Good evening, officer. What's going on in there?
One of my men's having a little trouble with the lodger.
We need to bring it up too soon. There's acting under orders I
take. Oh.
Yes, strictly under orders. What I mean to say is you can't
possibly disobey orders. Getting there that that would be
very tricky. No way of hurrying him I
suppose. No, no, I suppose not.
Well, can't stop here chatting all night time for me to check
in at the station. Anything doing tonight?
Oh. Very quiet.
Well, he won't be such a popular boy with the girls for a while.
Feeling better? Raddock.
Yes, but it doesn't solve anything, does it Sir?
But I feel better. The.
Hello and welcome to Goonpod, the podcast in which we discuss
goons and goon adjacent topics. And this week, for a change, I
thought we'd look at a film which became something of a
running gag in Spike Milligan's Q series.
We mention it frequently on Goonpod whenever this actor's
name comes up and as he was one of Peter Sellers best friends
and appeared in no less than 15 films which Sellers also
appeared in. The first being orders are
orders in 1954 and the last being The Return of the Pink
Panther in 1975. With possibly his most prominent
role in the doc brief in which he plays the Laughing Lodger.
His name comes up a lot on Goon Pod, he appeared in a load of
films and TV shows and he pops up in some non Sellers movies
with previously covered such as The Sandwich Man and The
Magnificent 7 Deadly Sins, which wasn't that magnificent.
Not to mention some of my favorite films of all time
including the 1960 League of Gentlemen and the Railway
Children and as I said, the aforementioned Q series.
So I thought it would be nice to focus this week on drum roll the
actor David Lodge. He was in Cockle Shell Heroes
and that's why we're talking about Cocktail Heroes this week,
the film from 1955. And joining me is a first time
guest on Goonpod. I'm very, very excited.
Somebody who has dabbled in the in the waters of podcasting
himself and is the host of the Cinematic Sausage Podcast, which
is a which is a very edifying title for a podcast.
Warren, it's Warren Cummings. Hello.
Warren. Hello, dear listeners, and hello
to you, Tyler. As you were saying, David Lodge,
there is only one reaction you you can do when you say that
name, isn't it? Yeah, it's flex those muscles.
Yes, flex the muscle and say. I was in cockle show Heroes you.
Know or he was in Cockle show Heroes yes, and we we've said
that line many a time on game pod because he he pops up so
many times during conversations about all sorts of things right
the cinematic sausage podcast, which is a which is a a
occasional it's not it's not weekly.
It's not even monthly. I don't think it's.
It's more sort of when you can be asked.
I love that term, Yes. It's when.
You can be asked, I like that. I know there's certain people
who are listening. Listening to this now will be
wetting. Themselves laughing and he went
yeah, you've got his number haven't you?
Well, one thing I, one thing that I thought I knew I was
going to get on with this guy business was because I have
listened to not all, but I have listened to some of, of some of
the episodes of, of Warren's podcast and he's talked about
some of my all time favorite films.
And, and I'm talking, I mean, the taking of Pelham 123.
What a film, what a movie. It's Trails are blowing that
movie, I always think. And yeah, it was ripe for a
remake, but remakes always say. But yeah, it's Robert Shaw,
isn't it? It's just everybody in that
film. Oh, and.
And and Robert Shaw, of course, of course, Ghazal tight.
And then that final, that final shot of Walter Bata's hug.
Ugly face. I want somebody to replace or to
CGI deputy dog's face coming round the corner because that's
that's what it reminds me of. And then go whoa.
Yeah, if you've not seen the original taking palate 123, get
on to IT people. It's it's a it's a stone cold
classic. I mean how drivers as well with
with Stanley Baker, you've done the railway chill I mentioned
before and the amazing Mr. Blunden, which also has an
amazing turn by David Lodge as this unintelligible grunting
kind of drunkard who's who's shacked up with Diana doors.
Yeah, I hope, I hope they didn't sit there and go.
So who can we get to play this unintelligible mute that grunts?
And it's a bit of a if I may use the colonial a piss head.
Am I allowed to accept? Am I allowed to say a rude word?
Yes, you are. Marvellous.
If not, please bleep me out. But that's what he does.
He drinks a lot, grunts a lot and thumps a lot.
That is an amazing film. I came to that film, Wow, very
recently, in the last six years, only because I, I remember it in
my childhood very vaguely, you know, whether it's that tunnel
as life. Smooshes by you and.
You're trying to grab hold of a a memory or two.
And I was listening to the talk radio LVC.
I was listening to Steve Allen once and he mentioned this film
at Christmas and I went that that really sort of rings a
bell. And then the old tapping on the
keyboard bit of social media, few clips and it's, wow, it just
jumped back at me and I said that's ghosts.
That's the story of ghosts at Christmas time.
And it has had such a beautiful ending.
But yeah, it's a forgotten film most of the time.
Well, it is, but as with Railway Children, which is which is
better remembered? Both directed, of course, by the
great Lionel Jeffries. Lionel Jeffrey.
I have I I'm so in awe of Lionel Jeffrey that I've decided to
style my hair design on him. Really.
Yeah, Oh, Lionel Jeffrey, he's he's a man of, of many talents
known specifically, you know, in the 50s and 60s is is a really
good a comedic turn in the film, isn't he?
I I'm thinking of long. I'm not long on the too many
crooks. Well, he was in wrong arm of the
law. Wrong arm of the law.
Yes, two way stretch with Peter Sellers and Dave Lodge.
Yeah. Dave Lodge turns up in in the
police officer roles quite a lot, doesn't he?
Because he seems to be sort of pigeon holed for a lot of
officious parts. I mean, for example, he he's in
the carry on film, isn't he? It's, it's the the police
inspector in and, and it washed over my brain as I talk about
it. Well, it's carry on girls.
That's right. Carry on girls now he he has
appeared in more than 17 films by my counting as a as a police
officer and I actually appeared on a as a guest on a podcast
about 7-8 years ago, completely unrelated before goon pod
talking about we were talking about was it 3 or 4 films in
which Dave Lodge plays a police officer.
That was the premise of the episode.
Very niche. It was a lot of fun to do and
and and and and what, Warren? Were you not yourself once a
member of the filth, as they call it in certain quarters?
You ain't seen me right? I was.
I was serving Bobby for over 25 years.
Oh, and and before, because I know there will be, I know by
name the the listeners of Goon Pod shouting at their phone or
whatever device they're using to listen to this because we've
talked. We mentioned the amazing Mr.
Blunden and I, of course, passed over the fact that one of the
child stars in it, although she wasn't really a child, I don't
think, but she played a child. It was Lynn Frederick.
And and of course, Lynn Frederick was the last Mrs.
Peter Sellers. Yeah.
He's part of that group, isn't he?
Is David of, of, of Sam Kidd, Victor Madden, John Lemesh and
Michael Ripper, that he appears so many films with them quite,
quite frequently that he's part of that group where he pops up
in the film and you go, I know that face.
Yeah, that's a regular face. That's in fact, it's quite a
reassuring face as well, because I've never seen him give because
he can. He can easily, easily go from
serious and quite an absorbent performance to something as
bizarre as what would appear in a Spike Milligan sketch.
Yeah, oh, he's very, very versatile.
Oh, absolutely. Relic, Sir.
Got Lomas's gear ready for Captain Thompson?
He's going along as you're #2. Yes Sir, Stand by the surface.
Stand by the surface. Check main vents.
