Dad's Army to get big screen treatment
Captain Mainwaring, Sergeant Wilson and Private Pike are going back on patrol some 37 years after they were last on duty protecting the quiet seaside town of Walmington-on-Sea from a Nazi invasion. Dad’s Army, which starred Arthur Lowe, followed the escapades of the Home Guard platoon during World War II and their efforts as the front line in the event of an invasion across the English Channel. Consisting primarily of local volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service, the Home Guard in Dad’s Army were ‘ineligible’ largely due to age.
Written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (Are You Being Served, ‘Allo ‘Allo), it was only a matter of time before the iconic late 60’s BBC2 sitcom was turned into a feature film. The 90-year-old Perry is set to co-produce the new film with BAFTA award winning British producer Damian Jones (History Boys, The Iron Lady) which will star the greatness that is Bill Nighy (Page Eight, Love Actually, Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The World’s End) as upper-class bank employee Sergeant Wilson, who always questioned Captain Mainwaring’s judgment, alongside Toby Jones (Tinker Tailor, The Hunger Games, Captain America: The Winter Soldier), who will headline as local bank manager, the exceedingly patriotic Captain Mainwaring.
Dad’s Army, which ran for nine series between 1968 and 1977 on BBC2, finished fourth in the 2004 Britain’s Best Sitcom poll. It will be interesting to see how this translates to the big screen. At first glance, even though it still has legs on the small screen anytime it transmits, I’m not sure this will work, but with Bill Nighy, how can it not. Thoughts?
