Dick Deadeye (1975)
PG | 79 mins | Musical, Comedy | 17 December 1975
Director:
Bill MelendezWriter:
Bernard GruverProducer:
Steven Cuitlahuac MelendezCinematographer:
Bill MelendezEditors:
Steven Cuitlahuac Melendez, Babette MonteilProduction Designer:
Ronald SearleProduction Company:
Bill Melendez ProductionsThe Summary for this unviewed film is based on reviews in the 17 Dec 1975 LAT and the 24 Dec 1975 HR, and a graphic novelization of the film by production designer Ronald Searle and writer Jeremy Hornsby, published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., in 1975.
According to an advertisement in the 26 Jan 1972 Var, Dick Deadeye was originally titled Hail Hail, the Gang’s All Here, from an unproduced 1970 stage play of the same name. The final film was readied for release in 1975 to coincide with that year’s Gilbert and Sullivan centenary celebrations in the U.K. The Nov 1975 Films and Filming commented that Dick Deadeye was based on characters from several Gilbert & Sullivan light operas, including The Pirates of Penzance, HMS Pinafore, Ruddigore, The Mikado, Trial By Jury, and Utopia, Limited.
The filmmakers created a non-Gilbert & Sullivan character, a mute chameleon named “Schlameleon,” as an assistant to sorcerer “John Wellington Wells,” according to the 17 Dec 1975 LAT. The film’s animation was deemed far more sophisticated than that of poorly financed television cartoons, but not up to Walt Disney Studio standards. The budget was less than $1 million. Producer Steven Cuitlahuac Melendez commuted between Hollywood, CA, and London, England, where he supervised a team of young British animators. The film was released in conjunction with a soundtrack album and an illustrated book by production designer Ronald Searle, who created the look of the film’s characters.
"Nanki-Poo," the son of the Mikado in The ...
The Summary for this unviewed film is based on reviews in the 17 Dec 1975 LAT and the 24 Dec 1975 HR, and a graphic novelization of the film by production designer Ronald Searle and writer Jeremy Hornsby, published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., in 1975.
According to an advertisement in the 26 Jan 1972 Var, Dick Deadeye was originally titled Hail Hail, the Gang’s All Here, from an unproduced 1970 stage play of the same name. The final film was readied for release in 1975 to coincide with that year’s Gilbert and Sullivan centenary celebrations in the U.K. The Nov 1975 Films and Filming commented that Dick Deadeye was based on characters from several Gilbert & Sullivan light operas, including The Pirates of Penzance, HMS Pinafore, Ruddigore, The Mikado, Trial By Jury, and Utopia, Limited.
The filmmakers created a non-Gilbert & Sullivan character, a mute chameleon named “Schlameleon,” as an assistant to sorcerer “John Wellington Wells,” according to the 17 Dec 1975 LAT. The film’s animation was deemed far more sophisticated than that of poorly financed television cartoons, but not up to Walt Disney Studio standards. The budget was less than $1 million. Producer Steven Cuitlahuac Melendez commuted between Hollywood, CA, and London, England, where he supervised a team of young British animators. The film was released in conjunction with a soundtrack album and an illustrated book by production designer Ronald Searle, who created the look of the film’s characters.
"Nanki-Poo," the son of the Mikado in The Mikado, was split into two twin characters, "Nanki" and "Poo," for Dick Deadeye.
The producers presented Dick Deadeye to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as “the first and only fully animated, stereophonic Gilbert and Sullivan rock opera,” according to an AMPAS document. A separate document from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) on file at AMPAS library noted that the film was re-edited in 1977 to receive a more family-friendly G-rating.
