PODCAST

Reel Britannia

Scott Phipps

A very British podcast about very British movies...with the occasional hint of professionalism

tv & film film reviews

All Episodes

49:15

Episode 202- The Square Peg (1958)

Reel Britannia ·

2026/08/16

Digging Up Trouble Behind Enemy Lines For episode 202 of the Reel Britannia podcast, we're trading our civvies for khaki and marching straight into the chaotic world of a genuine British comedy icon. This time around, the team is discussing the 1958 Norman Wisdom classic, The Square Peg. Directed by John Paddy Carstairs and written by Jack Davies, the film follows the hapless road mender Norman Pitkin (Wisdom, naturally) and his perpetually flustered boss Mr Grimsdale (Edward Chapman) as they

64:08

Episode 200 - Porridge - The Movie

Reel Britannia ·

2026/07/03

Fletch Gets Out. Getting Back In Is the Tricky Bit. For its landmark 200th episode, Reel Britannia is heading behind bars for Porridge – The Movie, the 1979 big-screen outing for one of Britain's best-loved television comedies. Ronnie Barker returns as the wily Norman Stanley Fletcher, still doing his best to serve his sentence with the minimum possible effort. Alongside him is Richard Beckinsale as the good-natured Lennie Godber, while Fulton Mackay's fearsome Mr Mackay and Brian Wilde's endlessly

70:32

Episode 197 - The Tall Guy (1989)

Reel Britannia ·

2026/05/21

Episode 197 - The Tall Guy (1989) "What in the name of Judas Iscariot's bumboy is going on?" Dexter King (Jeff Goldblum) is an awkward American actor stranded in London, suffering from severe hay fever and a chronic case of career stagnation. His day job consists of being repeatedly humiliated on stage as the hapless straight man to Ron Anderson (Rowan Atkinson), a spectacularly arrogant and insecure British comedian who wields his ego like a blunt instrument. Dexter's miserable existence takes

78:10

Episode 196 - School For Scoundrels (1960)

Reel Britannia ·

2026/04/29

Episode 196 - School For Scoundrels (1960) "Hard cheese old boy!" School for Scoundrels is one of those wonderfully sharp British comedies that takes something faintly ridiculous and plays it with a completely straight face, which of course makes it even funnier. Released in 1960, it follows Henry Palfrey, a polite, mild-mannered man who seems to be permanently stuck on the losing side of life. He is decent, respectable and reasonably successful on paper, yet somehow he always ends up second best,

47:34

Episode 195 - Home At Seven (1952)

Reel Britannia ·

2026/04/19

Episode 195 - Home At Seven (1952) He came home on time... a day too late. Home at Seven is a neatly unsettling British mystery that begins with one of the simplest ideas imaginable and turns it into something deeply unnerving. David Preston, a mild-mannered bank clerk, arrives home after work expecting an ordinary evening with his wife. Instead, he is met with shock, confusion and growing alarm, because as far as everyone else is concerned, he has not been gone for the day. He has been missing

52:57

Episode 194 - Go to Blazes (1962)

Reel Britannia ·

2026/04/07

Episode 194 - Go To Blazes (1962) "So many firms nowadays prefer conflagration to liquidation." If you are looking for a cracking way to spend eighty minutes, Go to Blazes is a proper hidden gem of British cinema. It has that pitch-perfect 1962 atmosphere—stylish, colourful, and just a touch rebellious. The plot is an absolute hoot: three ambitious but slightly dim-witted crooks decide the ultimate way to beat the London traffic after a smash-and-grab is to nick a literal fire engine. It is one

80:44

Episode 193 - Hammer Britannia 023 - Taste Of Fear /...

