1960 - "Make Mine Mink"

[darren79]

I was watching the 1960 film Make Mine Mink with Terry Thomas and then suddenly this image appeared.

[lespaceplie]

Great find! Now there's another prop to track down the origins of. It's certainly a good likeness to the real thing, but it's interesting that there's a detail later to be seen on a BBC prop: the square cover on the lamp.

[Mark]

Good work Darren. That looks really authentic, far better than some of the other on-screen police boxes we've seen (thinking Jericho in particular!).

Is that the box's only appearance and who made the film?

[lespaceplie]

What's the Jericho box?

[darren79]

It's just that one shot of the police box with the light flashing (to indicate police activity).

Although there is some location filming (around Hampstead apparently), the majority was filmed at Pinewood studios.

The film was made by the Rank Organisation (and has a few familiar faces including a cameo from Kenneth Williams).

It's not a prop I recognise but it's a very nice one.

[Mark]

well if the film was made at Pinewood, maybe it is actually the Dalek Movie/Avengers box - why make another if there is already one available?

The 'Jericho box', well there was a tv programme about a detective called Jericho. Robert Lyndsey (off of my family) played the lead. Anyway. in one episode there was a police box that (imo) looked a little er, lacking in detail shall we say.

There was something about it, and a picture on this very site, but I'm not sure if it is still there.

[magepro]

I need to get this movie! Is that the complete name for it?

[armadillozenith]

Hi! (not been on here for ages)
I notice that in that photo from the fim 'Make mine Mink', the squares above and below the lamp appear aligned, but the whole lamp unit appears skewed or else wobbly with respect to the box itself.. ie not lined up square. I wonder whether the lamp unit was a separate part just perched on n top of roof or pegged into a socket and someone had not bothered to line it up quite right for this shot (in haste of filming?!) or maybe it got bumped in shifting the prop around?
Or could this (shock) even have been a real police box filmed on location? Were any real boxes featured in films, does anyone know, when they were commonplace?

[lorisarvendu]

Hi! (not been on here for ages)
I notice that in that photo from the fim 'Make mine Mink', the squares above and below the lamp appear aligned, but the whole lamp unit appears skewed or else wobbly with respect to the box itself.. ie not lined up square. I wonder whether the lamp unit was a separate part just perched on n top of roof or pegged into a socket and someone had not bothered to line it up quite right for this shot (in haste of filming?!) or maybe it got bumped in shifting the prop around?
Or could this (shock) even have been a real police box filmed on location? Were any real boxes featured in films, does anyone know, when they were commonplace?

It's certainly an accurate and detailed prop, which is odd if it's only in the film for a few shots.  I would guess this is the reason why so many police boxes specially built for movies were of such a basic design - why spend money getting it absolutely accurate when you're only going to use it for a couple of seconds.

Mind you, I should think this is still common practice today - witness the "police box" in Season 2 of Sarah Jane Adventures!

[meantimebob]

Were any real boxes featured in films, does anyone know, when they were commonplace?

You can clearly see a couple go by in the background during Genevieve.

[darren79]

I need to get this movie! Is that the complete name for it?

Yeah, that's the full title.

It's pretty easy to get hold of in the UK I don't know about elsewhere.

[magepro]

As far as I know, it's only available in Region 2 format 

I found it in as part of a Terry-Thomas collection. Anyone know where I can find one in Region 1?  I think I have an All region player, but even it has issues sometimes.