The lowdown: Featuring a star-studded cast, this is a 1966 film adaptation of a Broadway musical by Stephen Sondheim. 
The cast includes Zero, Michael Crawford, Buster Keaton, Phil Silvers ... and a very brief cameo from Jon Pertwee as 
Crassus. Pseudolus is a slave in Rome who is desperate to win his freedom. He strikes a deal with Hero (played by
Crawford), who is the son of Pseudolus's master, whereby he will be freed from slavedom if he can unite Hero with the 
woman he loves. As for Jon, his scenes are of the blink-and-you-will-miss-it kind. However, Jon almost had a much 
bigger role in this film. He had played the role of Lycus on stage, and was asked to take over the role after Phil Silvers 
almost quit, although Silvers eventually agreed to continue filming. Jon was given the role of Crassus to make up for this.

The verdict: Quite enjoyable if you like comedy-musicals on film, but personally I think it would have worked better without 
the songs. It is rather disconcerting to watch 'Forum' and have people spontaneously bursting into song. However, the story
itself is entertaining enough, and the film is very funny in places. While the main cast is very good, it is interesting to watch 
out for some of the actors with smaller roles, including ones who became famous for other roles later in their career. If you
like comedy films from the 1960s you should enjoy this, and any fan of classic comedy should watch it for the final film role 
of Buster Keaton.

Trivia: One of the writers of the film was Michael Pertwee, the brother of Jon.

 Quote:
  Pseudolus: Wait! 
  Hero: Yes? 
  Pseudolus: A brilliant idea! 
  Hero: Yes! 
  Pseudolus: That's what we need, a brilliant idea.		 Video Clip:
Crassus  (2.2mb)


 
 

 
<< Back to the Jon Pertwee page