Rhubarb (1969 film)
| Rhubarb | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Eric Sykes |
| Written by | Eric Sykes |
| Produced by | Jon Penington |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Arthur Wooster |
| Edited by | Anthony B. Sloman |
| Music by | Brian Fahey |
Production company | Avalon Productions Ltd |
| Distributed by | Warner-Pathé (UK) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 37 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Rhubarb is a 1969 British short film written and directed by Eric Sykes, starring Sykes, Harry Secombe and Jimmy Edwards. The dialogue consists entirely of repetitions of the word "rhubarb", all the characters' last names are "Rhubarb", the vehicle number plates are "RHU BAR B", and a baby "speaks" by holding a sign with the word "rhubarb" written on it. Sykes remade the film in 1980 as Rhubarb, Rhubarb for Thames Television.
In radio, "rhubarb" is an idiom for unintelligible background speech. Typically extras would mutter the word over and over to provide ambience for a crowd or party scene.