On the Fiddle (1961)

As I think I've probably stated in all my early Sean Connery reviews it's been an absolute pleasure getting my hands on some of Connery's early and quite rare work.  Not only because it's interesting to watch a great actor before his career exploded but because it's an opportunity to watch some incredibly unique roles that you'd never think of Sean Connery being apart of, and most of them have been very entertaining.  On the Fiddle (also known as Operation Snafu) marks Connery's most interesting role yet.

On the Fiddle stars Alfred Lynch and Sean Connery as RAF (Royal Air Force) recruits Horace Pope and Pedlar Pascoe who con their way through their service in the RAF.  Horace was shanghaied into enlisting after peddling trinkets outside the enlistment office got him arrested and he gave the judge the silly excuse that he was only doing it while waiting to enlist.  Well the judge calls his bluff and he's escorted back to the enlistment office and right to the front of the line.  It's in training camp where he meets Pedlar a very manipulatable, naive and kind hearted fellow who freely enlisted in the RAF and soon becomes Horace's right hand man.

Not wanting to be there in the first place Horace starts to think of ways to manipulate the system and get him and Pedlar as far away from the battle field as possible and give them an opportunity to make a little money along the way.  It all starts off with the two of them taking over the swamped Blackrock office where hundreds of soldiers a day are looking to get reassignments, days off and file their numerous excuses.  Horace sees an opportunity to take over for the overwhelmed and tired Sergeant in charge and turns the crazy office into an orderly smooth running machine that takes donations for getting soldiers requests met!  But Horace's scam is soon put to an end when the Sergeant in charge is replaced, signaling it's time for Horace and Pedlar to move on.  Their variety of schemes continue on for a while until eventually the two of them find themselves in the line of fire where Horace has been trying to distance themselves from the entire time.

On the Fiddle is another grand example of British comedy during the 1950's and 60's, quick, witty and sometimes extremely hard to follow as the actors ramble off their lines and the accents seem to merge into one big blur of words.  Much like Carry on Sergeant, On the Fiddle shows the more softer (or dopier) side of the British army, although this film rarely ventures into cornball comedy as the Carry On films, but I did recognize a few familiar  faces from that series here.  Of course the most appealing factor of this film is Sean Connery, another early role for the Scottish actor in an unusually docile role.  

There's no witty or suave Connery charms here, no Connery's character is for a lack of better words is a "toady", following along with whatever the character Horace Pope comes up with and tagging along like a loyal little puppy.  It's an interesting switch up for the man who later becomes known for his outstanding presence and dynamic characters.  Overall, On the Fiddle is a fun little British comedy, the two main characters are interesting and entertaining and the story itself moves at a fast pace, maybe even too fast at times.  My only complaint is it's quite easy to get a little lost on what exactly is going on as keeping up with the fast paced script and the English accents can be a chore at times.  But in the end it's another good early Connery role.

7/10