Starring: Laurence Harvey, Jimmy Edwards, Shirley Eaton, David Tomlinson Director: Ken Annakin Year of release: 1956 Country: UK (click to enlarge)

Based on the comic novel by Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat has been made into a film three times, 1933, 1956 and 1975. This is the 1956 version, which is probably the best known of the three. It's certainly the only one currently avaialable on DVD. Escaping their dull weekday pursuits, a trio of idiots go on a two-week holiday, taking a small rowing boat down the Thames, starting at Richmond and ending up in Oxford. They meet three young women on the shore and seem to get into just as much trouble on land as on water. This movie is very dated and contains far too much slap-stick for my taste, which meant I ended up hoping someone would give the leading characters a good smack, and tell them to grow up. Sadly, nobody does...

Purists may complain that this isn't really a movie about rowing as most of the on-water action takes part in a touring skiff (fixed seat and all that) but there are plenty of river shots (allbeit with painted backdrops), and some rowing in fine-boats is included when the goons pass through Henley during 'regatta' week, on their way to Oxford. Henley isn't quite as we know it... as after showing clips of a sculling race it is followed by a race which seems to be between four eights...(?). The three men manage to row their boat in front of the race causing a multiple pile up and one crew to row up the bank into the spectators... All very curious.