Main Cast: Peter Sellers, Bernard Miles, Cecil Parker, Eric Sykes, Irene Handl, Miriam Karlin, Isabel Jeans
Release Year: 1963
Country: UK
Run Time: 113 minutes
Plot
Considered a bit too sacrilegious for general consumption in 1963, the Boulting brothers' Heavens Above was simply ahead of its time, and has since accrued a loyal and vocal following. Peter Sellers plays an idealistic British reverend with a bad habit of telling the truth at all times. He also follows his conscience whenever possible, resulting in several cleric decisions that shock his wealthy, landed-gentry parishioners. By inviting such "undesirables" as gypsies and West Africans to worship freely in his church, Sellers rouses the ire of the rest of his white-bread flock. He does, however, compel the selfish owner (Isabel Jeans) of a laxative firm to "see the light" and to sell off all her holdings on behalf of the poor and downtrodden. Unfortunately, by doing this the woman wrecks her business--which is the principal source of income for the community where Sellers works. Retreating from town with an angry mob on his heels, Sellers relocates on a tiny island in the Pacific. Since the island is the site of a missile base, and since the local astronauts have shown signs of agnosticism, where else is there for Sellers to go...but up? Heavens Above was inspired by a notion cooked up by iconoclastic British satirist Malcolm Muggeridge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The plot features Sellers as a humble, caring vicar accidentally assigned to the comfortable country village of Orbiston Parva, in place of Ian Carmichael's upper-class cleric, with whom he shares a name. His belief in charity and forgiveness set him at odds with the selfish locals, whose assertions that they are good, Christian people are belied by their behaviour and ideas. He creates social ructions by hiring a new churchwarden, giving away food, taking in a homeless lower class family, and opposing the building of a new factory in the village. However, all his good works lead to trouble.
Like the other Boulting/Sellers films, Heavens Above! satirises contemporary attitudes and cautiously espouses a socialist ethos, while also showing the possible deleterious side-effects of such ideas, and the all-too-human tendency to take advantage of naive generosity.
The film is also notable for its use of profanity, very daring for 1963; Sykes' character at one stage utters the line, "What if it pisses it with rain?".
