The dancing was good, the set was perfect, the orchestra was just right.
The cast was also perfect, except, unfortunately, for two individuals who appear only to be cast in an attempt to garner greater views: Peter Marshall as the captain and Frankie Howerd as Sir Joseph.
Peter Marshall overacts far more than necessary for the role, and frankly there are plenty of more than qualified English actors that could have been found, since his accent is distracting. So it's clear that he was chosen simply because he is a name that people would have recognised.
Frankie Howerd clearly didn't learn his lines and can hardly pronounce them. He improvises enough words to get him through the scene, bearing only minor resemblance to what is in the script. He also didn't sing, but rather, a la Rex Harrison (though not half as gracefully) just speaks them generally near to the note, looking annoyed and occasionally sighing in the process. It's also clear that he doesn't care for the lines, and he's not trying to add to Sir Joseph's character by acting like that, as one can see by watching the behind the scenes feature. However, it is rather funny when Sir Joseph cannot remember the Captain's name, a mistake that I could almost believe was unintentional, since Howerd is about as much a buffoon in real life as Sir Joseph was in fiction.
These choices, unfortunately, make this production stick out poorly in the Brent Walker collection, which does have some fairly decent videos, and some fairly decent talent that one wouldn't have otherwise expected. It is also clear that the direction and other aspects of the production did as best as they could, and it is unfortunate to have two stains on what could have otherwise been a good rendition.
Speaking in terms of what could have been, for instance, Keith Mitchell who the series had cast as the Major General, Robin Oakapple, and Don Alhambra del Bolero would have made the perfect Sir Joseph. Likewise, Donald Adams or Derek Hammond-Stroud who played a number of Brent Walker baritone parts would have been suitable captains. If they wanted a household name to bring in the views, at least someone who could sing and memorise the lines, like Clive Revill, would have been more sufficient than Frankie Howerd.
