1 00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:03,520 Whom did you see, first, Sergeant Barnes, the accused or 2 00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:05,840 his parents? I saw the parents to begin with, 3 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:07,320 Sir. What did you say to them? 4 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:10,840 I put the position to them. I told them that complaints had 5 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:12,440 been received about their son's conduct. 6 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:12,840 Yeah. Yes. 7 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:15,240 I'm so sorry to interrupt you, Sergeant Barnes. 8 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:19,240 Would you tell the court what in so many words you said on this 9 00:00:19,240 --> 00:00:20,480 first occasion? Yes. 10 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:21,840 I think I can remember what I said, Sir. 11 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:25,520 When I went in, the first person I saw was Mr. Groom Kirby. 12 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:28,600 So I addressed what I had to say to him, to the best of my 13 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:30,760 recollection. I said something to the effect 14 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:34,080 it's beginning to add up down at the Mortuary, Mr. Groom Kirby, 15 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:38,080 meaning that you were keeping a check of this man's victim. 16 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:40,320 We were rather pressed for space. 17 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:44,320 Yes, I know that, Sergeant. What I'm asking you now is 18 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:47,920 whether your remark, it's beginning to add up down at the 19 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:51,960 Mortuary, referred to this man's victims only or to those of 20 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:54,440 other people as well. It was a kind of joke. 21 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:58,800 I was trying to keep on friendly terms at that stage and I made 22 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:00,440 the remark in a somewhat humorous manner. 23 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:04,560 I went on to say we haven't got the Albert Hall, Mr. Groom 24 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:39,520 Kirby. Hello and welcome to Goon Pod. 25 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:44,400 So last week Joel Morris and I were talking about Yellow 26 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:48,800 Submarine, a film which we managed to prove beyond doubt 27 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:52,800 through a series of charts and diagrams, took the goons as one 28 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:56,640 of its foundation stones with Roger Mcgough's Milligan 29 00:01:56,640 --> 00:01:59,920 inspired quips liberally peppered throughout the script. 30 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:04,360 The repeated refrain of It's All in the Mind, the glorious 31 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:07,240 subversion of logic and of course the inclusion of Goon 32 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:11,760 Show alumnus Dick Emery as one of the core voice cast. 33 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:15,240 Now this week we are talking about a film from a few years 34 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:18,520 earlier, but I I think it is fair to say it's it's part of 35 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:23,240 that grand tradition of of British absurdism which gave us 36 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:26,840 the likes of Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear and of course the 37 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:29,280 Goon Show. Throw in the fact that it stars 38 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:32,280 a man who did more than most to develop the Goon Show during its 39 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:35,520 so-called golden era, and I think that's reasonable plenty 40 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,800 for us to talk about this week's film, One way Pendulum. 41 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:42,160 And my guest, I'm delighted to say, is David Quantic. 42 00:02:42,920 --> 00:02:45,080 Hello, nice to be here. Hello, David. 43 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:46,840 Hello. I think this is your fourth time 44 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:50,720 speaking to me. Yeah, yes, we're talking about 45 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:54,920 the film One Way Pendulum, but I want to talk about NF Simpson as 46 00:02:54,920 --> 00:02:57,920 well. Who, who's the genius behind it? 47 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:03,440 Because the film was based on his 1959 play of the same name. 48 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:06,640 And I know David, you're you're you're something of an NF 49 00:03:06,640 --> 00:03:09,720 Simpson. Well, enthusiast and authority. 50 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:13,960 So first of all, was I correct to group him together with the 51 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:17,400 likes of of Lewis Carroll, Lear and and of course the Goons? 52 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:20,400 Absolutely. I mean, he's had a parallel 53 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:22,840 existence, but he was a Lewis Carroll fan. 54 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:24,880 He was more of APG Wodehouse fan. 55 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:28,520 He really liked being labeled or called an absurdist or any of 56 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:30,560 that stuff. But there's no question that he 57 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:33,760 was going down a parallel route route to Spike Milligan. 58 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:36,360 Yeah. Had he ever gone on on record to 59 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:39,640 say he enjoyed Milligan's work or the Goons or anything like 60 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:41,960 that? I think he said he liked the 61 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:45,880 goons, but it wasn't, but it was more interesting to me. 62 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:50,200 Is that he, like Spike is what you might call Spike Milligan's 63 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:53,640 children, People like Peter Cook and Dudley Moore and the Monty 64 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:57,240 Python team, There's a lot of, there's a lot of links between 65 00:03:57,240 --> 00:03:59,000 those two groups. And NF Simpson. 