The film stars Leonard Rossiter, Frances de la Tour, and Don Warrington, reprising their roles from the television series, with Christopher Strauli and Denholm Elliott.

Rupert Rigsby, the middle-aged landlord of a decrepit townhouse, takes in a new tenant, art student John Harris.

Though initially enamoured of his perceived social status, Rigsby becomes suspicious when Seymour consistently fails to pay his rent.

With Rigsby eavesdropping on the conversation, Seymour threatens to expose Philip as a native Briton (rather than the African prince he has long claimed to be) if he reveals what he knows.

The sitcom Rising Damp, produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV, was originally broadcast over four series from 2 September 1974 until 9 May 1978, spanning 28 episodes.

In 1970s, film versions of British television comedies were not uncommon; programmes such as Till Death Us Do Part, Dad's Army, On the Buses, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Steptoe and Son, Nearest and Dearest, Bless This House, Father, Dear Father, The Lovers, Love Thy Neighbour, Man About the House, Are You Being Served?, Porridge, and George and Mildred all transitioned to the big screen.

McGrath stated, "I admired the series, but Leonard was such a forceful actor that I was worried about doing the film because of the strength and the power that he had exerted over the cast.

Richard Beckinsale, who appeared in the first three series of Rising Damp but was absent from the fourth due to theatre commitments, was intended to take part in the film.

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Handicapped by the loss of its original co-star, the late Richard Beckinsale, Rising Damp also suffers from the customary problems of TV-to-film adaptations.

Despite excursions into the world beyond, the film for the most part confines itself to the cramped location of Rigsby's shabby boarding-house, the definitive 'space' of the TV sit-com.

The supporting players, however, as if aware of the difficulties and perhaps in response to Leonard Rossiter's overweening presence, give intelligently understated performances, and Don Warrington, as Philip, makes an enjoyably caustic onlooker.

"[7] David Parkinson wrote in the Radio Times, "the absence of Richard Beckinsale does much to sap the enjoyment of this decent movie version of the enduring television sitcom.

Newcomer Denholm Elliott looks a tad out of place alongside regulars Frances de la Tour and Don Warrington, but he makes a solid foil for the magnificent Leonard Rossiter, who pursues his romantic quest with a seedy chivalry that both disgusts and amuses.

"[8] For her performance as Ruth Jones, Frances da la Tour received an Evening Standard British Film Award in the category of "Best Actress".

This revelation is present in The Banana Box (the 1973 stage play from which Rising Damp was developed) but was never resolved in the television series.

Regarding the revelation of Philip's African prince persona being a fabrication, Eric Chappell stated, "I think I put it in the film because I was desperate for a climax and a finish.