? Shelley Berman turned up in Friends a few years back, and his character's name was Kaplan, as in this film. Was Kaplan his own persona, or was this a nod to the film? Does the US cut differ any from the UK?

A mess.

[gridoon · 3/10 · 26 October 2002]

Marty Feldman was a likable and gifted comedian, but that doesn't mean he couldn't star in some lousy films. Take this terrible comedy for example: the bizarre, sometimes cute fantasy sequences are its only saving grace. This only goes to prove that if you want to turn chaos into comedy, you have to be really good at it (like the Marx Brothers were); otherwise, you'll end up being merely chaotic. (*1/2 )

Look not only at Feldman's eyes, but notice that car!!!

[vinnienh · 7/10 · 19 December 2000]

British sex-comedy that has some very nicely animated sequences in it and is funnier than the average comedy made in the UK of this genre. The 7 dwarfs and the "toothpastetube-car" are really a must-see! I think the scene with the amazing car is the best!

swirling graphics and sublimely surreal moments

[christopher-underwood · 7/10 · 28 July 2017]

This is far better a film than I expected. I knew Marty Feldman would be good but I rather expected the usual British sex comedy ingredients of unfunny sequences with men (too old) falling over as they scramble towards very average looking girls (all the while squealing). Big surprise then, for this is an intelligent, inspired and inventive exercise, being very much of its time and all the better for it. The spoof TV adverts at the start threaten to overwhelm but thanks to Richard Williams' inspired animation all turns out very well and the picture is very representative of the time, with swirling graphics and sublimely surreal moments (tube of toothpaste car with dwarfs inside!). Good script with political and social satire and some funny lines. Julie Ege far, far better than one might have imagined and indeed there are more good looking girls in this than in all the rest of similar films of the period put together. There is a slightly over extended sequence towards the end in the TV props department but even here there is inventiveness and overall a very good effort that must surely have been as much fun to make as to watch.

One of the best Feldman movies

[cellorey · 9/10 · 25 October 2000]

Marty Feldman was an extremely funny and under appreciated comedian and this film is one of his funniest. You probably will remember Feldman from his Mel Brooks days in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN and SILENT MOVIE. However, he also had two other worthwhile films to check out: THE LAST REMAKE OF BEAU GESTE (1977) and IN GOD WE TRU$T (1980). In Think Dirty, Feldman wrote the screenplay and stars to wonderful comic effect. Most of the funniest moments are sex-related and there is a brief nude scene with Julie Ege, but overall the film portrayed in a seemingly innocent tone. The basic idea of using a controversial topic (in this case sex) to sell a product is not an advertising novelty, but Feldman pulls it off with a good deal of funny moments, especially the day-dreaming sequences and the animated bits (by Richard Williams Studios of PINK PANTHER fame). I happen to disagree with Leonard Maltin's review of this film (and this is not uncommon). I would recommend this to any Monty Python fan or anyone who enjoys the Farrelly Brothers and Mel Brooks comedies today.

Shouldn't be funny but is

[kjruk · 7/10 · 2 December 2018]

A film has 20 minutes to be watchable or its off. I was sure this one would be too stupid and 70s silly to enjoy but to my shame I found it quite funny. Marty Feldman as an advertising exec tasked with selling McLACHLAN'S FROZEN PORRIDGE. Cue various fantasy dream sequences, 70s saucy escapades etc etc but the jokes are quite funny and the mock advert cartoons and dreams really inventive. Impossible to classify. A one-off. Highlight: a naked Julie Edge. I'm sure open minded women would find it funny too. Very 70s. Definitely anti-PC and would never get made nowadays.

sexiness sells

[lee_eisenberg · 15 August 2011]

Although a completely silly, absurd movie, Jim Clark's "Every Home Should Have One" (also called "Think Dirty") is also sort of a spoof of advertising and commercialism. Marty Feldman plays an ad exec hired to come up with a sexy way to advertise porridge. And when I say sexy, I don't mean it lightly! I mean, have you ever seen Julie Ege?!

I figure that, like "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice", this movie was basically capitalizing on cinema's new permissiveness. Even so, there is some REALLY funny stuff here. Some scenes made me absolutely crack up. Feldman was truly showing what he would later bring to Mel Brooks's movies.