Duty Done
Hail Hail, the Gang's All Here
During a parade for the Queen, Poo picks pockets, much to the disapproval of his twin brother, Nanki. Nearby, John Wellington Wells, otherwise known as the Sorcerer, tells the Pirate King that he has obtained the Ultimate Secret and wants to sell it. Overhearing this offer, Dick Deadeye rushes to the Hexagon to inform the Major General. Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Wells visits “The Queen’s Nose,” a pub notorious for its pirate clientele and bawdy barmaid, Rose Maybud. In a back room, Wells exchanges the Ultimate Secret with the Pirate King for a chest of ill-gotten bullion. When he leaves with his booty, Wells knows the Pirate King will waylay him on the streets, so he slips away from the three cutthroat pirates tailing him. Later, Dick Deadeye goes to Wells’s shop, reveals himself to be working for Her Majesty’s Service, and demands the Ultimate Secret, but Wells stuffs the secret into the mouth of his sidekick, a reptilian creature named Schlameleon, and pushes him out the window and into the basket of Little Buttercup, a passing maiden. Before long, a dozen people, including Nanki and Poo, give chase. Poo catches up with Little Buttercup, steals the Ultimate Secret, and disappears down a manhole. When Little Buttercup accuses Poo’s twin, Nanki, of being the thief, the police carry him off to court, where Nanki is sentenced to two centuries in the Tower. Once inside, Nanki plays his Japanese instrument and fantasizes about the beautiful Princess Yum-Yum. Outside the Tower, Poo offers to exchange the Ultimate Secret with Wells for a chance to be his sorcerer’s apprentice, but the Pirate King’s three pirates capture them and head ...
During a parade for the Queen, Poo picks pockets, much to the disapproval of his twin brother, Nanki. Nearby, John Wellington Wells, otherwise known as the Sorcerer, tells the Pirate King that he has obtained the Ultimate Secret and wants to sell it. Overhearing this offer, Dick Deadeye rushes to the Hexagon to inform the Major General. Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Wells visits “The Queen’s Nose,” a pub notorious for its pirate clientele and bawdy barmaid, Rose Maybud. In a back room, Wells exchanges the Ultimate Secret with the Pirate King for a chest of ill-gotten bullion. When he leaves with his booty, Wells knows the Pirate King will waylay him on the streets, so he slips away from the three cutthroat pirates tailing him. Later, Dick Deadeye goes to Wells’s shop, reveals himself to be working for Her Majesty’s Service, and demands the Ultimate Secret, but Wells stuffs the secret into the mouth of his sidekick, a reptilian creature named Schlameleon, and pushes him out the window and into the basket of Little Buttercup, a passing maiden. Before long, a dozen people, including Nanki and Poo, give chase. Poo catches up with Little Buttercup, steals the Ultimate Secret, and disappears down a manhole. When Little Buttercup accuses Poo’s twin, Nanki, of being the thief, the police carry him off to court, where Nanki is sentenced to two centuries in the Tower. Once inside, Nanki plays his Japanese instrument and fantasizes about the beautiful Princess Yum-Yum. Outside the Tower, Poo offers to exchange the Ultimate Secret with Wells for a chance to be his sorcerer’s apprentice, but the Pirate King’s three pirates capture them and head for The Queen’s Nose. Deadeye follows, but when he bumps into Rose Maybud, they fall in love at first sight and forget everything else. Realizing the Ultimate Secret is in code, the Pirate King and Wells decide to decipher it in the safety of the pirate ship, which is about to set off to sea. Deadeye rushes to the Hexagon, enlists the help of the Admiral, then rescues Nanki from the Tower, along with his cellmates. Meanwhile, Rose, dressed as a pirate, secretly boards the Pirate King’s ship before it sails. Soon afterward, the Admiral, Deadeye, Nanki, and inmates from the Tower board the H.M.S. Pinafore. They overtake and capture the Pirate King, but when Poo escapes to the island of Utopia, everyone follows. They are met on the island by huge Lovely Ladies, ruled by Queen Zara, who has already sentenced Poo to the stocks for pilferage. Since Utopia has no executioner, Wells accepts the job, but instead of killing Poo he steals the Ultimate Secret. When the crewmen capture him, Wells reveals that he has cracked the code. The secret is: L*V* TH*T M*K*S TH* W*RLD G* R**ND. Deadeye marries Rose, Wells marries Little Buttercup, the crewmen grab the Lovely Ladies, and everyone sings.
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement AwardTOP SEARCHES
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