Originally released as a support feature to A Shot In The Dark(the second Peter Sellers Pink Panther film) and jam-packed with familiar British comedy actors, this wordless skit on the development of a new housing estate is performed all in mime to a superb soundtrack by composer Ron Goodwin (famed for his 633 Squadron and Battle of Britain themes).
The story starts with a young couple (Richard Briers and Bridget Armstrong) putting a deposit on a house which at the time exists only as a plan.
Then the construction starts, and every mishap that could possibly occur does.
The architect (Ronnie Stevens) is accident-prone, the carpenter (Peter Butterworth) is myopic, and the stonemason (Bernard Cribbins) – carving the inscription on the modern sculpture at the entrance gate to the new estate – cannot spell.
There are also the men from the electricity board, water board and gas board busily digging up the road in succession (this same lack of coordination between utility companies sadly continues in Britain to this day).
The highlight is a superb bit of comic business with the late, great Ronnie Barker (pictured) as an increasingly enraged cement mixer.
A Home of Your Own only runs for 45 minutes (it began life as a sponsored comedy short for a construction company called Tersons) and was made on a very limited budget in Middlesex.
The Cement Mixer
Ronnie Barker The Husband (Frederick Phipps)
Richard Briers The Wife
Bridget Armstrong The Carpenter
Peter Butterworth The Stonemason
Bernard Cribbins The Shop Steward
Bill Fraser The Foreman
Norman Mitchell The Architect
Ronnie Stevens The Mayor
Fred Emney Mayor’s wife
Thelma Ruby Mayor’s daughter
Helen Cotterill Surveyor’s Wife
Janet Brown Glazier
Gerald Campion Gatekeeper
George Benson Telephone engineer
Jack Melford Water Board Inspector
Aubrey Woods Gas Board Foreman
Harry Locke Estate agent
Thorley Walters Carpenter’s labourer
Barrie Gosney Old workman
Douglas Ives Dumptruck driver with radio
Tony Tanner Diviner
Henry Woolf
Director
Jay Lewis
Video
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The architect (Ronnie Stevens) is accident-prone, the carpenter (Peter Butterworth) is myopic, and the stonemason (Bernard Cribbins) – carving the inscription on the modern sculpture at the entrance gate to the new estate – cannot spell.
