The Great McGonagall

The Great McGonagall

52% | Jan 23, 1975 | Comedy

In this high-camp farce, Goons legend Spike Milligan stars as William Topaz McGonagall, an unemployed Scottish weaver and aspiring poet laureate who falls in love with Queen Victoria - a brilliant cameo by Peter Sellers - and thereafter devotes his banal poetry to her. Though McGonagall's solicitations are rejected by the Queen, it doesn't stop the turgid prose, and pathos, from overflowing as McGonagall hilariously attempts to become the greatest poet in the land. The image of the bad poet, trapped by his romanticism and inspired by a muse with a tin ear, appealed mightily to Spike Milligan, and this cult British spoof features the Goons show maestro at his ridiculous, genre-defying best.

Featured Cast

Joseph McGrath
Director
Spike Milligan
Screenplay

Cast

William Topaz McGonagall
Spike Milligan
William Topaz McGonagall
Queen Victoria
Peter Sellers
Queen Victoria
Mrs. McGonagall
Julia Foster
Mrs. McGonagall
various
John Bluthal
various

Images