Nearest and Dearest – 1972

A Hammer / Granada Special Comedy Presentation
Copyright MCMLXXII Hammer Film Productions Limited – All rights reserved
MPAA Approved Certificate
The characters and incidents portrayed and the names used herein are fictitious and any similarity to the name, character, or history of any person is entirely accidental and unintentional
Westrex Recording System
Made at Pinewood Studios, London, England
Processed at Rank Film Laboratories Limited 86 mins
Storyline
On the death of their father, sparring siblings Nellie and Eli Pledge inherit the family pickling factory. Then, their life is complicated by the arrival on the scene of one Vernon Smallpiece, a con-man who pretends to want to marry Nellie, but is really only interested in her inheritance. Comic (?) mayhem ensues.
Crew
Function | Credited | Age at Release | Birth | Death | Age | Hammer Credits |
Art Director | Scott MacGregor | 57 | 22 Oct 1914 | 1971 | 56 | 14 |
Assistant Art Director | Don Picton | 55 | 22 Feb 1916 | 1 Nov 1981 | 65 | 15 |
Assistant Director | Bill Cartlidge | 29 | 16 Jun 1942 | Living | 78 | 4 |
Associate Producer | Roy Skeggs | 37 | 1 Apr 1934 | 29 Dec 2018 | 84 | 45 |
Based on the television series by | Harry Driver | 40 | 13 May 1931 | 25 Nov 1973 | 42 | 2 |
Based on the television series by | Vince Powell | 43 | 6 Aug 1928 | 13 Jul 2009 | 80 | 2 |
Camera Operator | Chick Anstiss | 40 | 1 Feb 1931 | 30 Jun 2011 | 80 | 7 |
Casting Director | James Liggat | 52 | 1920 | 28 Sep 1981 | 61 | 29 |
Construction Manager | Arthur Banks | 18 | ||||
Continuity | Lorely Farley | 32 | 1 Apr 1939 | Living | 81 | 22 |
Directed by | John Robins | 4 | ||||
Director of Photography | David Holmes, BSc | 44 | 22 May 1927 | 13 Apr 1997 | 69 | 3 |
Dubbing Mixer | Gordon McCallum | 52 | 26 May 1919 | 10 Sep 1989 | 70 | 1 |
Editor | Chris Barnes | 34 | 1938 | 5 Jun 2009 | 71 | 21 |
Hairdresser | Jeanette Freeman | 4 | ||||
Make-up | Eddie Knight | 46 | 14 Mar 1925 | 27 Aug 1996 | 71 | 31 |
Music Composed by | Derek Hilton | 44 | 3 Feb 1927 | 11 Jul 2005 | 78 | 1 |
Musical Supervisor | Philip Martell | 64 | 6 Oct 1907 | 11 Aug 1993 | 85 | 103 |
Produced by | Michael Carreras | 44 | 21 Dec 1927 | 19 Apr 1994 | 66 | 83 |
Production Manager | Ron Jackson | 34 | ||||
Screenplay by | Roy Bottomley | 39 | 1 Jan 1933 | 28 Nov 2011 | 78 | 1 |
Screenplay by | Tom Brennand | 42 | 10 Jul 1929 | 25 Feb 2006 | 76 | 1 |
Song "Nearest and Dearest" Lyrics by | Hylda Baker | 66 | 4 Feb 1905 | 1 May 1986 | 81 | 1 |
Sound Editor | Frank Goulding | 1991 | 4 | |||
Sound Recordist | Les Hammond | 63 | 1 Jun 1908 | 8 | ||
Wardrobe Supervisor | Rosemary Burrows | 36 |
Cast
Character | Actor | Age at Release | Birth | Death | Age | Hammer Appearances |
Bert | Bert Palmer | 71 | 22 Apr 1900 | 15 Jan 1980 | 79 | 1 |
Bouncer | Nosher Powell | 43 | 15 Aug 1928 | 20 Apr 2013 | 84 | 3 |
Claude | Kerry Jewel | 25 | 1947 | Living | 74 | 1 |
Club Hostess | Carmel Cryan | 22 | 8 Jul 1949 | Living | 71 | 1 |
Court Bailiff | Peter Madden | 67 | 9 Aug 1904 | 24 Feb 1976 | 71 | 6 |
Eli Pledge | Jimmy Jewell | 62 | 4 Dec 1909 | 3 Dec 1995 | 85 | 1 |
Freda | Pat Ashton | 41 | 1931 | 23 Jun 2013 | 82 | 3 |
Joshua Pledge | John Barrett | 61 | 18 Feb 1910 | 22 May 1983 | 73 | 1 |
Lily | Madge Hindle | 32 | 19 May 1939 | Living | 81 | 1 |
Man on Bus | Norman Chappell | 46 | 31 Dec 1925 | 21 Jul 1983 | 57 | 3 |
Mimi (Stripper) | Adele Warren | 1 | ||||
Mrs Rowbottom | Yootha Joyce | 44 | 20 Aug 1927 | 24 Aug 1980 | 53 | 3 |
Nellie Pledge | Hylda Baker | 66 | 4 Feb 1905 | 1 May 1986 | 81 | 1 |
Scarlet O'Hara | Sue Hammer | 1 | ||||
Stan | Joe Gladwin | 65 | 22 Jan 1906 | 11 Mar 1987 | 81 | 1 |
Vernon Smallpiece | Norman Mitchell | 53 | 27 Aug 1918 | 19 Mar 2001 | 82 | 7 |
Vicar | Donald Bisset | 61 | 3 Aug 1910 | 10 Aug 1995 | 85 | 2 |
Vinegar | Janie Collinge | 1 | ||||
Walter | Eddie Malin | 77 | 22 Oct 1894 | 1 Mar 1977 | 82 | 1 |
Footnotes
There really is not much to say about this film, except that, like “On the Buses”, it is a television spin-off, this time from a Granada TV sitcom. This – unlike “On the Buses” – was not however a box-office success.
Details were complied viewing the actual film.
Source of viewing copy – The Hammer Graveyard Collection