Open numbers one, 2-3 and five LP Master bloat.
Glad you're coming along Sir. Hope you enjoy the trip.
Thank you, Alan. We're now in launching position.
We're going to start. OK.
Right. Open hatch up canoes.
Yeah, so the Cockle Show Heroes, which was released in November
in in the UK in November 1955. Is this the first time?
I'm sure it's not the first time that you've seen this film.
No, I first saw this film in 1982.
Very specific. With yes, and there's a
particular reason that with my late grandfather.
Right. It is one of the only war films
that he would watch for a bit about grand.
My grandfather was a Royal Marine during the Second World
War and him and his mate lied about their age.
Oh. God.
Yes, which is quite bizarre because his father did exactly
the same during the First World War.
His father survived the First World War and he basically went
into the recruiting office and said and they looked at him and
went go away and come back when you're older, preferably
tomorrow when I'm not working here, says the recruitment
Sergeant. So he brought his mate the next
time and they ended up in the Army and he ended up going
towards being eventually in the Royal Marines.
And whilst he was in the the late latter part of 1942
statement at the Moral Marines Barracks Import Sea, also the
training ground for our cockle shell heroes.
And he did have contact with them.
This is all told to a rather excitable 12 year old sat after
the watching the film and he just shook his head and went
that's not what happened. It's a very good film he says,
but it's not what happened. And he said I knew them because
I used to travel in the lorry with them and I was their
military escort. Oh wow.
And when you're 12, you think it's exciting and you forget
about it. Yes.
As you get. Older memory sort of flood back
to you and you go, that was really important moment there.
But I wasn't old enough to appreciate it because if I knew
what I knew now, I would have been asking so many questions
because my grandfather didn't talk about his military service.
And the fact that he'd fought in a war was even more, you know,
as as 12 year old. It's exciting, isn't it, that
you've seen more films on the telly.
It must be like that. It must be like Clint Eastwood
and where eagles dare with the the gun that must have a million
bullets in it shooting the shooting the Germans.
You're thinking, wow. And you know, it couldn't have
been that bad. Everyone drops down when they're
shot and nobody gets blown to pieces.
And now as you move along, films become more sophisticated and
then you see the real horrors. I think the closest we've ever
really got to appreciating the real horrors of of war being in
Saving Private Ryan as they storm D-Day, which is just just
amazing. I was, I lived in Hatfield at
the time that came out and Hatfield has an old aerodrome
and at the bottom of the aerodrome is where they set up
or the set for the destroyed French town at the end of the
film. That's right.
So they had. They had the, they had the
showing the, the, the actual premiere in Hatfield, at the
local cinema in Hatfield. And they invited a lot of
veterans to come along. And they were an absolute bits
at the beginning of the film because it was bringing so much
back. And you never sort of really
appreciate that until you see they also filmed some parts of
Band of Brothers there as well. Oh, right, which is sort of sort
of spin off from Private Ryan wasn't.
It. Yeah, yeah.
So your grandfather was at the these barracks?
Is. Now the Royal Marines Museum.
OK. Half of it now is, alas, flats,
but such is the way of things. Yeah, the, the building's been
converted into into dwellings. And the other side is the Royal
Marines Museum. It's worth it, I can assure you.
It's fascinating. And of course, down from there
is a gunnery, an old gunnery range, which appears a lot in
the background of the film. So if you go ahead SWAT 12
years, there'll be a load of monsters from Doctor Who called
Sea Devils coming out of the Warframe.
Attack attacking that particular gunnery.
God. Right.
OK, well, so this film is based on and like your your
grandfather said, it was a very, very heavily fictionalized
version of what was known as Operation Frankton.
Yes, it was the idea of a
gentleman by the name of Herbert Blondie.
Hassler Blondie, naturally, because of his hair.
But by the time he came round to wartime and the Second World
War, most of his hair had receded.
So it's Herbert Baldy. Hold up, Baldy.
Yes, and of course when you put your blacking on.
So to go into action he had to do the top of his head because
it's shone like mad. Born in Dublin in 1914, he was
absolutely fanatical about the sea.
He was drawn to the sea. He again he had grandparents who
came from a fishing family, so he was told about how to survive
on the sea, a boatman's life and etcetera.
So. He used to get.
Here's a. Blast from the Past, a magazine
called Boyzone, and in there there was a plan of how to build
a canoe. It was a very rudimentary plan
and I think it was only used as an illustration.
He took this illustration quite literally and built his first
canoe at the age of 10 and went to sea on it.
Really. So he was quite obsessed with
the sea and he during the Second World War, he's enlisted and he
gets fairly high up after going to office of school.
And earlier in 1942, there was Operation Jubilee.
Operation Jubilee was a raid on Dieppe in France which was
initially going to be held by the held by the Canadians and a
handful of British soldiers to go in, raid the radar stations
there and obtain as much information on the coastal
defences of the area. Unfortunately they think we'll
send 6000 troops in. It won't be heavily guarded.
The Germans are probably be busy doing something else and
unfortunately they walk into heavy resistance and over 60% of
those troops are literally killed and it was a major
disaster. The Germans were going
cockahoot. Look, you can't come across
here. You can't come across that
little stretch of water. You're never going to come in
over here to Europe and liberate Europe.
You're finished. You may as well pack it in and
surrender to us. And Churchill says we need some
ideas, we need some, we need some, even if they're stone
bunkers. Ideas.
We need some ideas. And somebody, they were going
through a list of ideas. How about sinking some shipping
in a French port using canoes? And they went that's.
Cheap. That's cheap.
We'll. Do it because we don't need lots
of troops and we just need some canoes, so.
And they they nicknamed the canoes cockles.
Initially they were known as the Mark 2 kayak, but then because
they were painted green, horrible limey green colour,
local cockles. But when they had to do their
flip overs and flip back over again, I can't remember what the
the technical term is. You're going to have people
screaming them you have no idea what to do when you're in a
canoe. No, I.
Drowned. There's a There's quite a
section of the listening audience that are keen
canoeists. I'm in so much.
Trouble, John. John Darwin being one of them.
Hi, John. OK, well thanks.
I'll get the coat and go. They used to say, well they look
like cockle shells. And it stuck.
They were. They were known as cockle shells
and so hence the name Cockle Shell heroes.
So they. Yeah.
In fact, I don't think in the film the word cockle, shell or
cockle comes up once, does it? I don't think it.
Doesn't cockles does yes, cockle.
They don't. I miss that.
They don't call them cockle shells.
No, they they call them cockles. And basically they're they're
they're giving a secret title, a secret title.
They are the Boom patrol boys. Basically they go out in their
boats and everybody thinks they're just checking submarine
Nets around Portsmouth Harbour. And every so often they put
their boats onto the back of a truck and then they drop them at
the the mouth of the Thames and they paddle up the Thames to
Deptford against the tide. And they would put false
magnetic mines on the side of ships and come back again and
try not to get caught by the local Home Guard or the naval
defences because nine times out of 10 they didn't tell them they
were coming. On several occasions they were
shot at. So it was a bit of a hazardous
bit of training. And this is where where my
grandfather comes into meeting them whenever they went off to
do bits and pieces. He was one of the office, one of
the military soldiers that were sent to guard the trucks as they
went along. So he'd sit in the cab of the
truck or he'd be sitting in the back.