Reel Britannia ·

2026/03/22

Taste Of Fear / Scream Of Fear (1961) "You say my mind is affecting my legs. You're wrong. It's my legs that are affecting my mind." Taste of Fear, released in 1961 and also known in some territories as Scream of Fear, is one of those wonderfully chilly British thrillers that shows just how much tension can be created without a drop of gore. Directed by Seth Holt for Hammer Films, it stands slightly apart from the studio's more famous horror output of the period. Instead of Gothic castles, vampires

60:03

Episode 192 - To Sir With Love (1967)

Reel Britannia ·

2026/03/14

Episode 192 - To Sir WIth Love (1967) "If you must play these filthy games, do them in your homes, and not in my classroom!" Set against the vibrant, swinging backdrop of 1960s London, To Sir, With Love is a timeless feel-good classic that radiates warmth and optimism. The film stars the legendary Sidney Poitier as Mark Thackeray, an unemployed engineer who takes a temporary teaching position at a rough-and-tumble East End school. At first, the situation seems impossible. The students are rowdy,

64:46

Episode 191 - The L Shaped Room (1962)

Reel Britannia ·

2026/02/28

Episode 191 - The L Shaped Room (1962) "You've had eight over the eight, you lovely bit of crumpet, you!" Directed by Bryan Forbes and based on the novel by Lynne Reid Banks, The L-Shaped Room is a quintessential example of British "kitchen sink" realism. The film tells the poignant story of Jane Fosset (played by Leslie Caron in a BAFTA-winning performance), a young French woman who arrives in London unmarried and pregnant—a precarious social position in the early 1960s. Seeking anonymity, Jane

84:18

Episode 189 - You Only Live Twice (1967)

Reel Britannia ·

2026/01/25

Episode 189 - You Only Live Twice (1967) "I must say, you have a lot of energy for a dead man, Mister Bond." Get ready for the ultimate 1960s spy spectacle! You Only Live Twice (1967) isn't just a movie; it is a massive, colourful adventure that takes Sean Connery's James Bond to the vibrant landscapes of Japan for one of his most ambitious missions ever. From the opening moments, the film radiates a distinct, larger-than-life energy that defined the "blockbuster" era of the franchise. The film

67:10

Episode 188 - Just My Luck (1957)

Reel Britannia ·

2026/01/11

Episode 188 - Just My Luck (1957) "Choose Your Entertainment With "WISDOM"!!" Just My Luck (1957) is a sparkling slice of postwar British comedy that captures both the optimism and the charm of its era. Starring the ever-appealing Norman Wisdom as Norman Hackett, a humble jeweller's apprentice with big dreams, the film follows his hapless but heartfelt attempts to turn his fortunes around. Norman, eternally late and forever in trouble at work, is secretly besotted with glamorous shop assistant Anne

40:42

Episode 187 - Hammer Britannia 022 - The Curse Of The...

Reel Britannia ·

2026/01/04

Episode 187 - Hammer Britannia 022 - The Curse Of The Mummy's Tomb (1964) "He's living in the past! This is 1900, you have to think modern." Dust off your fez and grab your torch! If you're in the mood for a splendidly spooky adventure that oozes 1960s charm, look no further than Hammer's 1964 classic, The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb. This film is a pure, unadulterated slice of gothic fun, a wonderful reminder of a time when movie monsters were tragic, heroes were dashing, and curses were, well,

55:09

Episode 186 - Campbell's Kingdom (1957)

Reel Britannia ·

2025/12/20

Episode 186 - Campbell's Kingdom (1957) "Rugged Wildcatters...Fighting The Treacherous Might Of The Canadian Rockies" Grab your parka and get ready for a trip to the Canadian Rockies, because 1957's Campbell's Kingdom is a gloriously old-school adventure that absolutely bursts with high-stakes drama and breathtaking scenery. If you're in the mood for a classic "ripping yarn," this is the film for you. It's a story of grit, oil, and one man's incredible race against time, all set against one of the

61:45

Episode 185 - Miranda (1948)

