WATCH CARR CRASH IN SLOW MOTION

If Frank Drebin from the Naked Gun series magically time-travelled back to 1931 and blundered through the beautifully appointed halls of Downton Abbey, the resulting blitzkrieg of uproarious visual gags, puns, malapropisms and misunderstandings would be considerably funnier than Fackham Hall.

- 

FACKHAM HALL CERT 15, IN CINEMAS NOW

Credited to five screenwriters including Jimmy Carr and his brother Patrick, director Jim O'Hanlon's potty-mouthed spoof of chocolate-box period dramas is, alas, proof that tumbleweed did exist in England.

Lord Davenport (Damian Lewis) has no surviving male heir to inherit the eponymous country pile, which has been in the family for more than 400 years: motto Incestus Ad Infinitum. With the blessing of Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston), he plots to retain control of the estate by marrying daughter Poppy (Emma Laird) to her odious first cousin, Archibald (Tom Felton).

Their other child Rose (Thomasin McKenzie) protests that her sister should marry for love, not financial benefit, and she promptly falls under the spell of the newest addition to the downstairs staff, Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe).

He has infiltrated the household under false pretences and reciprocates Rose's feelings, positioning himself as a potential heir.

Fackham Hall has the potential to be rollicking, irreverent fun but punchlines repeatedly face-plant and a scattershot script runs the gamut of bestiality, noxious flatulence and self-pleasure in search of just one body-shaking laugh.

An Agatha Christie-style murder mystery replete with moustachioed sleuth is thrown casually into the mix of Upstairs-Downstairs intrigue and gooey romance for meagre rewards.