In this case, he'd be sitting in the back with them smoking and
chatting away. Obviously they're not going to
talk about what they're doing, but he'd be he'd be detailed to
look after them and he was detailed to look after them
until the day they left and they didn't know where they went.
They just went off and he and he never knew what happened and
what why they'd gone off. It wasn't till literally 18
months later he he realised that they were involved in this
attack in Bordeaux. But they closer to home, of
course, there's AI live in Dorset or I live in Dorset and
there's a pub in Poole called the Cockle Shell, which is it's
now closed, unfortunately, very recently.
But it's named after them because really these are the
forerunners to the Special Boat Service, which is based on that
part of the South Coast of Britain.
But one of the other things they used to do is to get them used
to coming into cross tides and strong currents.
As you come into Poole Harbour, a place called Sandbanks,
there's two currents that collide and it's quite bumpy.
And then they go in to the harbour at Poole.
And because they've been annoying the people so much at
Portsmouth and Deptford, they thought they'd go somewhere else
to stick bombs on things. Unfortunately they got a little
bit mistaken because Pearl Harbour is also used as the
marine flying boat landing zone. So they decided they were that
it would be really good if they go and try and put some bombs on
the site, false bombs of course, off the side of flying boats.
And they all got arrested and they all were in the Brig for
three days. Don't be Blimey.
Because they couldn't identify them.
Because none of them. Did did Churchill himself have
to make his way down there and formally identify them and.
Well, Blondie was in a very good because in the film, they all go
off to various places around the country and they're told to get
back to headquarters however they can.
And that's the reflection of what happened there.
They they ended up getting arrested.
Yeah, OK. There is a lot of artistic
license within the film. Anyway, come the day they go up
to Holy Loch, get into this knackered old submarine called
HMS Tuner and they're supposed to undertake what would have
been a 2 day voyage. Ultimately it turns to six
because they have extremely rough weather and they can't
surface, and then they get tangled up in submarine Nets and
then they get stuck in the middle of a minefield.
Oh. God, you'd turn around and go
back, wouldn't? You you think if you did this in
your car and you'd like every time you went some of the roads.
Closed or there's a queue of traffic, you give that up for a
bad idea, we'll do it another day because obviously it's not
meant to happen, but they thought, no, we'll still do
this, we're going out. So there are.
Ultimately I'm going to read out the numbers now because I've got
them in front of me. They gave the boats names.
Because they're they're quite. Protective about them.
So you've got A&B divisions on and on each division they had
three boats. One of them was catfish.
I like this on conga and coal coalfish.
Do you know what a coalfish is? I don't know how the coalfish
is. Never heard of that.
Catch a lot, which is a humorous term for catching fish and a
cuttlefish. And they're getting the boats
out thinking, oh, this would be good, get the boats out.
One of the boats tears completely down the side whilst
they're about to put it into the water and go off on their
mission. So two of them wave goodbye to
their friends as they paddle off into the darkness, bearing the
mind this is beginning of December.
It's Baltic out there, absolutely Baltic.
And so they're dropped 10 miles off the entrance to the the
river that goes, that leads down ultimately towards Bordeaux,
which is a 75 mile paddle. It it it beggars.
Belief that in the middle of war they are not spotted at any
time. Yeah, as in the film, were
these, were they all apart from the officers, Were they all
volunteers? They weren't specially,
necessarily specially crack troops.
They were. They just volunteered for this.
Bill Secret mission Bill Sparks, who was one of the volunteers,
aptly has said afterwards when you ask for volunteers for
something during a war. And this was interesting because
I was watching this in the film and it it's actually covered in
the film. You have people who've been
jilted by their lovers and think there's nothing more to live
for. People who've had, and that was
highlighted as well, had their family destroyed in air raids,
killed in air raids. People who just did not want,
did not know what they were volunteering for because they
were bored where they were and nothing was happening.
And people who wanted some action and wanted to go out in
the blaze of glory. So it was quite a mishmash of
people. For my part, the reason I
volunteered, I lost a brother in the beginning of the war and I
felt that as a young man and I felt I wanted revenge and this
was seemed to me an ideal way of getting it.
Naturally, in a little unit like this, when we realized that we
were going to be trained for attacking shipping rumors start
spreading and we got together and we were convinced that we
were destined to go up the up the Norwegian fields to attack
the turpits. And obviously these rumors got
back to Blondie Hazra and he called us together and gave us a
nasty dressing down, reminding us that rumors sometimes turn
out to be true. And of course, this convinced us
that we were true. We were going up and all up to
Norway. And it wasn't until we were on
the submarine our first day out at sea when we got the first
shock when he called us together in the four case and he said,
I'm sorry to disappoint you people.
He said. But we're not going to Norway
after all. We're going to France.
Now Bill Sparks, the actual soldier himself, Anthony Newley
is is based upon him and although Bill Sparks says he has
absolutely no reflection on him whatsoever, that was he.
Bill Sparks was a ruffty tuffty E Londoner who swore, smoked and
started fights. Definitely not anti Newley.
No, definitely not Anthony Newley.
Who? Who's who's in the film having
it away with Dora Brian. Dubbed Dora Brian as well.
That is not Dora Brian's voice. Well, also 30 seconds of Dora
Brian, but she's very highly billed in the cast.
I didn't get that. Quite up the top of.
The Yeah. Who is it?
Surprise. You beast the.
Bloodline. Get out of here, you lousy bum.
You're not a gentleman, so don't think you can come walking in
here anytime you happen to be passing and think you can take
up just where you left. Oh please, I've learned a thing
or two since you was last year and I don't want to see your
dirty face looking around my door again.
As long as I live, I don't have to go with you perishing Marines
anymore. I'm a respectable working girl,
and don't you forget it. So you can just get right back
to Queen St. That's the sort of girl you
need, only they're too good for you, you dirty, stinking, rotten
double faced sidekick. That's what you are.
So you can get right out of here.
Otherwise, I'll come for you. I really will.
But but anyway, sorry, sorry. We're we're that's all right.
Let us get to the climax of your tale.
Let's face it, no 1950 film would be without Dora Brian.
No. So they make their way.
Unfortunately they hit some Rapids and they lose contact
with one of the canoes. And the sad upshot of that is
that they're thrown out the canoe and they swim for sure,
these the two sailors. But unfortunately, because it's
winter, they're sopping wet. They've got no way of drying
themselves. They die of hypothermia.
And they're found about 3 days later by an army patrol, another
set of canoeists getting to difficulty, and their canoe
scuttles itself. So they have to hold on to one
of the last two remaining canoes and they dropped them off at the
shore. And they say you need to make
your way to Spain mate, thanks very much.
See you later. Get a bus to Spain.
You'll be fine. Don't make any changes straight
to Spain because that's the plan.
There is really no plan to get out of there.
Ultimately, it is a suicide mission.
All they're told to do to get out of there is make your way to
Spain, the front. When you get to the Spanish
French Borger, the the French resistance are expecting you.
Don't worry about it. Knock on the door.
Hey, Lauren, I wanted to go to Gibraltar, please.
Literally, that is it. They've got no papers, no
nothing. They're dressed as soldiers.
They're getting shot. And what that ultimately happens
is they're caught a day later by the gendarmerie, which is very
painful, and they're handed over to the basically to the the
local German Garrison there. And they are nastily
interrogated. A little bit of information is
given out, but not in time to scam for the plans of what
happens in the last two. Cockle shells get to the port.
There's no real big warships or anything like that.
They're all sort of cruisers or they are cargo ships.