Reel Britannia ·

2025/11/09

Episode 185 - Miranda (1948) "You've hated me ever since I set tail in this house." In the canon of post-war British comedy, there are grand spectacles and quiet character studies. And then, every so often, there's a film so completely, cheerfully absurd that it defies category. Miranda (1948) is one such treasure, a fantasy-comedy that is as polished and witty as it is delightfully naughty. It's a film that asks what would happen if a classic British "comedy of manners" was suddenly interrupted

56:47

Episode 184 - In The Name Of The Father (1993)

Reel Britannia ·

2025/10/29

Episode 184- In The Name Of The Father (1993) "You got 15 years of blood and sweat and pain from my client - whose only crime was that he was bloody well Irish. And he was foolish, and he was in the wrong place at the wrong time!" Based on the powerful true story of the Guildford Four, In the Name of the Father (1993) is a gripping legal and personal drama chronicling a devastating miscarriage of justice during "The Troubles" in 1970s England. The film centers on Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day-Lewis), a

89:53

Episode 182 - All Night Long (1962)

Reel Britannia ·

2025/10/08

Episode 182 - All Night Long (1962) "Me? Oh, I belong to that new minority group: white American jazz musicians. They're going to hold a mass meeting in a phone booth." Get ready to step into the coolest party of 1962. Basil Dearden's All Night Long is a cinematic powder keg, a film that brilliantly transplants Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Othello into the vibrant, smoke-filled world of the London jazz scene, and it does so with an electrifying pulse that never lets up. This isn't just a drama;

51:11

Episode 179 - North Sea Hijack (1980)

Reel Britannia ·

2025/09/18

Reel Britannia - a very British podcast about very British movies...with just a hint of professionalism. Episode 179 - North Sea Hijack (1980) Forget your suave, tuxedo-clad spies. The hero of North Sea Hijack is Rufus Excalibur ffolkes, a man whose only true loves are his cats, a strong Scotch, and a perfectly executed bit of underwater sabotage. When a group of rather impolite terrorists, led by the chillingly polite Kramer, decide to hijack a massive oil rig and its supply vessel in the middle

48:22

Episode 178 - Carry on Cruising (1962)

Reel Britannia ·

2025/09/07

Reel Britannia - a very British podcast about very British movies...with just a hint of professionalism. Episode 178 - Carry On Cruising (1962) "During the War I did Arctic runs that would've made HMS Ulysses look like a trip to Brighton. Without getting a scratch! Two days on a simple cruise with you lot and look at me!" The sixth installment in the beloved Carry On franchise, 1962's Carry On Cruising holds a special place in the series' history. Not only did it take the familiar brand of British

59:24

Episode 174 - The Killing Of Sister George (1968)

Reel Britannia ·

2025/07/22

Reel Britannia - a very British podcast about very British movies...with just a hint of professionalism. This week, join Scott and Steven as they discuss'The Killing Of Sister George' (1968) On-screen, she's Britain's beloved Sister George. Off-screen, she’s a gin-soaked, abusive tyrant. When network executives axe her popular character, actress June Buckridge's life implodes. A ruthless BBC boss not only orchestrates her professional demise but also seduces her vulnerable young lover,

59:29

Episode 171 - The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, And Her...

Reel Britannia ·

2025/07/01

Welcome to Le Hollandais, the most fashionable restaurant in town, where the food is divine and the clientele is dreadful! Meet Albert, a gangster with Michelin-star vulgarity, and his elegant wife, Georgina, who’s desperately seeking a more palatable main course. She finds it in a quiet bookworm, and soon they’re having their cake and eating it too, right under Albert’s nose! What follows is a deliciously decadent tale of high fashion, haute cuisine, and hilariously unsubtle revenge. It’s a visual

30 results

Reel Britannia

All Episodes

Similar Podcasts

Monkey Nut Punch - The Podcast

Monkey Nut Punch

The Bits: A Steven Universe Podcast

The Bits

Reel Britannia

Scott Phipps

The CUP

The CUP

GenreVision

GenreVision