This film is part of Free

On the Set of HandMade Film's Water

Welcome to Cascara in Devon and the race to exploit mineral water which has free-running qualities.

Current affairs 1984 5 mins

From the collection of:

Logo for South West Film and Television Archive

Overview

Water (1985) was produced by HandMade Films and was based on the Boulting Brothers' Carlton-Browne of the F.O. (1959) which originally starred Terry-Thomas. Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais wrote and directed this story, set on the fictional Caribbean island of Cascara. Michael Caine plays Governor Baxter-Thwaites who joins the Cascara Liberation Front (CLF) of Billy Connolly's character Delgado Fitzhugh and his reggae sidekick, Jimmie Walker who plays Jay-Jay.

A US drilling company discovers mineral water with a laxative quality. The Cubans, American and British Government, the CLF and French mineral water specialists become embroiled in a geopolitical farce to exploit the new resource. The musical score is by Eddie Grant and the comedy features an all star cast and includes Leonard Rossiter as the emissary Sir Malcolm Leveridge and Fulton Mackay with roles for George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Eric Clapton. George Harrison set up HandMade Films in order to finance Monty Python's The Life Of Brian (1979). Other films followed; Time Bandits (1981); Mona Lisa (1986); Withnail and I (1987); Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998); and 127 Hours (2010).