They stick their limpet mines on there.
There's an interesting point where, and it's shown in the
film as Anthony newly, and the soldier just looks over the edge
and he points to David Lodge to get back down in the water, that
it wasn't David Lodge and Jose Farah.
Jose. I was going to say Jose.
It's Jose. Yeah, get back in the water.
That is a faint reflection of what happened.
What actually happened was a soldier went over the side of
the ship because he was on patrol and swung his torch along
the side of the ship waters line and the beam actually caught the
cockle shell as it went over and he didn't even register it.
He wasn't looking, he was just swinging his lamp across.
And then he went back inside and they really thought they'd been
seen. And nothing.
They held their breath and they waited and waited.
And nothing happened. And realised that he hadn't.
He wasn't even making an effort to look because let's face it,
they're 70 miles from the nearest British warship.
They don't give a damn, do they? Yeah, why would you?
Why would you bother? You've got some snaps in the
cupboard there, Snap. Picture of Eva Braun.
Short of snaps. That's easy for you.
To say a. Short shot of snaps.
A short shot of snaps, though he'd have been in there later.
Hosed on and power band away you go.
Nice slapping so so ultimately so the film ends and spoilers
here, but we got straight right to the we we we we go right to
the end of the film where. It's not a good acting, is it?
It's not of, of the, of the 10 men who began in the film, I
should say, who began the mission only to survive.
And is that so? Is that pretty much how it
worked out with Operation Frankton then?
Yes, it is. Basically Blondie and Bill
Sparks were the only survivors. But Bill Sparks's problems were
not over. So they managed to get to
Gibraltar by no help from the locals because they were so
terrified of the Germans. So because Blondie's an officer,
he gets back, wash brush up, put him on the plane flying back to
London. Bill Sparks is left there, and
all of a sudden people are going, who the hell are you?
Well, I'm so and so. I was doing this mission with so
and so. Well, can anybody vouch for you?
What? And.
They arrested him because nobody could vouch for him.
Nobody knew. Thanks a lot Blondie for leaving
me. Exactly.
He back us off for his hair transplant back to London.
Yeah. And Bill Sparks is shoved on a
plane, flown back to London. And as soon as they land in
London and they put him on a train, he.
Gives his guards the slip at London and he runs to the
combined headquarters who were running the mission.
Walks in and basically the long and short of it is was this
officer walks out and what? Bloody hell, I thought you were
dead. And they went get Blondie here
now. They locked me up and so they
had the voucher and they voucher, but he went off.
You know, he literally got sent back to barracks to get ready to
be sent out to the desert after that.
You had no red. Light.
That would not have that would not have made a good ending to a
film. No, but it it would.
Make in it, get in the back. That would have not not not have
left the 1955 cinema audience, leaving the cinema with a warm
glow. There is that lovely.
Frame though at the end of the film with them all walking down
the path, isn't it and and the and that crescendo of music of
life on the ocean wave coming up and yeah.
Yeah, I didn't particularly see. So the end of the film has
Anthony Newly and Jose Farah, the two surviving cockleshole
heroes, walking down this French Rd.
And you see behind them, also marching in lockstep, is the the
spirits of their fallen comrades.
I I have an issue with the Anthony Newly and Jose closing
shop. Are they missing bicycles and
onions? Because it is almost like that.
Yes. It's terrible, stereotypical.
Oh, they just need, yeah, onions, yes.
What the name? What was the what was the names
of the the two British airmen in the lower low, Fairfax and
Carstairs? Yes.
Hello. OK, so let's talk about the
film. The The film was a huge hit in
195556. It's beautiful as well, the
glorious Technicolor. Well, it's Warwick Films, and
Warwick Films was owned by two people, wasn't it?
Yes. Two of them, 22 very influential
people, Irvin Allen and somebody by the name of Albert Brockley.
Never heard of him, don't know whatever happened to him.
They split up the the the film company was wound up in 61 wait
for it over an argument over whether they should take on the
rights for Doctor No. It's a flesh and the pan.
It's just another spy film. Yeah, goes, goes Owen and
Broccoli is going. No, it's going to be brilliant.
No, it's not. And they basically fell out.
And so the company was wound up and the rest, as we know the
list there is history. Yeah.
Yes, it is beautiful because a lot of war films then were in
black and white. I think the colour is really,
really it it it, it really works well, really works well.
I actually there's not a dud performance to be honest with
you, is there? Would you say there's a dud
performance? I'm not struck particularly by
Jose Ferrer, even though he's he's the star now.
It was only after I watched it again for preparing for this
that had occurred to me. I'd always assumed that his
character, which is Major Stringer, was an American
Marine. I thought he was Free French to
begin with. Well.
When I first saw it. But I think he's meant to be
British. Yes.
And yet he doesn't make an attempt to put on an accent,
does he? OK, I'll, I'll, I'll be blunt.
Yes, I'm not really happy with his performance.
It's a lazy performance. But then again, he's the
director as well, isn't he? So it seems as though he's cast
himself. He's a very.
Well, he's a bland performance, but then again, you have to look
who's again, who's playing against.
He's playing against Trevor Howard, yes.
In his sober moments, I love Trevor Howard.
Sorry, I do. Yes, I love Trevor Howard.
He's. Quite he's great in this,
although, although you come to I can, I initially didn't like his
character in this because he's this he's got his stick up his
backside. Oh.
He's the anti hero, he's the person by the book.
He's bitter and and Chippy isn't.
He oh, because he's missed out on a lot in the world, hasn't
he? He life's passed him by and he's
not achieved any. First World War was over and
done with before he could get any sort of purchase on that.
And he's just been shoving bits of paper route as an Hatcheton,
hasn't he? And he's always carried somebody
else's bag and been in in somebody else's shoulders
shadow. And I think he balances himself
by having an equal chip on each shoulder.
He believes he can be a marvellous soldier that runs by
the book, but knows in real life he doesn't think he can.
So he's fighting his doubts and his in whatever he can do, but
he knows all he needs to do is he's in the position now to just
shout orders and people look up to him and I think he likes
that. Well, he's he's contemptuous of
the soldiers. Everyone.
Everyone, actually. Whereas Stringer's looking for a
what what he calls an individualist.
He wants someone who can think for himself, someone who's not
going to not going to do the job just because a Sergeant is
screaming at him to do it. He wants someone who wants to do
it for its own sake. And he doesn't want them whipped
into shape. And, And Trevor Howard's
character pretty much thinks that's just.
Tommy Rot. Yeah, Tommy rot.
That's a good word. Bilge.
You told me once that I was a military machine with no feeling
for the men. Well, you've just killed the
whole lot off. Not a man would have survived.
Not a man would have reached his objective of this exercise had
been the real thing. That's where your kindness has
got you, and the men despise you for it.
Oh, that tells me what I want to know.
And there's just one more thing. It concerns me.
I'm not accustomed to being associated with this kind of a
mess. I want you to know that I'm
thoroughly ashamed to be a member of your unit.
Yeah, all through the film, Paisa Ferrer, he's OK.
He's just and he's not. He doesn't look as though he's
an action man, does he? He's just no and he's just.
Plodding along sounds terrible, doesn't it?
I mean, he was a huge, he was a huge star on film, on stage
particularly, and and TV in his late years.