66 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:03,520 Cleese and Cook were in productions of NF Simpson plays 67 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:06,480 Jonathan Miller's in the movie, as we'll discover, and Jonathan 68 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:09,280 Miller directed his stuff. Cleese is in TV versions of NF 69 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:11,760 Simpson. The Pythons don't like to admit 70 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:14,240 to his influence, but it's all over their stuff. 71 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:17,079 It really is. So you said he didn't like the 72 00:04:17,079 --> 00:04:20,600 he didn't like the word absurdism or to be classed as 73 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:22,320 part of that absurdist tradition. 74 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:25,480 Yeah, he just, I mean, he came along at the same time as 75 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:29,640 Ionesco in France. And absurdism is basically 76 00:04:29,840 --> 00:04:33,080 comedy plays that aren't very funny to me. 77 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:34,840 Yeah. The thing about Simpson, the 78 00:04:34,840 --> 00:04:36,960 reason? Obviously I, I first came across 79 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:40,560 NF Simpson in the Penguin Book of Nonsense, which was one of 80 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:43,160 those 70s anthologies edited by Paul Jennings. 81 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:45,920 And it had, you know, Lewis Carroll in it, it had Monty 82 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:48,760 Python in it and the Goons. It had all, and it had a couple 83 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:52,880 of very short items by NF Simpson which were just 84 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:56,280 absolutely intriguing. So he fits into that world. 85 00:04:56,480 --> 00:05:01,200 And I would describe him as a, as very like Spike Milligan in 86 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:05,080 his sense of humour, in the way that he plays with space and 87 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:07,320 time. The difference is with a more 88 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:14,280 deliberately philosophical and and existentialist point of 89 00:05:14,280 --> 00:05:17,160 view. And a really good ear for the 90 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:20,400 rhythm of natural everyday conversation as well. 91 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:24,280 Very much. I mean, while I know that Alan 92 00:05:24,280 --> 00:05:26,920 Bennett knew his work and you know that. 93 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:30,000 So without accusing anyone of ripping off, you can read the 94 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:32,400 Alan Bennett voice. You know that obsession with 95 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:36,520 trivia and detail, it really comes over in NF Simpson. 96 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:39,800 And what's lovely about his work, he told me once that he 97 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:44,280 liked basically he wrote very surreal, very strange dialogue, 98 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:46,800 but everything was set in a very real world. 99 00:05:46,840 --> 00:05:49,880 Lots of suburban front rooms, boring kitchens. 100 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:53,840 And that is very much the Alan Bennett tradition in embryo. 101 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:58,760 He likes he likes to hide the bizarre inside the banal and 102 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:00,320 nobody. None of his character seemed to 103 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:04,600 question the situations that they find themselves in. 104 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:09,240 They're very dead pan in their delivery and and I guess a lot 105 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:12,680 of the humour is in the mismatch between the bland domestic 106 00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:15,680 surroundings and the conversations that go on with 107 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:17,040 oh. Yeah, I mean, one of the most 108 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:21,040 famous scenes in one of his plays in his in a resounding 109 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:23,720 tinkle, which somebody goes to answer the door. 110 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:26,240 Who was that at the door? And bro, the character replies, 111 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:28,920 there's a man out, there's a man outside wants you to form a 112 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:32,680 government. And the the the two people in 113 00:06:32,680 --> 00:06:34,520 the scene have a long conversation about this. 114 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:37,040 And at no point does anyone who say this is insane. 115 00:06:37,480 --> 00:06:41,960 There are conversations about oh God, my one of my favourite 116 00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:46,720 moments in in the movie is when Peggy Mount comes in as a star 117 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:50,520 woman and she's come in because one of her jobs is to eat all 118 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:54,080 the families leftover food. So she's kind of a cleaner 119 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:56,920 except for food. And she just sits down and eats 120 00:06:56,920 --> 00:06:59,200 all this and nobody says, why don't you give it away? 121 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:00,640 Why don't you eat? It's just, well, we've got all 122 00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:02,760 this food we need to somebody needs to eat it all and we 123 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:04,440 can't. I'm pegging him out. 124 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:06,000 Just her job is to eat their food. 125 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,040 And again, as you said, this is this is not quite, this is an 126 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:12,320 insane world, but it's also a mundane 1. 127 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:14,920 Where do you want me, Mabel? Over here, if you would. 128 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:17,120 Nara. Hope there's not too much for 129 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:18,400 you. Goodness. 130 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:20,120 Now, it won't take me long to Polish this off. 131 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:24,600 I'll get started right away. I'm Perkins. 132 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:28,160 I'll get the impression Mrs. Groom Kirby some. 133 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:30,240 She says something in the film along the lines that you get the 134 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:34,040 impression that she keeps being sent packets of cornflakes. 