In this unique political satire, Maurice Hatton successfully puts forth a case for radical social change while he lampoons (with dray understatement) his radical protagonists. The time is Spring, 1968. The place, England. Dom is a 30-year-old Marxist-Leninist who has devoted his life to the cause of revolution in Third World countries, but who spends the good part of his life in bed, spreading the word to a string of bourgeois girlfriends. Persuaded by a comrade, Dom crosses the Channel to France to witness the momentous May 1968 activities in Paris. On his return, he redoubles his commitment-but now directs it toward revolution in England itself. His efforts are somewhat thwarted when he is captured by members of his own party, and accused of betraying the cause.
"In the context of the British cinema, Praise Marx and Pass the Ammunition is a considerable achievement. Maurice Hatton's first feature film, it was made on an extremely limited budget of 25,000 pounds, with a shooting schedule of four weeks, using a full union crew. The film attempts to examine the dilemma of the extreme Left in Britain today...taking as its key points of reference the May revolution in France and the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia. Hatton's hero, Dom, is approached with a mixture of irony and seriousness.... It is at (its) level of satire and the examination of bad faith that the film is most successful, and there are...delightfully comic moments...." --Claire Johnston, Monthly Film Bulletin