I mean, I remember him chiefly from an episode of Colombo where
he plays the killer. It's an episode where there's a,
it's this, this think tank where all these great scientific minds
are assembled and there's a child prodigy, a child genius
whose name is Steven Spellberg in this episode, which was
obviously a nod by the writers to the first director of first
episode of Columbo, Steven Spielberg.
But yeah, he, I remember him from that and I didn't really
know him for much else. Uncle of George Clooney, I
believe. He is the uncle of George
Clooney. Yeah.
And recently, and I was watching a review of one of his latter
films during the 1970s, when perhaps work wasn't all that
good to him in a bad movie review called The Car, in which
he plays a a man who's confined to a wheelchair, who gets very
bitter and envious of his wife, who who's much younger than him,
who he knows is having a relationship with a younger man
and basically through. Psychic powers gets a car,
manages to influence a car to run over his wife.
He thinks he's killed his wife, but his wife comes back and is
seeking revenge. Now the car has abilities of its
own and it has been awoken. Yes, this is how bad it is.
Folks, it's a cross between Christine and my mother.
The car. Yes.
So the ultimately happens that he's in the wheelchair and it's
getting to the last scene and he's being chased by this car.
You can see it, you're visualising it now.
You can see it as we're heading towards the Cliff.
We know where. We're going with this one,
folks. So yeah, I watched that and I
went, oh gosh, I've got to do a review of the film he's been in.
Now I can't get this thought out of my head of it plumbing to his
death in in a mobility chair followed by some kind of
Mustang. It's like it's a bit like Jewel
but without any style whatsoever.
Right, Yeah, yeah, back to Spielberg there.
Yeah, the the other, the supporting cast.
I mean, Victor Madden is great as as Sergeant Craig.
When wasn't victim Adam working? That's what I want to do.
Oh, I know. Oh, in everything.
Everything we said. Anthony Newley, of course, who I
love him in anything, more or less.
You a fan particularly. I am when he can.
When he does serious, he does real really good serious.
Yep. And when he does comedic, he is
actually very funny. Gurney, Slade.
Gurney Slade Gurney Slade First time I I I saw Gurney Slade the
first episode. I was what?
What the heck? He's just walked off set.
No, but hold on a moment. What's reality?
Una Stubbs in that as well as the girl on the on the
Billboard. And it was such a bizarre and
then. For him to come back into the
set. Yeah.
But yeah, and you you have the the always ever reliable
character actors that you always see in these sorts of films.
Percy Herbert. How many films has Percy Herbert
turned up? How many war films has he been
in? In my head?
And I'm thinking specifically where eagles dare.
I think I'm right in saying, does he, doesn't he the first,
doesn't he buy it early on in that film?
Doesn't he get killed or something?
I know, I know who you're thinking of.
No, it's not Percy Herbert, unfortunately.
Very tall actor. Neil.
Was it Neil? Neil?
What's his name? Yes, the Do you know who I mean?
Yes, I know who you mean. I'm terrible with name.
This is terrible. I should write things down. 2
middle-aged men try and think of.
Them trying to remain for. 5 minutes is it?
Is it ready for my? McCarthy.
McCarthy, Neil.
McCarthy Appropriate. For old people, Yes, Neil.
Neil McCarthy? Yes, because he his parachute.
Doesn't open and we're eagles there.
Right, but him and Percy Herbert went for the same sort of roles,
didn't they? They did.
Yeah, they did. And they usually didn't make it
all the way through a film. You could spot the regulars that
would come in that wouldn't make it all the way through the film.
I mean, if you're in a Johnny Mills film in a submarine, you
knew that Johnny Mills was always going to make it out of
there, of course, come hell or high water.
And then you'd see the supporting axe by the side of
him, and then you'd see the familiar faces, and you're
going. You're not going to make it.
Yeah. It's like the it's my last sorte
before I go back home dead. All right.
And of course, Dave Lodge. Let's talk about Dave.
Let's talk about who who? I'm going to just give a little
brief biography of Dave Lodge because we've we've often talked
about him on the show, but never in any detail.
I'm not going to talk about his whole life story here, haven't
got time for that. But I was quite intrigued by the
fact that because obviously he met Sellers during the war doing
the gang shows. But after the war, he was kind
of, he was kind of drifting in and out of jobs and he couldn't
hold anything down. And he worked in a circus.
He worked as a He worked both as a clown and a ringmaster.
I think that shows his flexibility on being able to do
comic and to be able to do serious drama.
True. Yeah, that's where you're going
to hone your craft, isn't it? If you can be as flexible as
being a clown and as serious as the ringmaster, who is the
coordinator? To look at him, you don't.
You don't get immediately back for nothing, you know?
But you to look at him, you don't.
He's quite an imposing figure. He's quite solidly built, about
6 foot tall. He's got the moustache.
He doesn't immediately come across as someone who can do is
a natural comedian or comedy. You think you'd have him down as
playing the heavy in films or TV shows generally or the maybe the
villain or or whatever, but yeah.
But no, he could turn his hand to both and also authority
figures, as we say, you know, policemen and and the like.
I think because it's rock solid nature, I think they look at him
as being the Bobby on the beat or or or in this case, well, not
necessary with this film, but with a lot of war films.
Isn't he? Is this he's the Sergeant of the
RSMI mean you only have to look as you mentioned earlier and
League of Gentlemen. League of Gentlemen.
Yeah, absolutely. And he's an archetypal RSM in
that, isn't it? He's an imposing person that
some, when the camera pans around, if he's in the group of
people, he's going to stand out first every time, every time.
But I think he's aware of that, so he doesn't come forward to
the camera. He's very good at that, where he
still allows the actors around him.
This is the thing with people like himself, Sam Kidd, to a
certain extent, they allow all of them to work in together in a
scene without hogging a scene. He's really good at not doing
that, especially things like Victor Maddens the same as well
because he will play large loud characters, mainly RSMS or or or
again police officers, but he doesn't hog a scene.
And the same with David's very gentle with his acting until he
has to turn on the nastiness. But he he respects and that's
what comes along. I think from what I've seen in
the films I've seen, because this is a child, I've, I've seen
David Lodge, grown up watching David Lodge, you, you feel safe
with him and you don't feel as though he's stealing anything
from anybody. And he seems to be liked by his
acting colleagues as well, which I think is very important,
especially in sort of a cutthroat nature of
entertainment as it can be in films and on television.
At one point in the 40s, Dave Lodge was smuggling ballpoint
pens from Ireland to Britain. Yeah, Dave got BIC on.
Yeah. Because they were, they were
very hard to come by then. I got that three.
I'll give you 3 quills for a BIC.
A Biro. Biro, OH.
Dear yes and and of course, cock Offshore Heroes was his big
break. It's his second film.
Well, his second major part in the film, yeah.
Yeah. You wouldn't think it.
You wouldn't think it, though. No, he sat home with that
camera. And I guess in the film, if you
if you accept Jose Farah and Trevor Howard, who was obviously
the officers, and then you've got Victor Mad, who's a
Sergeant. Anthony Newley and David Lodge
are the two prominent Marines. Yes, in this film, aren't they?
Right now, pay attention. You've taken quite a few
liberties during the past few days, but from now on which
you're under King's regulations, and don't you forget it.
If you do, I'll read the right back to you in a language
guaranteed to make a Bishop kick hole in a stained glass window.
I've got the iron one or two of you already.
That Arthur Dollar he picks on you?
I'm looking at you, Raddock. He's looking at you, Raddock.
Arthur Dolly. Right now.