Also starring Judy Cornwell, Patrick Cargill (the police chief in "Help!"), Jack Watson, Penelope Keith and Shelley Berman.

Carry On Advertising

[ptb-8 · 7/10 · 15 July 2006]

Very popular in its day as a faux Carry On movie with a better script and strong idea, this farce using Marty Feldman was a huge success in 1970 - 71. His TV show was constantly on air and this opportunity to make a rude color send up of silly advertising ideas went over very well. Rather like the zany energy and ideas seen in a Richard Lester / Beatles film and a pre curser to Benny Hill nonsense, this one had the sense to have a genuinely original comedy star who possibly never bettered himself in another British film. Feldman did star in the Mel Brooks classic Young Frankenstein as well as a couple of half funny pix: The Adverture Of Sherlock Holmes Smarter Brother and The Last Remake Of Beau Geste, probably the better of the two non American films. Julie Ege (fresh from a prehistoric fur bikini epic) was hilarious as his comic foil whether she meant to be or not... which basically is excellent casting. There is a lot of very funny advertising gags and the ads and ideas presented work. In the 50s Tony Randall and Jayne Mansfield starred in a hilarious Frank Tashlin comedy also about the ridiculous ideas seen in advertising; it was called Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter which, believe it or not is more vulgar that this Brit film made 15 years later. Both highly recommended.... especially if you are studying media.

After knowing about this for 40 years, I finally got to see Marty Feldman's Every Home Should Have One

[tavm · 7/10 · 26 January 2019]

I first knew about this Marty Feldman movie back in '79 when it was released here in the U.S. as Think Dirty. It later showed up on our pay channel Showcase and I remember my dad watching this there though I didn't watch the whole thing at the time and it wasn't till I watched this on YouTube right now that I saw all the naughty bits concerning one Julie Ege! The only other performer I recognized other than Feldman was Shelley Berman as his ad partner. As co-writer and star, Feldman is often funny though it does threaten to run out of steam near the end. I also liked Judy Cornwell as Marty's wife and the Richard Williams animation. So on that note, I recommend Every Home Should Have One.

hysterical bawdy flick from the 1970s

[didi-5 · 8/10 · 23 June 2009]

Not known as much now as it was when it was released, this feature written by Marty Feldman from Herbert Kretzmer (yes, the one who wrote lyrics for the hit musical Les Miserables) has its very thin premise a breakfast cereal that will seriously spice up your sex life; porridge, in fact.

Cue some cringe-inducing commercials for said product and a number of fantasies in which Marty Feldman's character places himself - from being in romantic clinches with eligible ladies to a superhero fight with the local vicar, a pious type who ogles the ladies just as much as everyone else. And the real fight between the ad man and the vicar towards the end is a lot of laugh-out-loud fun.

Marty Feldman does dominate this film, such was his personality and rather weird looks. However, there is sterling support from Judy Cornwell (Marty's girlfriend), Dinsdale Landen (the vicar), Frances de La Tour (a secretary), and Penelope Keith (a Swedish lesbian), amongst others.

Director Jim Clark went on to the equally dubious but not quite as funny 'Rentadick' before returning to acting; in 'Every Home Should Have One' he shows some flair in setting up the quirky and unusual, while sending up a range of genres. Of its type, this film is a real find, and a guilty pleasure - if you like this kind of thing!

Cleverer than expected

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 5 December 2018]

EVERY HOME SHOULD HAVE ONE is a likeable knockabout comedy and a satire on the whole advertising business, much like HOW TO GET AHEAD IN ADVERTISING was in the 1980s. Marty Feldman is likeably cast as the eccentric protagonist, who hits upon using sex to sell some unlikely frozen porridge. The film has touches of the British sex comedy about it but is rather restrained in tone, aside from a gratuitous nude bathing scene featuring Hammer starlet Julie Ege. It's also a lot cleverer than you'd expect, with the satirical swipes hitting home and some surreal touches which work well. Watch out for Penelope Keith as a Nazi (!) and KEEPING UP APPEARANCES actress Judy Cornwell as Feldman's put-upon wife.

A truly funny film!

