A Private Function is a 1984 British comedy film starring Michael Palin and Maggie Smith. The film was predominantly filmed in Ilkley and Ben Rhydding, West Yorkshire. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival. In a small Northern English town in 1947 the citizens endure continuing food rationing. Some local businessmen want to hold a party to celebrate the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth to Prince Philip and illegally decide to raise a pig for that occasion. However, the pig gets stolen by Gilbert Chilvers , who was encouraged to do so by his... wife Joyce . Meanwhile a food inspector is determined to stop activities circumventing the food rationing. Three pigs were used in the filming of A Private Function, all named Betty. Producer Mark Shivas was advised by Intellectual Animals UK that the pigs used should be female and six months old so as to not be too large or aggressive. However, the Bettys were unpredictable and often quite dangerous. During filming of one of the kitchen scenes, Maggie Smith was hemmed in by one of the pigs and needed to vault over the back of it in order to escape.
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| Release date: | November 1984 |
| Directed by: | Malcolm Mowbray |
| Rated: |  |
| Runtime: | 94 Minutes |
| Producer: | Mark Shivas, George Harrison, Denis O'Brien |
| Editor: | Barrie Vince |
| Music by: | John Du Prez |
| Cinematography: | Tony Pierce-Roberts |
| Screenplay by: | Alan Bennett |
| Genre: | Comedy |