Stop talking. You do have the Irish guy who's
quite amusing, Marine Cooney, and you've got you've got the
guy as well who's fascinated me, who I thought, although I should
have known better, but I thought briefly it was, it was Jeremy
Lloyd, but it's a Jeremy Lloyd type.
It's an actor called Jon Van Isen.
The tall gentleman. Yeah, he played Marine.
Bradley, who's very tall, comes from good stock.
He. Clearly.
He turns up a lot in 50s films. He turns up in one of the Carry
On films, and he's also, for me, he's known as one of the baddies
in Quite a Mass 2 who take right, Who takes Bernard
Quaitamas and his party to look around the processing plant and
tries to turn them into human pulp, which is always a charming
thing to do. Well, he became, he he
eventually slid out of acting and became more of a producer, I
guess. And he, he ultimately became
managing director of the UK division of Columbia Pictures.
Really. Yeah.
And so he was, he sort of, would you say, oversaw films such as A
Man for All Seasons, which is brilliant, Georgia Girl to Serve
with Love and Oliver, which we discussed on Goon Pod very
recently. And in 1970, he was promoted to
worldwide head of production, apart from the US moved to New
York and became, I don't really know the background to this, but
he became long time companion to Ingrid Bergman in her declining
years until she died. So that's quite interesting, I
thought. But but he's I like his
character. He's not in it much really.
You don't really see much. He doesn't get much to do.
But he's he's he's good. And but but of course there's
there's also. And again, blink and you'll miss
him. Christopher Lee as the submarine
commander. Submarine commander, yes.
Now Christopher, bless his heart, has a very interesting
wartime. Yes.
He's he's a relation, wasn't he? A distant relation to some chap
who wrote a few novels about a spy called.
Oh, Fleming is he? I don't know that.
Yes, he was a distant relation to Fleming, which I was.
Funny, I was watching, I was watching him.
I mean, you, you just can't stop watching Christopher Lee when
he's in anything. He's just your eyes immediately
drawn to him because he's such a impressive figure, you know?
I mean, you know, if I was, if I was, you know, around back then
and I was in, you know, knocking about with the film people and I
was of a different inclination, shall we say.
You know, my head would be turned by Christopher Lee.
I'm sure. You know, I'm not sure his head
would be turned by me, but that's not the point.
But you know what I mean? You know what I'm saying?
But. I've got pictures of you looking
up, clutching your clutching your heart, looking at
Christopher Lee. Now, no, he.
I was watching him in, I was watching him in this and I was
thinking, I'm sure they must have considered him for James
Bond, surely to God. But then I thought, no, probably
too tall, do you reckon? He would have been far too tall
for Bond, I think, and I don't think he would have been in.
I don't think it was a part he would like to have done.
Although he he was, he did like the books, but I don't think he
really, I think they did consider.
Him for Bond, you know. Well, he turned up in Bond, of
course, as three nipple man. Three nipple man.
Hello, I'm three nipple man table for two for three nipple
man please. I was always amazed by that.
Were you convinced by his nipple?
I was never convinced by his nipple.
I didn't. I didn't give it much attention
really. Well, I've.
Examined. That even if it was Chris
Nipple. Even if it was Chris Nipple.
But of course he famously, famously didn't like to talk
about it. But he killed men during the
war, didn't he? He bare.
Hands. Well, it's a very little is
actually clearly known. About his what he actually did,
was it because even now it's still under wraps because of
some of it was ultra, ultra secret, but he will say deeply
into his espionage, wasn't he? Yes, yes, just a fascinating man
all over. I mean, I love, I'm not a huge
horror fan and although, you know, so I'm not, I'm not a big
Hammer person particularly, but I do like, I do like, you know,
a handful of Hammer films, particularly when he's up
against Cushing. Of course, he couldn't be, who
could fail to be charmed by those?
But I love the wicked man. He's great in the Billy Wilder
film The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes.
Yeah. He's brilliant in that
everything he's in, I mean, even although I haven't watched them,
but I imagine he's very good in the Lord of the Rings films.
I yes again I. Have this is, I'm a terrible,
terrible person when it comes to Lord of the Rings.
I have Lord of the Rings, but I didn't watch them all.
I, I, I didn't watch them all at all.
I think I watched the first film and the rest, they're on the
shelf. But I, I was more engaged with
The Hobbit because I hadn't really read Lord of the Rings.
But Hobbit we, we read at school.
And so I was sort of drawn into that.
I've recently reviewed a film called Deathline which is like.
A Oh, I've seen it. Yes.
The cannibals. The Cannibal on the Underground,
yes. With Donald Pleasance.
Donald Pleasance, brilliant. Donald Pleasance and Christopher
Lee said he would do that film as a cameo if he could appear
with Donald Pleasance. And the problem was, and we go
back to the height issue here, was Donald Pleasance is
considerably shorter than Christopher Lee.
And you'd constantly have Christopher Lee standing there
with Donald Pleasance training his neck to deliver any kind of
dialogue so that the only shot you really get to imply they're
in the same room. Is a shot over Donald
Pleasance's shoulder. Of Christopher Lee in front of
him. Well, they should have.
Donald Pleasance's character should have carried an orange
crate around under his arm. Donald Pleasance, he's so funny.
Who was he? Who was he up?
Who was his number two in that? I can't remember.
It was Norman Rossington. Norman Rossington.
See, Norman Rossington is another one that's come up from
the 50s. I remember Norman Rossington
very well doing his comedy turns in things like Carry On
Sergeant, but then he he made the transfer into television and
towards the end of sort of the 60s where perhaps comedic comedy
was evolving with such things like a Python And Do not adjust
your set and things like that. He moved into serious acting.
And so he did very little comedic work in the 70s and
early 80s. He did mainly serious drama.
I can clarify your Christopher Lee thing in James Bond if you
like. He wasn't considered as Bond.
He was considered for Doctor, No.
Oh well, that makes sense I suppose.
He was playing golf for Fleming and he was losing badly.
And Fleming says you're going to have to pay me Buck somehow.
And he says yes, it looks like I am.
He says how would you like to play a doctor?
No in James Bond film and Fleming suggested it to broccoli
and broccoli forgot all about it.
Right, but he he's, he's all right.
And this you only you barely see him in cockroaches heroes.
He's the the sub commander. He's he's very almost.
I almost expected him to have his hat at a jaunty ankle.
He was. Like yes.
He had the neck chief on and. Well, good luck to you.
Oh boy. Very much like that, wasn't it?
It was a blink and you miss it. It's nice actually to see see
him doing that because in early 50s when they were doing war
films, he was often playing a German, wasn't he?
Because of his height as well and his those cold icy stairs
that he's very good at giving. His bearing yes as well yes.
Now with this film, I don't know if you feel the same.
I probably enjoyed most the 1st 2 acts if you want to call it
that. Maybe the the 1st 2/3 of the
film I enjoyed the most when the, when you've got the
training, you've got them at the at the barracks and you've got
them on these, on these, these training exercises such as being
dropped in the middle of nowhere and having to make their own way
back dressed as Germans without getting caught or shot.
And just some some lovely shots of contemporary England as well.
Just Dave Lodge stripped down to his.
Vest and pants running through Shepperton.
Brilliant. And when they they, they pull up
and he's got that sort of matriarchal woman that's pulled
up in Parliament Square with him and.
Slaps him on the back with a vicar and.
He sort of moves forward. Who was Judith first?
Who do you reckon? Did you recognise her from Carry
On Spying? Doctor?