[largsagain · 8/10 · 28 September 2003]

This still remains in my memory as one of the funniest films ever. In that respect, it was very much ahead of it's time, certainly for 1970. A number of current and future stars were cast very cleverly (who could imagine Penelope Keith, for example, as a German lesbian, and a former mud-wrestler to boot??!!). This film poked fun at almost every aspect of the Establishment, and that is not a bad thing - but very brave at the time, I would suggest. An absolute classic, in my view.

"Saw The Show Baby, Loved It. Looooved It!!!"

[Cornonthecobb · 10/10 · 20 September 2007]

Marty Feldman did, contrary to popular belief, have a career before Hollywood. In his home country, he was the "it" boy for a while, with plenty of sketch shows, earning several awards, etc etc. Nevermind the fact that he had been a leading comedy writer for years before even stepping in front of the cameras. And all this would happen PRIOR to the famous "Young Frankenstein".

"Every Home Should Have One" (or "Think Dirty" for us in the states) provides Feldman with his first leading role in a feature film (his first actual role being a bit part in Richard Lester's 'The Bed Sitting Room'). The comic would also co-write the script. The film, it seems, was a bit of a venture to capitalize on the funny man's success. While it wouldn't really be much of a success itself, I personally feel this movie is one of Feldman's funniest and best.

It pokes fun at all sorts of conventions of society and namely, the advertising industry and its battle with conservative religious types. It has the wild, zany style of great British comedy during that time period. Fans of Beatle humor will also enjoy. And a party scene towards the film's end will put even "Animal House" to shame (I mean what could be better than drunk Marty, dwarfs, a big dog, a burning sword eater, and a million other absurdities all in one living room?).

Feldman and Judy Cornwell have a real and comedic chemistry as a husband and wife duo in the movie and the latter more than does her share in keeping things hilarious. Also funny is the young son, Richard, who really causes the whole film's conflict. And who, at 11 years old, DOES know what sex is, but does NOT know what the word 'involved' means. Yet, funnily enough, that is realistic.

"Every Home Should Have One" is a hilarious and fun movie and a good commentary on the "up-tight" vs the "overly free" and such. A good commentary, also, on the hypocrisy of the so called "clean" people of society.

If one wants a witty, funny, and enjoyable film that is a delightfully crazy time, then this should certainly be viewed!

How Marty got ahead in advertising!

[ShadeGrenade · 10/10 · 7 August 2006]

Marty Feldman made his movie debut in Richard Lester's surreal, post apocalyptic comedy 'The Bed Sitting Room' ( 1969 ). With two seasons of the B.B.C.'s 'Its Marty' behind him, the time was right for him to flex his cinematic muscles. Based on a story by Milton Shulman and Herbert Kretzmer, 'Every Home Should Have One' was Marty's only British film, casting him as 'Teddy Brown', an advertising executive hired to provide a new campaign to promote 'McLaughlin's Frozen Porridge'. His first attempt features an animated, singing Scotsman and is soundly rejected. In desperation, he decides to 'think dirty' and use sex to sell the cereal. A competition to find the perfect 'Goldilocks' is held...

The mid-to-late '60's saw a sea change in British film comedy, as it moved away from family entertainment and became more risqué. Television provided inspiration, with many films being either based on or inspired by popular shows. Produced by Ned Sherrin and Terry Glinwood, 'Every Home Should Have One' was made in 1970 but is still very much a '60's period piece. The script by Barry Took, Denis Norden and Feldman himself lampoons not only the glossy but shallow world of advertising, but also moralising politicians, clean-up television campaigners, and the permissive society itself. Richard Williams Studios provides some superb animations; particularly funny are Teddy's outlandish, 'Billy Liar'-style dream sequences, including a fight between him and the 'Reverend Geoffrey Mellish' ( Dinsdale Landen ) whom Teddy thinks is trying to destroy his marriage to 'Liz' ( Judy Cornwell ). At one point, we even see the men as 'Superman' and 'Batman'! One gag was recycled from the series - dressed as a bishop, Marty is asked by a doorman if he is a bishop. "Who do you think I am then with this?", he says, holding up his staff, "Bloody Bo-Peep?".