135 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:38,600 But in those days, people often did get free stuff like that. 136 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:41,360 There's a you know, there's a famous scene in Bedazzled in 137 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:45,320 which people are just obsessed with giving out free products. 138 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:50,160 Yeah, and, and, and Simpson was, he was, he was around that same 139 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:52,320 sort of period as the angry young men, like, like John 140 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:53,760 Osborne. But he was, he had more. 141 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:56,320 And because I watched the documentary, you made a 142 00:07:56,320 --> 00:07:59,400 documentary what, 20 years ago now, I guess. 143 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:04,400 And it was clear that he had more in common with the likes of 144 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:11,000 John Mortimer and and Pinter than the angry young men he was. 145 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:14,400 He had a much lighter touch and had this sort of this comic 146 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:16,760 brilliance, but the sharp philosophical mind as well. 147 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:20,800 Well, it's more timeless to me. I mean, the angry men, young men 148 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:24,800 thing is kind of, oh, we did look back in anger for a level 149 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:28,440 and it was, oh, it was horrific. Just people writing about how 150 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:31,080 bored they were and how they were going to smash the system. 151 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:33,640 And it's like, no, you're not. And it was an awful lot of that 152 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:37,760 sort of kitchen sink stuff. But yeah, he was at the Royal 153 00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:39,720 Court with John Mortimer and with Harold Pitt. 154 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:42,600 The most annoying moment of my life when we were making the 155 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:47,200 documentary, Wally was, as we all called him, NF Simpson was 156 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:50,120 back at the Royal Court Theatre. We went out for lunch. 157 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:53,120 And while he was having his lunch in the Royal Court, Harold 158 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:56,960 Pinter turned up full of happy stories and memories of being in 159 00:08:56,960 --> 00:09:00,280 NF Simpson's plays. And we didn't get an interview 160 00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:02,360 with him. But yeah, he was remembered with 161 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:04,520 affection by Pinter and by John Mortimer. 162 00:09:05,560 --> 00:09:07,680 He was that generation of writer. 163 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:11,360 But like Pinter, like Mortimer, he was kind of outside that 164 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:14,480 cliched world. It was like one of those bands 165 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:17,880 who got lumped in with punk rock but wasn't really punk, that 166 00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:22,120 kind of thing. And my big theory is that he was 167 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:27,080 as a writer, he was swept away by the more violent and 168 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:30,160 aggressive people who'd come after him, like Python, like 169 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:33,080 Peter Cook, who had this, had a similar sense of humour, but 170 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:35,920 were prepared to be more controversial and vicious with 171 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:38,720 it. Did he ever try to perform 172 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:40,720 anything? Obviously strictly a writer. 173 00:09:41,560 --> 00:09:43,720 Not to my knowledge. He was always more of a 174 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:45,600 background man. He worked at the Royal Court 175 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:49,800 Theatre as a creative director Later on he wrote in lots of 176 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:53,920 different areas, but he was unlike Armando Yannucci or John 177 00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:55,200 Cleese. He was never in front of the 178 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:59,360 camera. So one way pendulum, it began as 179 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:04,080 a stage play and and I looked at the original cast because 180 00:10:04,080 --> 00:10:07,040 there's several members of the original cast who turn up in the 181 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:11,440 film reprise their roles, such as Alison Legat as Mrs. Grim 182 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:16,320 Kirby and Douglas Wilmer as the judge and I think Graham Crowden 183 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:18,680 as well Graham, but I know Graham Crowder. 184 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:22,720 But it was you had Roddy Maude Roxby as Kirby. 185 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:24,440 Grim Kirby. Right. 186 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:28,680 Who's still with us, by the way? Roddy is amazing. 187 00:10:28,680 --> 00:10:32,360 He's an artist and he was in. If so, then yes. 188 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:36,240 Which was Wally's last play which was performed and when 189 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:40,000 Wally was still with us. Yeah, Roddy is a is an amazing 190 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:43,480 man and very talented. Yeah, I saw him most recently. 191 00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:46,600 You know, they released the entire Was it all? 192 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:49,400 Every episode was all six episodes of The Complete and 193 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:50,880 Utter History of Britain. Yeah, I watched that. 194 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:52,600 It was a bit of a shock seeing Roddy in that. 195 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:55,120 He was kind of Wally's avatar in a lot of things. 