Doctor Crow, I think was the character she played in Carry On
Spying. Yes.
And she's been bending in the film.
She's been bending Ruddock's ear, Dave Lodger's ear.
He can't wait to get it. He's he's got a lift with it,
but he can't wait. To I love the way he gets out of
the car and he sort of almost limps away and says I've just
totally, it's not the running that's exhausted me.
I've just she's just drawn me completely.
Well, this is the end of the line.
It's been an exhilarating experience meeting you.
I always say physical fitness is the first bastion of democracy.
My husband wouldn't agree with me on that.
He was a slugger and he died in his bed.
Well, godspeed. I only wish I was pressing the
tape with you. The problem with filming in
contemporary Britain and after you've seen the film a few
times, you, I, I, you start looking for different things
and. Films, especially if they're,
you're sort of filming contemporary Britain and you can
see the 1950s cars in the background and things like that.
I always, I always chuckle like that.
Things like that. As you say, he's running.
Of course, Yeah, I never thought of that.
Actually, you're, you're absolutely right.
I mean, it's obviously set. It's filmed in 555455.
Lack of lack of television. Aerials as well, which is really
lovely to see. Yeah.
But it's it was set a good 12 years before that.
And it shows you how much austerity driven Britain really
hasn't changed that much at all. It's, it's, it's so sad with
that and the fact that you can sort of rock up in Parliament
Square, put a few sandbags by the side of a building and just
film a scene. Nobody bats an eyelid.
Well. They probably didn't even ask
for permission. No, probably didn't need to back
then, but no I do. I do think the actual mission
itself is fine. But it's not.
It's not, it's a bit rushed. It's not particularly thrilling.
I don't. Feel.
It's, it's clearly film, the problem they have as well, isn't
it? It's clearly filmed on a filter.
Oh, day for night. Day for night filter and some of
the time it's not really filmed on a on a date for night like
basis and that's whatever film you're going to film and you
need that. I understand you can't like have
a black screen and just. Guess what's happening?
But sometimes it's so. Obvious.
Yeah, a lot cheaper. Yeah.
It's like sheep in a snowstorm. But yeah.
But it, it does drag. Oh, well, they're going to go up
to a boat. They're going to put.
A bomb on it. And they're going to go to
another boat and put a bomb on it.
There's nothing exciting about that, is there really?
And so they pad that out. And they were the cat and mouse
with the patrol boat. But how the hell it doesn't see
them? Oh yes and well of course though
you do have the capture of ultimately 4 of the men by the
Germans and their and their interrogations and and ultimate
fate in front of a firing squad which I was quite shocked by I
guess. I'm I have an issue with the
firing squad. How do you?
If you removed one from the end would they all have fallen over?
Because they are literally because it's such a tight shot.
They are literally shoulder to shoulder about to shoot these
people. I thought all they needed to do
is just. Remove one from the end, they'd
all fall over and they could run away.
But yeah, it is a moment where you think.
And Trevor Howard really nails that moment where he says hold
the line. Yeah.
And you're thinking, Yeah. King's Regulations till the
last. Absolutely.
I'm going to face the barrel of this gun and I'm going to look
at the bullet coming towards me with total gusto and honour.
Unfortunately, it will be the last thing I see.
And that's the saddest thing of all because the amount of
wastage in the way of lives here for what little they actually
did achieve is quite amazing. It was never really called upon
again to do. And it's it's a very sad ending
to a sad and it's a reflective thing of, yeah, this is what war
is really about. Is not all about daring do and
oh, didn't we do rather well slap on the back down the Cafe
Royal for for TM medals. It's not like that at all.
I mean, there is a little bit of comedy in the film, mainly it.
Has to be, I think, because of the serious nature of it.
Yeah, but Anthony newly gives gives a few minor titters to the
audience. It's a minor titter, yes.
So. I think out of all the people
that survived, I think he would be more likely to be the one
that would have been shot. Oh yeah, I.
Was trying to get into Spain. He kind of knew that Dave Lodge
wasn't going to make it to the end because he's not the kind of
character actor, he's not got the kind of face that would make
it to the end. Oh, oh, that's harsh, but I see
where you're going. Yeah.
No, he's not.
He's not going to blend, is he? He's not going to blend.
Into a crowd and also I think if you've got the other thing is if
you've got people of that age in an occupied country and you were
a German soldier and you saw them walking down the street,
you'd wonder want to wonder why they weren't either locked up or
in in the army. But yeah it's.
But I like, I love the bit in the submarine where it's just
just that moment where he's getting the kayak down and he
just turns over his shoulder and says to Trevor Howard, I'm
really glad you're here, Sir. It's great to have you on board.
That that's brilliant. Actually, I forgot to yeah, we
didn't mention that. So the scene where Roddick Dave
Lodge goes AWOL and I don't understand that because he goes
AWOL, they they're in the pub in the evening and then the next
day he's still in a in a pub. Why?
What's he been doing all night?
It's yourself. And by pure happenstance, Trevor
Howard's character, who's gone looking for him, happens to find
him in this pub. Yeah.
And they kind of. Formed Knowing Trevor, he's
probably done a dozen pubs by now.
But they do form this kind of bond and and, well, he.
Says to him I had something similar similar to me happen.
Yes. And he, I totally identify
what's going on and I'll support you.
And it's that just that line, he says.
I'll support you in everything you do.
Let's go then. Let's go and get it done.
And it's like this starchy stick up.
His backside senior officer suddenly got a bit of humility
inside. Him and when and when and when
Ruddock has thrown the lodger or wherever it was through the the
front room window, he comes out and and Trevor Howard says
feeling better. Ruddock and and Dave Lodge says
yes, but it doesn't solve anything, does it Sir?
No. Rather sort of philosophically,
yes. And you've got Sidney Taffler as
the policeman. Oh, anything happening as?
He flies through the window. Oh, very quiet.
Yeah, just getting back to the pub scene with this.
Quite unnecessary song. Oh.
No, for some reason it's padding, isn't it?
It's terrible padding. And again, another dubbed and a
clearly dubbed singer. But did you know?
So there's this quite attractive blonde woman dressed as a member
of the Yeah, yeah. But it's Pamela Guard who was
whose stage name was Yana. Really.
Yeah, Yana. And she was quite she was quite
popular in the mid to late 50s. Quite see why.
Well, she had her own BBCTV show called the Yana Show.
She also did quite well in the States.
She was on Ed Sullivan. She worked quite a bit with Bob
Hope and he referred to her as the British Marilyn Monroe.
And here's the thing, she had a string of affairs with with men,
although it's commonly accepted that she was a lesbian or she
preferred females, but at least. But apparently she had a fling
with George Formby. Can you believe?
Now I I'm quite amazed with that because George Formby's wife was
quite a force to be reckoned with and didn't trust any woman
around George Formby, did she? It was.
Her name? Kitty or something?
Not Kitty was that. Was that our old mother Riley?
Was that? No, no, it was.
I think it was Kitty and she used to insist on being on.
She used to shout at directors if he if he had to kiss someone.
Because she was not happy about it.
So what would happen was they would they would set it up and
film scenes like that. If you had to cuddle or kiss a
girl, put his arm round a girl or or kiss a girl, just Peck her
on the side of the cheek. They'd film it quickly before
she'd arrived because she would turn up every day of filming,
Thor Heard told the story of because she ends up in some kind
of not Thor Heard. Who's that?
