Towers of Babel

1981

27m

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

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Comedy

A BAFTA award nominated black comedy about life and death in a London tower block.

Directors

Jonathan Lewis

Writers

Tony Attard(writer by)

Stars

Ken Campbell

Bryan Pringle

Gwen Nelson

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Top cast

Alfie

Arthur

Mrs. Hopkins

Rose

Ruby

Directors

Jonathan Lewis

Writers

Tony Attard(writer by)

All cast & crew

Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

This starts off rather curiously but by the conclusion we have a little more clue as to why a man in his pyjamas, two police officers and a man in a raincoat are heading for a steam bath whilst their clothes disappear into an industrial fumigation machine! It all starts when a resident of a tower block “Rose” (Shiela Steafel) notices that she hasn’t heard from their neighbour for a few days and tells husband “Arthur” (Bryan Pringle) that she’s going to call the police. Instead, he goes to visit fellow resident “Alfie” (Ken Campbell) who used to be a burglar and who might be able to get in to the flat of the absent “Mrs. Hopkins”. Another resident calls the cops so it’s now a bit of a race to get in and, hopefully, find out what’s happened to the old soul. Nobody is quite prepared for what they do find, and indeed when subsequent events unravel the biblical references implied by the title start to manifest themselves - comically! It’s a gentle sort of humour, though, that epitomises the sense of community in which many folks live when they are on top of each other. Sure there’s a bit of gossip, some whopping great generalising stereotypes and even some allusions to witchcraft and zombies as it develops, but the chatter is all good natured enough and helps to pass half an hour amiably.

Geronimo196705 Mar, 2025