Our Miss Fred

Our Miss Fred (1972)

DANNY LA RUE has a secret weapon to win the war in his first film!

Danny La Rue stars in this 1970s drag comedy as Fred Wimbush, a Shakespearean actor who is drafted into WWII and is appearing in a camp show in France when the Nazis advance. Unless he continues in his female costume, Fred is certain to be shot as a spy. The risque gags and double entendres fly as he attempts to make his escape in the company of a troupe of Girl Guides.

Date of release
1972-12-14
TMDB
6.1 / 10 (10)
Runtime
1h 32m
Genres
Comedy, War
Director
Bob Kellett

Casting

Interesting facts

Our Miss Fred is a 1972 British comedy film starring Danny La Rue, set during World War II. The film was also known by its video release titles Beyond the Call of Duty (Canada) and Operation: Fred (US). In the 1960s, La Rue was one of the highest paid entertainers in Britain, but this represents his only starring role in a feature film.

Production

The film was constructed specifically as a vehicle for La Rue. It was one of a number of comedy star vehicles made by Nat Cohen at EMI Films. Filming took place in June 1972.

LaRue later wrote in his memoirs, "Before finally agreeing to appear in the movie, I must have turned down at least twenty-five other offers because they were almost all stories about female impersonations, which wasn’t for me." The performer admitted "I was a little apprehensive about making films. I was very definitely a live performer and I had reservations about transferring to the larger screen."

According to La Rue the film was the idea of Ted Willis, who persuaded him to make the film. La Rue wrote, " It was an interesting idea, a wartime comedy thriller, which never dates. It gave me the scope, not only for wearing glamorous outfits, but also the opportunity to prove myself as a serious actor as well, which I grabbed with both hands.

Filming took over ten weeks at Hertfordshire and Elstree Studios. La Rue found it difficult making movies, feeling they took up extra time and money.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

Recommended