A Private Function

"When a clandestine party goes wild, it's all about pork... and prestige."

1984 1h 36m EN

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 68

Comedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In the summer of 1947, Britain prepares to commemorate the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip. To get around food-rationing laws, Dr. Charles Swaby, accountant Henry Allardyce and solicitor Frank Lockwood are fattening a black-market pig for the big day. Egged on by his wife, meek Gilbert Chilvers steals the swine, but the couple must conceal it from inspector Morris Wormold.

“When a clandestine party goes wild, it's all about pork... and prestige.”

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Where to watch · US

Criterion ChannelSubscription

Cast

Michael Palin
Gilbert Chilvers
Maggie Smith
Joyce Chilvers
Denholm Elliott
Dr. Swaby
Richard Griffiths
Allardyce
Tony Haygarth
Sutcliff
John Normington
Lockwood
Bill Paterson
Wormold
Liz Smith
Mother

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Malcolm Mowbray
Writers: Alan Bennett, Malcolm Mowbray, Alan Bennett
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

42 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Malcolm Mowbray, shot by Tony Pierce-Roberts. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Du Prez. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Barrie Vince shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Michael Palin and Maggie Smith and Denholm Elliott carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "When a clandestine party goes wild, it's all about pork... and prestige.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0089838 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 68 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Malcolm Mowbray directs. Tony Pierce-Roberts behind the camera. John Du Prez scores. Barrie Vince cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

142 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Malcolm Mowbray, shot by Tony Pierce-Roberts. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by John Du Prez. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Barrie Vince shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Michael Palin and Maggie Smith and Denholm Elliott carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "When a clandestine party goes wild, it's all about pork... and prestige.".
7IMDB entry: tt0089838 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 68 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
9Classified under 9 themes, including "northern england", "pig", "satire", "yorkshire".

The technical file

Cinematography: Tony Pierce-Roberts
Original score: John Du Prez
Editing: Barrie Vince
Production design: Stuart Walker
Costume design: Phyllis Dalton
Makeup / hair: Jan Archibald
Runtime: 96 min · 1h 36m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: A Private Function (1984)

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Malcolm Mowbray

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-12-06
★ 7/10
The forthcoming wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip is a cause for celebration in post war Britain, but it isn’t going to affect rationing that still only allows one person one rasher of bacon per week. The folks of a small Yorkshire town have their own cunning plan. Secreted in the middle of the woods, they have a pig. Despite the best efforts of the ferret-like detective “Wormold” (Bill Paterson), they are fattening it up with whatever they can find - including some ingredients that we’d sooner not have known about, ready for the big day. Unbeknownst to them, though, local chiropodist “Chilvers” (Michael Palin) gets wind of this and decides that seeing as most of the town’s grandees don’t like him very much, he is going to appropriate said beast for his wife (Maggie Smith) and her mother (Liz Smith). As you might expect from any partnership between Smith and Palin, one is a stronger, non-nonsense personality and the other maybe just a bit timid, so what chance the latter would ever know what to do with a live pig roaming around - however hungry they might be? Writer Alan Bennett would have lived through this national event and so we can assume some youthfully inspired and informed commentary as this story plays out and he peppers it with his usual brand of Northern (English) wit. Richard Griffiths and Denholm Elliott both add characterful richness to the proceedings as the daft plot successfully and entertainingly exaggerates the snobbishness of a community where nobody really has very much, but where status is still king and two turkeys isn’t going to feed the whole village!

Production companies