The Benny Hill Collection

AMG Review of The Benny Hill Collection

Joe Viglione
All Music Guide

The amusing Benny Hill, unique and certainly an acquired taste, is remembered here with a two-disc DVD/CD set. The Benny Hill Collection features his number one British single from 1971, "Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)" -- the singer actually having worked as a milkman -- and what the packaging promises are 13 unreleased original compositions by Hill which were recorded at London's Abbey Road Studios. They correspond exactly with the tracks on a 1992 release, The Best of Benny Hill, which features the singer walking across a street ŕ la the Beatles on their classic disc named after the recording studio. The comedian's personality comes through loud and clear on the CD, though without his humorous visuals the material can get on one's nerves. There are videos of both "Unlucky Luke" and "New York Rap" on the companion DVD and the material comes to life with the big splashy production and Hill's ability to throw his brilliant timing and comic genius to the camera. There are 15 minutes of unedited VHS-sourced archive footage which plays incessantly to "Ernie(The Fastest Milkman in the West)" and eight minutes of edited material with Naked Gun's Leslie Nielsen making a cameo to open the festivities including fun and games at the famous music studio, Abbey Road. The bonus features include a biography, screen saver and credits. It's a nice supplement to the Benny Hill library and something fans of the comedian's will enjoy.