Very Important Person (U.S. title: A Coming Out Party ) is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and written by Jack Davies and Henry Blyth. The cast includes several well-known British … See more

Sir Ernest Pease, a brilliant but acerbic scientist, is the subject of a television programme based on This Is Your Life during which he is re-united with past acquaintances. He does not remember the senior … See more

• James Robertson Justice as Sir Ernest Pease, aka Lt. Farrow RN
• Leslie Phillips as Jimmy Cooper
• Stanley Baxter as "Jock" Everett / Major Stampfel
• Eric Sykes as Willoughby, … See more

The escape plan, to walk out of the camp dressed as Red Cross observers, was used in real life. It was briefly mentioned in Paul Brickhill's book The Great Escape.
There were in fact two such 'Swiss Commission' escapes from German POW camps holding RAF … See more

Ken Annakin had just made Swiss Family Robinson and was trying to make other films as a follow-up. Earl St John had been brought the script by David Tomlinson, who John Davis of Rank hated. However St John felt the script was very commercial made the film … See more

The film had its world premiere on 20 April 1961 at the Leicester Square Theatre in London's West End and went on general release in late May on Rank's second string National circuit. See more

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The comedy doesn't quite dare to satirise the sacrosanct schoolboy heroics of the typical British P.O.W. film. It settles instead for a few good-natured laughs at the time-wasting round that is the dismal lot of the P.O.W.; including … See more