Porridge (film)

Porridge
Theatrical poster
Directed byDick Clement[1]
Written byDick Clement
Ian La Frenais
Produced byIan La Frenais[1]
StarringRonnie Barker
Richard Beckinsale
Fulton Mackay
Brian Wilde
Peter Vaughan
Sam Kelly
Barrie Rutter
Daniel Peacock
Christopher Godwin
Geoffrey Bayldon
CinematographyBob Huke
Edited byAlan Jones
Music byJoe Brown
Production
companies
Black Lion Films
Witzend Productions
Distributed byITC Films
Release date
  • 19 July 1979 (1979-07-19) (London)
[2]
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£250,000
Box office£313,747 (UK)[3]

Porridge (U.S. title: Doing Time) is a 1979 British comedy film directed by Dick Clement and starring Ronnie Barker, Richard Beckinsale, Fulton Mackay and Brian Wilde.[4] It was written by Clement and Ian La Frenais based on their BBC television series Porridge (1974–1977). Most of prison officers and inmates from the original series appear in the film, with the notable exceptions of Lukewarm, Blanco, Heslop, and Harris. There is also a different governor, played by Geoffrey Bayldon rather than series regular Michael Barrington.

The film, set a year before the final episode of the TV series, includes one of the last appearances by Richard Beckinsale, the actor who played Godber. He died in March 1979, a few weeks after its completion.[1]

  1. ^ a b c "Porridge (1979) - Film Review from". Film4. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
  2. ^ "West End Openings". Screen International. 7 July 1979. p. 2.
  3. ^ Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 302. Figures are distributor's gross.
  4. ^ "Porridge". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 5 March 2024.