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George Harrison and his production company, HandMade Films, produced Water in 1985. It featured two of George’s friends, Billy Connolly and Michael Caine. The comedy was meant to be a parody of the recent invasions of Grenada and the Falkland Islands and featured connections to its famous executive producer.
However, George thought script writer Ian La Frenais pushed his luck with that surprising ending musical number.
The former Beatle liked producing comedies with HandMade Films
George entered the film business purely by accident following his decision to executive produce Monty Python’s Life of Brian in the late 1970s. The comedy opened the door, and once scripts kept coming in, George never really stepped out. He’d always loved comedy, but eventually, to George’s dismay, HandMade Films started making movies in all genres.
The former Beatle told Film Comment that he would’ve been happier making only comedies.
“I would have been content just to do Life of Brian and Time Bandits—much happier just doing comedies,” George said. “But, then, if I was in charge of this company I don’t think it would have gone on as long or gone as far, really. I probably would have encouraged us to have made even crazier films than we’ve made.
“I know I wouldn’t have been as adventurous in some areas. But at the same time, I don’t want to get too adventurous. I like to be safe and sure, you know.”
On a long list of comedies that George and HandMade Films produced was 1985’s Water.
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George Harrison thought the screenwriter of ‘Water’ pushed his luck with the film’s ending scene
Water is set in the fictional Caribbean island and the British colony of Cascara. Governor Baxter Thwaites (Caine) has the life running the colony, which Britain largely ignores. Then, his peace is disturbed when an abandoned oil rig starts delivering fine water, and suddenly the world becomes interested in the island.
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In the end, Connolly’s character, Delgado Fitzhugh, sings “Freedom” during the “Concert for Cascara.” His backing band consists of George, Eric Clapton, Ray Cooper, Jon Lord, Mike Moran, Chris Stainton, Ringo Starr, and backing singers, Jenny Bogle, and Anastasia Rodriguez.
George wasn’t a stranger to cameos; he did one in Life of Brian. However, he didn’t initially sign on to the one in Water. He told The Today Show that he didn’t mind acting in small parts here and there just for fun, but Clement and Ian La Frenais wrote the scene into the script without asking anyone.
“It was Ian La Frenais who wrote the script,” George explained. “He’d written that into the film and he’s just a cheeky fella and he said this would be good if we could do this. At first, when I read it, I thought, ‘Well, I think he’s pushing his luck here, and it’s a bit over the top, but just wait and see.’ As the film progressed, it sort of made sense, really, and it’s an easy enough thing.
“Then Eric wrote the song. The United Nations, that is. It seemed quite a nice thing to do, good excuse to go on and ham it up.”
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George had a few connections with ‘Water’
He might not have initially liked La Frenais’s liberties with adding a cameo for him and his friends, but George enjoyed filming the scene. George took any chance he got to jam with his buddies. How could he say no to a scene that almost parodied his benefit concert, 1971’s Concert for Bangladesh?
The cameo had another connection to George. According to IMDb, the charity rock band was called “The Singing Rebels.” Before joining The Beatles, a teenage George played with his brother in a band called “The Rebels.”
So, George was more connected with the ending musical number in Water than he realized. It’s almost like he starred in a parody of himself.
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