196 00:10:55,120 --> 00:10:58,360 Especially if so, then yes, he was sort of a standing figure 197 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:02,240 for Wally. Wally Simpson famously so-called 198 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:05,560 because when he was a kid, Wallace Simpson, the paramour 199 00:11:05,560 --> 00:11:09,800 led with the 8th, was around. I I believe I were to ask Bill 200 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:12,880 Bastler if it's true or asked Wally Simpson that the first 201 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:15,400 version of the play didn't have Kirby. 202 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:18,040 Which was the character? That he used eventually Clair 203 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:22,000 Trait, Yeah, who was teaching speaker weight machines to sing 204 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:25,520 the Alleluia Chorus. I got to do that piece. 205 00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:33,240 And it was out of having. Been an NF or around an NF 206 00:11:33,240 --> 00:11:37,920 Simpson sketch in one to another and having published bits of his 207 00:11:37,920 --> 00:11:40,440 writing in Art magazine. Bright, bright, bright. 208 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:43,240 He knew about me, I bet me or seen me. 209 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:47,720 Bill Gastel had seen me at the Royal College and in a way they 210 00:11:47,720 --> 00:11:50,360 knew that the curby only has one line in the play and he does 211 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:53,320 this piece of. But he's on a lot, does he not? 212 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:57,000 No, he, he, he. The opening scene is with him 213 00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:02,240 conducting and then the play starts as it's in the the house 214 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:04,320 downstairs and the mother talks about him upstairs. 215 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:06,280 Oh, I see. He's a presence, but he's. 216 00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:10,120 Not here and he responds to a cash register and someone bangs 217 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:11,600 the cash register I think in hand gun. 218 00:12:11,600 --> 00:12:14,600 He clips off the side of the stage and says you could have 219 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:17,800 woken me and could have stopped me stone dead in the middle of 220 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:19,560 an orgasm and then goes off again. 221 00:12:20,920 --> 00:12:25,720 Do you take a play and then you expand it and open it out, which 222 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:27,960 basically means you have some scenes of people driving around 223 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:32,440 London on mopeds. There's not much else you can do 224 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:34,400 with it apart from, you know, add animation. 225 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:36,040 That was a that was a problem for the film. 226 00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:38,680 It's a reason it got bad reviews and wasn't very successful. 227 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:43,480 But it's what's added to its charm now is it looks exactly 228 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:47,480 like a realistic 1960s film with a classic British comedy cast. 229 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:49,560 But the things they're saying are insane. 230 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:52,480 Well, it begins right at the beginning. 231 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:55,120 It made me think of the rebel. You know, the, the that office 232 00:12:57,600 --> 00:12:59,480 there was kind of it wasn't in not in development. 233 00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:02,920 How would I think NF Simpson had been approached a few times to 234 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:06,680 have the the play made into a film and he he turned them down. 235 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:11,760 But but then he met Peter Yates and felt that Peter Yates was 236 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:13,600 the right man to direct the film. 237 00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:17,960 Do we know why? No, sadly we didn't. 238 00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:20,440 I mean, I have read on the Internet that PD Eights 239 00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:22,720 convinced him with his enthusiasm, and PD Eights is a 240 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:26,160 really interesting director. He'd just done Summer Holidays, 241 00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:29,120 so I think he wanted to wash the taste of that out of his mouth 242 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:30,640 with a completely different film. 243 00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:33,760 And then after One Way's Pendulum, he did Bullet with 244 00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:36,400 Steve McQueen about four years later. 245 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:39,040 So he's one of those directors that I really like because he 246 00:13:39,040 --> 00:13:41,520 did everything. He didn't remake the same film, 247 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:44,640 he would just take, and his enthusiasm for the project is 248 00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:46,880 what's really needed. Because he does. 249 00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:49,200 You can tell that he sat down and thought, how can I make this 250 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:52,160 into a film? One of the things about Ennis 251 00:13:52,160 --> 00:13:55,560 Simpson's stuff that he readily admitted is that quite often 252 00:13:55,560 --> 00:13:59,000 there isn't much of A plot. It's a it often works better in 253 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:01,640 small chunks. He said to me the reason he 254 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:04,160 couldn't write narrative was because his mother had died when 255 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:06,760 he was about 5. And that presumably just blew a 256 00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:10,920 hole in the whole concept of order and sense life. 257 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:15,160 And I think that's one of the the cornerstones of Edda Simpson 258 00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:16,840 stuff, that there is no order in life. 259 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:20,480 He's famous for saying things that, you know, one word might 260 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:23,800 as well be the same as another. Meaning is there is no meaning 261 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:26,360 in life. So he's quite cheerful Despite 262 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:27,520 that. And he came around from that 263 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:30,040 