Every Rowan Atkinson Film & TV Project Ranked From Worst To Best

On paper, Keeping Mum sounds brilliant, a dark UK comedy revolving around a mysterious housekeeper, starring the likes of Maggie Smith and Patrick Swayze.

However, there are a few reasons you've probably never heard of it, chief amongst these being an inconsistent balance between some gruesome themes and the typical bumbling British comedy of the era.

Atkinson plays Walter Goodfellow, vicar of the village of Little Wallop, who is consumed by his work and remains oblivious to the breakdown of his family, as his wife begins an affair with her golf instructor and his children face issues of their own. A twist ending reveals Maggie Smith's character to be Goodfellow's murderous mother-in-law.

The film was a commercial success, much helped by a tiny budget befitting a small cast and unremarkable settings.

It would fare less well critically. Despite an opening run which saw the film displace Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire at the top of the British box office charts, this would prove to be something of a flash in the pan, with the picture only really remembered by a few who watched far too much television in the late 2000s.