What are you? What are you saying?
Thor, I heard, was kissing George Thorpe.
Turned out bad again. It wasn't.
It was Gracie Field. Sorry.
Oh. God.
Gracie Field and him end up in a giant VAT of foam and he got
handsy and his. Professions of a window cleaner.
And he got handsy with her during the break and I think
his. Wife saw it.
And she literally grabbed him and bodily dragged him out of
this VAT with everybody going, what you doing?
And she's slapping him around the face.
Don't you do that? Good God, good God.
So yeah, when you say she had an affair with her, she's taking
her life into her own. Hands.
Yeah, yeah. But sadly for for Jana, her she
she quite quickly faded into obscurity in the 60s, ended up
working in boots in the 1980s. She had, she had quite a big hit
with a single in the late 50s called Climb up the Wall.
And she was in a couple of Warwick films singing.
Like there's a film called Interpol, and that also featured
Sidney Taffler and Trevor Howard.
So yeah. So.
But that. Yeah.
And Jess Conrad is in that scene, isn't he?
In the pub. Yes, he is.
It's. It's amazing how many films Jess
Conrad actually pops up in in the background.
Yes, yeah. But but, but the whole yeah, it
is, it is a bit of a a bit of filler, a bit of padding there
that that that whole scene and excuse for a fight.
Oh. That was supposed to be, oh,
this is what squaddies do when they get drunk.
They fight each other and then the Roma and the Marine police
turn up and hit them and everybody goes home happy.
Yeah. Of course, Sam Kidd, the great
Sam kid, turns up as well, doesn't he?
Driving the fish lorry. I've hitchhiked all the great
way from your fine city of Liverpool and hope and pray that
I'll soon be proudly wearing the King's uniform.
What's that uniform you're wearing just now?
Irish Salvation Army. Of course I should have known.
Very smart, very smart. Isn't he contractually obliged
to be in every 1950s British film in some capacity?
Yes, he is. Yeah, it's written into it.
But yeah, he's, he's the forgotten actor, isn't he, of
that time? Well, you say that, but with
Talking Pictures TV, he's been rediscovered.
I think it's fair to say. Let's face.
It and hopefully he'll get the recognition he so deeply
deserves because. I mean, Sam.
Was going for decades through 40s, fifties, sixties, 70s and
to the early part of the 80s before he passed away.
So he is he is a legend and that he's I recognise him constantly
in films and I'm disappointed if he doesn't appear in a war film.
Yep, of. Course, he had that great role
in I'm All Right Jack as the stuttering worker.
He sounds like he's constantly on the verge of swearing the
quiet managers to the quiet managers to do it.
You silly clutch say that. Again.
David Lodge I always used to appreciate the fact that
especially in Q he he would make reference to this film, this
particular, this particular movie.
And yes, it was a running joke, but it's an important joke as
well because I think he kept the memory of Cockle Shell heroes
alive to a certain extent by making this reference to it.
Why don't you read the Radio Times?
Then you'll know who I am. Cunin Cunin starring Spine
Milligan. Sweeney Blood.
John Bloogle and and and and and and.
Dave. Dave Blood.
Right. And remember, I was in
Cockleshoe Heroes. Why did you have to dress like
that? Because that's the.
Only way you can get in the film.
Oh, I guess it was Spike's at Spike's instigation originally,
though I imagine that. Well, do that.
I don't imagine that. Dave, I reckon Dave Lodge said
him. I used to do that in Cockle
Shell Heroes and Spike's or he's been, there's been a
conversation in the canteen and he's messing about and pulling
whatever and Dave Lodge said. I used to do that in Cockle
Shell Heroes. And Spike's banked that.
Yeah. And it's it's appeared in a
script and I just get that sort of impression what that's that's
been picked up on. Hello, Parky.
Hello, sorry. Don't get me wrong, you know I
am, don't you? No, Dave Lodge, I was in.
Yeah. I'm only doing this for the
ready, OK? Here you go.
Cigarettes. Spike is very apartment to
seeing people act with their best side by their strengths,
very much so. And, and, and David Lodges
strengths as well because he's playing police officers a lot of
the time he's playing authority figures, although he does play,
he does play a burglar in the BBC economy sketch.
That's right, a Jehovah's burglar.
Jehovah's burglars, yes, that's. Right.
Yes, that's right. But but no, listen, Warren,
thank you. You know, thank you for coming
on to talk about this and obviously bringing your
grandfather's memories as well, which which were very pertinent
and and thoroughly fascinating. Thank you for listening to my
humble mumbling. So it's been an absolute
pleasure and thank you. I've never been on a real
podcast before. Oh, I'm so going to get attacked
for that. You've got the world of
podcasting at your feet. There's going to be like a
there'll be like a bidding war for for your services as.
A guest poor sobs. Thank you very much, dear
listener, and thank you very much to you as well, Tyler.
Thank you. I really appreciate being
allowed to come on and mumble. Well, not, not, not at all.
Now, I know we said before that it's it's, it's an occasional
podcast, your podcast, but have you got any films planned that
you want, you want want to cover?
Yes, we're I'm looking at doing a Christmas special with Martin
Holmes looking at and you've heard it here, 1st works, the
spy that came in from the cold, beautiful, beautiful.
Martin and myself met up the other day up in Manchester.
I'd never been to Manchester because mainly we were going to.
He's from Manchester and we wandered around because we just
recently done a review of a film based in Manchester.
Called Hell is a hell. Is a city hell?
Is a city and we were just started talking about a carry
because recently we've just done a look at Tinker Table Soldier,
Spy and Smiley's people for the Vision on Sound podcast.
Radio show. Podcast radio show, yeah, who
cares? It's one of those.
And then all of a sudden we started waxing lyrical about
Burton in the wax, the wax that came in from the candle the
spider came to. Say can.
I do that. Burton Burton in the Wackers
1970s ITV sitcom. Yes, that's the one, yes.
With Cheggers and Ken Jones. I remember that scene really
well, as if I was there. I bring down this edifice on
their unworthy heads. Yeah.
No spy. Check.
Check us with his pants on. Oh.
God. As well the best way to
remember. It but so yeah we we've started
talking about that so hopefully Christmas time we're looking at
the spy that came in from the cold brilliant, brilliant.
And Lisa's returning in the new year, looking at dinosaurs Mark
2, looking at another Jurassic Park, well, a Jurassic Park
film. And I would like to invite
yourself on Come and talk film, any film you like.
OK, I'll have to think about that because I don't want to
just choose one without thinking about it properly.
My favorite film of all time is Day of the Jackal.
OK, I don't want to talk about that because there's just it's
it would have to be a 2 and. Three, there would, there would
be an arm wrestling flight between you and somebody else
because somebody else has mentioned that as well.
So I'll probably get you both doing that.
Well, well, I would, I would. My second favorite film of all
time is 12 Angry Men. Sir, you're commissioned.
It's a it's a stone bonkers classic.
There we go, Write that down. It's written down.
I've written it down in my own Christopher Lee's blood.
Good. I'm held to that now so I'm it's
going to be free next year because I'm putting goon pot on
ice for about 3 months next. Year, Are you having a rest for
break? Yeah.
Yeah, I'll be keeping my other one going, but that's easy
enough to do. Warren, thank you.
Thank you again. And until we speak again, I'll
see you the other side of 2024. And and to you too, Sir, and to
you too. The listeners are very happy
Michaelmas.