Michael Palin’s Favourite Funny Films

They wank as high as any in Wome

Michael Palin is talking comedy. Specifically, his favourite funny movies. Right now he’s warming up.

“I love a quote. Blessed are the cheese makers. I try not to quote my own material but things do come to my lips every now and then. And of course people love to hear you. If I say, ‘He wanks as high as any in Wome’ from Life of Brian (1979), or ‘Ni’ indeed, from Holy Grail (1975), people love that and it makes them very happy. I just say ‘Ni’ and off they go!”

Of we go, then, to some of Palin’s favourite comedians. “I used to really like Jerry Lewis films, Disorderly Orderly (1964) and things like that. I remember a scene, but I’m not sure which film it was in, where he’s sweeping leaves in a courtyard and needs to tidy them away quickly, so he pulls up the corner of the grass and brushes them underneath. With a lot of comedy, like anything else, if it’s played with confidence it’s ok. There may be crap jokes but if it’s played well it kind of works in the end. Jerry Lewis had that conviction.

“My tastes matured along with Woody Allen. When I was younger I loved Bananas (1971). There’s a great line there, when the President stands up and says, ‘From tomorrow, underpants will be worn outside the trousers and the official language will be Swedish’. And two people mutter behind him, ‘Power has made him mad’.

“Then I moved on to his more sophisticated stuff, to stronger characters and the torrent of good lines in films like Manhattan (1979), Annie Hall (1977), and a particular favourite of mine, Broadway Danny Rose (1984). He is such a cracker on dialogue and can deliver it so well. I’m afraid I went off him after Mighty Aphrodite (1995) though.”

Following a quick Steve Martin name check – “my favourite is Roxanne (1987)” – Palin is ready to settle down to the business at hand. Presented in the order they came into the world, here’s a list of ten funny films - seven of which he isn’t even in - that still make Michael Palin laugh.

Man of the Moment (1955)

“What I first liked in comedy was the physical stuff. I was a big Norman Wisdom fan and Man of the Moment was his funniest film. There’s a scene where he brings the tea in to a war room full of plotting generals. They’ve got a big map on the table and they’re moving ships all over it, but he keeps putting cups of tea in the way. I was brought up on war stories and here was someone being funny about it. It was quite a relief for a young lad in Sheffield.”

The Ladykillers (1955)

“The best comedy comes out of good observation of human beings trying to make sense of their life but failing and being reduced to absurdity. Good characters in bad situations define the Ealing comedies. The Ladykillers is one of my favourites because it features a great group of people who are quite amoral, grasping and greedy, but in an odd way you’re charmed by them. They’re also doomed to failure, which I quite like as well. I also love the complete lack of sentiment, and the idea that it’s set around railways, so dingy.”

Dr Strangelove (1964)

“I particularly liked Peter Sellers movies. Dr Strangelove is a wonderful comedy with a dark edge. It was a fantasy, but every step along the way seemed to work, so you went along with the madness. And despite that awful feeling in the pit of your stomach that this is probably what it’s really like, you can’t stop laughing. That’s a great achievement.”

A Shot in the Dark (1964)

“Of all Peter Sellers’ Clouseau films I found this the most joyful. I remember thinking that I’d love to play Clouseau one day. The character was genius. Here was this man trying to live his life and make sense of the world, and he’s doing his very best. A few things went wrong here and there, but he knew what he had to do and was confident he could do it. Conviction in the face of total incompetence. Once the series became a bit more formulaic, the initial joy at seeing this character slightly wore off.”

Life of Brian (1979)

“We did Life of Brian not because we were serious filmmakers but because we were very silly people with a highly developed sense of humour. Of all the Python movies, it’s my favourite. It was very well balanced, with all the Pythons in good form both as writers and performers. It made us laugh when we wrote it, it made us laugh when we shot it, and forty-odd years on it still makes us laugh. I have many favourite moments, but I’ve always had a soft spot for Ben, the character who’s hung in the cell. As everyone’s going off with crosses on their backs, he shouts ‘You lucky, lucky bastards’. It pretty well encapsulates what the film is about.”

A Private Function (1984)

Alan Bennett’s A Private Function was a very interesting British comedy because it dealt with a period of history which I knew nothing about - rationing after the war, and all the skiving and scheming and deceit and blackmail that went on over food. Alan brought great humour out of a group of unpleasant people trapped in a strange situation. I thought Denholm Elliott was particularly good as Dr Swaby, really one of the best characters I’d seen in a film since the Ealing days. He’s racist and a snob and he farts at the table. Wonderful stuff.”

Airplane! (1980)

“My Norman Wisdom and Jerry Lewis silly streak extends to the Airplane! movies. I must say I really enjoyed them. Even the Naked Guns. You know there are going to be gags that don’t work, but the success rate is staggering. And there are so many terrific moments, like the folk singer strumming away and pulling the drip feed out of the dying girl. Just terrific. You just want to see it again and again. That’s the highest praise I think. If it’s on television late at night I will make an effort to see it. It doesn’t make any great demands. You can just sit back and howl with laughter. In fact, I think I want to see Airplane! right now.”

Withnail & I  (1987)

“I really didn’t like Withnail & I when I first saw it and I now love it. It grows on you, which is a good thing. Very often with music, when I first hear something it’s absolutely wonderful, but after five plays I’m bored. Withnail was the opposite. More complex and more rewarding. It has a consistency, an awfulness of style that I liked very much.”

A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

“The biggest gamble with Wanda was mixing British and American actors with very different styles. But it worked, and gave the film its edge and energy. It felt a lot like the Ealing comedies I used to love. There’s a gentleness there despite the nastiness and amorality. A lot of that is down to John’s wonderful performance. Rather than playing Basil Fawlty and going over the top he decided to play it straight and that made the romantic side work very well. It also gave the thing a certain amount of charm that stopped it from being totally gross. John still can’t understand why my character, Ken the animal lover, is so popular though. He said, ‘I wrote this character as a homicidal maniac who hates the human race and is prepared to kill elderly ladies, yet he’s the most sympathetic character at the end of the film’. Everybody loves Ken.”

Fargo (1996)

“The Coen Brothers always have the best characters, Steve Buscemi and people like that. Fargo was just brilliant. The way it was shot and where it was set. And again, these are characters who are very well portrayed, very carefully observed, struggling to make sense of a fucked-up world.”

Now you know what makes Michael Palin laugh, I’d love to know what your favourite comedies are.