Feldman proved here he had the talent to carry a film, and received strong support from a first-rate cast. Penelope Keith has a small role as 'Lotte', a Teutronic au pair. Alan Bennett puts in an uncredited cameo near the end as a befuddled barrister. And who can forget the luscious Julie Ege as Swedish 'Inga'?

Funniest moment - Teddy and Liz having a row while driving around London in a toothpaste tube-shaped car, unaware the speakers are on and that the public can hear every word!

Shulman and Kretzmer penned a novelisation to tie-in with the U.K. release. It did not receive an American premiere until 1978, when it was retitled 'Think Dirty!' A B.B.C.-4 documentary on Feldman in the Noughties implied that it was 'barely remembered'. Well, I'm, pleased to say that I remember it. At the time of writing, it still has not had a D.V.D. release.

The public loved him and begged for more but he left too early.

[peter-patti · 8/10 · 21 December 2005]

It's one of the best comedies I ever saw, made with much intelligence and much courage in a time when censorship was pretty terrible. Particularly brilliant and unforgettable: the dream scene on the beach with naked Marty and naked Swedish goddess, which is a tasty parody of the Ingmar Bergmann's movies. The German title is "Haferbrei mac-ht sexy" ("Porridge makes sexy"). Marty Fieldman, wild-haired and pop-eyed as always, is to see in many cult favorites. He became notably famous for his role as Igor, Gene Wilder's bemused hunchbacked assistant (whose hump switched shoulders from scene to scene), in director Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein (1973).

A film well before its time

[gare_fowl · 10/10 · 26 January 2005]

This film, to me, is an incisive comment on the way that big business and politicians manipulate the ideals and desires of the population. I feel it makes a valuable point without distancing itself from the comedic element inherent in its approach, and by using 'flashback' and fantasy techniques raises itself above other films that have treated the same subject matter in a more down-to-earth fashion.

Some measure of its true worth must lie in the number of more recent films that pay homage to it by parodying certain scenes or aspects of it.

In my view, it is one of the 100 best comedy films of all time, and I feel the time is ripe, some 35 years after its original release, for it to become available on DVD.

"..statistics show that nine out of ten randy b*****ds prefer McLaughlin's...."

[Brucey_D · 8/10 · 1 December 2018]

Dated? Very English sensibilities? Yes, of course, this film script was penned (in England...) nearly fifty years ago now.

However this satire pokes away at its many ripe targets in a pleasing fashion, ably assisted by Marty Feldman's acting in what is basically a well-made film.

In historical context on the one hand we had the permissive society, and on the other we had Mary Whitehouse and her ilk, each fighting for airtime on television, with advertisers prepared to use whatever tricks they could to help shift product. In this film circumstances cause both husband and wife to each topple more into one camp than the other; will they reach a happy compromise?

I started watching this film with no expectations and I found myself laughing out loud when watching the animated/daydream sequences; spot on stuff, IMHO.

Probably this film was itself quite racy at the time; Julie Ege is quite stunning. But this film is also littered with interesting cameos including Penelope Keith as a leather-clad ex-mud wrestler.

Not an out and out classic by any means, this film is more of an interesting period piece; however this film still deserves a higher score than it presently has here.

Those eyes make it worthwhile

[nobita · 7 December 1998]

Let's be honest, what's the funniest thing about a Marty Feldman film? Those eyes! And in this particular film, they are used to great comedic effect. But that being said, if your only interest is Marty Feldman's eyes and the absolutely fantastic wardrobe designed by the very trendy Mr Fish, then this film could be a bit of a bore. Marty Feldman plays an advertising executive who believes one thing: Sex Sells! His main account is a brand of Scottish Porridge and his main thought is how to make it sexy. Marty in this film constantly drifts into dream sequences which touch on every aspect of film and commercial making and sex. This does not help when his very liberal wife is responsible for the 'sex on TV' committee which includes the likes of a very prudent couple, a priest and a colonel. Penelope Keith appears in the film as the Gestapo Nanny. For those interested in very trendy London fashions, then you'll probably enjoy this film. Or if you're interested in a very different comedy that is very cartoon-like you might enjoy this film. If not, then you'll have your finger on the fast forward button a lot.