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Comedy

Comfort and Joy

- A serious comedy

Radio host Alan 'Dickie' Bird witnesses how an icecream van is attacked and destroyed by angry competitors. This leads him into the struggle between two Italian families over the icecream market of Glasgow.

Release Date : 1984-08-14

Language :EnglishItalian

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Lake (Comfort and Joy)Thorn EMI Screen EntertainmentScottish Television (STV)Kings Road Entertainment

Production Country : United Kingdom

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Bill Paterson

Character Name : Alan

Original Name : Bill Paterson

Gender : Male

Eleanor David

Character Name : Maddy

Original Name : Eleanor David

Gender : Female

Clare Grogan

Character Name : Charlotte

Original Name : Clare Grogan

Gender : Female

Alex Norton

Character Name : Trevor

Original Name : Alex Norton

Gender : Male

Patrick Malahide

Character Name : Colin

Original Name : Patrick Malahide

Gender : Male

Roberto Bernardi

Character Name : Mr. McCool

Original Name : Roberto Bernardi

Gender : Male

Rikki Fulton

Character Name : Hilary

Original Name : Rikki Fulton

Gender : Male

George Rossi

Character Name : Bruno

Original Name : George Rossi

Gender : Male

Peter Rossi

Character Name : Paolo

Original Name : Peter Rossi

Gender : Male

Billy McElhaney

Character Name : Renato

Original Name : Billy McElhaney

Gender : Male

Iain McColl

Character Name : Archie

Original Name : Iain McColl

Gender : Male

Billy Johnstone

Character Name : Amos

Original Name : Billy Johnstone

Gender : Male

Gilly Gilchrist

Character Name : Rufus

Original Name : Gilly Gilchrist

Gender : Male

Caroline Guthrie

Character Name : Gloria

Original Name : Caroline Guthrie

Gender : Female

Oona McCracken

Character Name : Nancy

Original Name : Oona McCracken

Gender : Male

Elizabeth Sinclair

Character Name : Fiona

Original Name : Elizabeth Sinclair

Gender : Male

Katy Black

Character Name : Sarah

Original Name : Katy Black

Gender : Male

Robin Black

Character Name : Lily

Original Name : Robin Black

Gender : Male

Ron Donachie

Character Name : George

Original Name : Ron Donachie

Gender : Male

Arnold Brown

Character Name : Psychiatrist

Original Name : Arnold Brown

Gender : Male

Robert Buchanan

Character Name : Trevor's Workman

Original Name : Robert Buchanan

Gender : Male

Douglas Sannachan

Character Name : Trevor's Workman

Original Name : Douglas Sannachan

Gender : Male

Billy Greenlees

Character Name : Trevor's Workman

Original Name : Billy Greenlees

Gender : Male

Alan Tall

Character Name : Trevor's Workman

Original Name : Alan Tall

Gender : Male

Bob Starrett

Character Name : Trevor's Workman

Original Name : Bob Starrett

Gender : Male

David O'Hara

Character Name : Engineer

Original Name : David O'Hara

Gender : Male

Teri Lally

Character Name : Shop Assistant

Original Name : Teri Lally

Gender : Female

Allan Wylie

Character Name : Newsreader

Original Name : Allan Wylie

Gender : Male

Alistair Campbell

Character Name : Keith

Original Name : Alistair Campbell

Gender : Male

Charles Kearney

Character Name : All-Night DJ

Original Name : Charles Kearney

Gender : Male

Elspeth Cameron

Character Name : Mrs Wilson

Original Name : Elspeth Cameron

Gender : Female

Pearl Deans

Character Name : Maria

Original Name : Pearl Deans

Gender : Male

Ray Jeffries

Character Name : Removal Man

Original Name : Ray Jeffries

Gender : Male

Patrick Lewsley

Character Name : Removal Man

Original Name : Patrick Lewsley

Gender : Male

Ronald McCleod Veitch

Character Name : Dentist

Original Name : Ronald McCleod Veitch

Gender : Male

Johnny Irving

Character Name : Bob Hope Look-Alike

Original Name : Johnny Irving

Gender : Male

Johnny Mac

Character Name : Fred Astaire Look-Alike

Original Name : Johnny Mac

Gender : Male

Reviews

R

r96sk

@r96sk

2021-06-23

A nice, amusing and creative premise. I enjoyed 'Comfort and Joy'. Bill Paterson heads events confidently as Alan, he's fun to watch in the lead. Patrick Malahide ('Game of Thrones', 'Luther') is in there too, while Alex Norton and Roberto Bernardi play their respective roles well. The pacing, to me at least, is a little off at around the midway point, but otherwise it's a pleasant film from 1984. Watch it if you get the opportunity.

C

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2024-04-23

Without any help at all from "Mr. Bridger", the Italian chip shops and ice cream vans of Glasgow are being smashed up. It's only because he takes a bit of a shine to one of the girls in the van that local radio personality "Alan" (Bill Peterson) witnesses one of the assaults and decides that he must do something to ensure peace breaks out. There really were "ice cream wars" in Glasgow so this engaging comedy has it's roots in fact as he tries to get the warring "Mr. Cool" (Robert Bernardi) and "Mr. Bunny" (Alex Norton) round the wafer table before his new soft-top BMW becomes little more than a bright red ashtray. He starts to use his radio show to convey illicit messages that just come across as gobbledegook to his station boss "Hilary" (Rikki Fulton) and soon his own career is starting to look like it might be melting too. The solution. Well anyone who's ever been to the city will know that we fry everything - even Mars bars! Patterson is on good form here, and his amiable delivery quite subtly takes an entertaining ping at the mundanity of commercial radio and it's banal advertising whilst touching on then ridiculing what was quite a serious issue at the time. Rikki Fulton has expert comedy timing and facial expressions that deliver what a thousand words never could. "Has he got a sanity clause"? Well it is the winter. Well worth a watch.