'Up The Creek' proved such a success that this sequel was rushed into production and in fact debuted in the same year. Val Guest remained aboard for this second voyage as did most of the supporting cast (Jeffries, Lodge etc); the only one who refused to sign on was Peter Sellers, who was busy working on 'The Mouse That Roared'. Stepping into his shoes was Frankie Howerd, who proved to be as an effective foil to top-billed David Tomlinson as Sellers was.
In many ways this sequel improves upon the original, having a faster pace and more comic incidents. Tomlinson fares better in this movie, an early scene raises the ghost of Guest's work with comic legend Will Hay, as Tomlinson's bumbling Lieutenant-Commander crosses swords with a knowledgeable Sea Cadet.
An expanded cast including Thora Hird and the very shapely Shirley Eaton (a fixture of British comedies in this period) helps to open out this movie and the sea voyage plot line takes this into different waters from the previous movie.
'Further Up The Creek' faced troubled waters when it was released, failing to match the box office performance of the first movie (partly, in Frankie's Howerd's view, because it was released too close to the original) and plans for any further on-screen voyages were scuppered. Which is a shame as it's an enjoyable little movie, well worth watching if you are in the mood for some innocent fun.