view. But yeah, it's sometimes quite 264 00:14:30,040 --> 00:14:33,240 hard to watch one way pendulum because there isn't really a 265 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:35,520 plot. Things happen and then it ends. 266 00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:38,920 Well that's fine though. As someone like myself who loves 267 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:41,440 the Goon Show, I'm used to that and I'm happy with that. 268 00:14:41,560 --> 00:14:45,040 To be honest. What I want to do is just give 269 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:48,840 an overview of the the plot as well as it is. 270 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:52,560 I haven't mentioned, I've alluded to it, but it stars Eric 271 00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:54,120 Sykes. I think this is Eric Sykes's 272 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:59,160 only starring or top billed film role apart from things like The 273 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:00,520 Plank which don't really qualify. 274 00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:07,640 But the film is basically about the Groom Kirby family who lived 275 00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:10,280 together in a in a modest suburban house. 276 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:15,440 And they they, they blithely pursue their own individual 277 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:18,200 interests. And we have Arthur Groom Kirby, 278 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:21,440 who who's Eric Sykes and he's erecting a full scale model of 279 00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:26,080 the Old Bailey in the front room, blissfully ignored in his 280 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:30,800 labours by wheelchair bound Aunt Mildred, who I love, who's man 281 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:32,560 in Washbourne, who, who's every waking moment. 282 00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:35,000 She's brilliant. We'll, we'll, we'll come back to 283 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:37,720 her. She's got this obsession about 284 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:40,840 transport and wanting a tricycle. 285 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:47,400 And I guess the the key character, I suppose the key 286 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:52,680 character is, is Kirby Groom. Kirby, who is Jonathan Miller in 287 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:55,200 the film. He, he's up in the attic. 288 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:59,240 He's teaching a vast assortment of Speak Your Weight machines to 289 00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:03,400 sing the Hallelujah chorus. And later in the film, he will 290 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:07,920 be put on trial, at first in absentia for the murder of 43 291 00:16:07,920 --> 00:16:11,440 people, his motive apparently being a compulsion to wear black 292 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:14,040 morning attire. And again, we'll come back to 293 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:16,480 that. And his younger sister, Sylvia, 294 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:19,840 frets over the length of her arms while her mother busies 295 00:16:19,840 --> 00:16:23,520 herself about the house with scant regard for her husband's 296 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:27,400 activities. Like you say, she has this this 297 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:29,840 rather burly child woman played by Peggy Mount, who drops in 298 00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:32,880 twice a week to eat the excess food that the that the family 299 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:34,840 can't manage to dispatch themselves. 300 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:38,560 So that's what passes for a plot, really. 301 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:42,680 But every moment is just full of amazing comic invention. 302 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:46,960 And it's interesting just touching back. 303 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:49,200 Coming back to Pete, Peter Yates, he'd go on, like you say, 304 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:52,840 to make bullet, which is famous for for that extended chasing. 305 00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:55,360 Now the film before that, I don't know if you've seen him 306 00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:57,160 robbery. No, I haven't. 307 00:16:57,160 --> 00:17:01,680 Which is a Stanley Baker film in which Peter Yates, It was an 308 00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:06,079 early try out for the for a for a a car chase, which he'd he'd 309 00:17:06,079 --> 00:17:09,079 later refined in bullet. But it's through the streets of 310 00:17:09,079 --> 00:17:14,200 London and although it's it's in lovely Technicolour, there are 311 00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:17,200 bits at the beginning of robbery that made me think of this film 312 00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:19,800 just in terms of the the streets of London and the way he was 313 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:22,440 filming it. There's a bit in the film in one 314 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:28,440 way Pendulum where Eric Sykes, Arthur Grimm Kirby has collected 315 00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:32,440 judges robes and a wig from the dry cleaners and he's carrying 316 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:37,160 the boxes home and he's imagining himself as the High 317 00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:40,800 Court judge. And we see, we see him, you 318 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:44,160 know, in the robes with the wig. He's about to cross the road and 319 00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:49,200 A and a lorry passes by and as as it passes by it sort of 320 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:52,720 breaks the spell. And we see Eric again just with 321 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:54,280 his boxes. And I thought there was a 322 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:56,360 brilliant piece of direction. So little touches. 323 00:17:56,440 --> 00:17:58,360 There's not a lot of opportunities for that sort of 324 00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:00,960 directorial flourishes. But I think PDHS did a really 325 00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:04,240 good job. There's also a nice moment when, 326 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:07,960 Yeah, if you wanted to be silly, Eric Sykes is on the back of 327 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:11,400 George Cole's scooter. And George Cole is a terrible 328 00:18:11,400 --> 00:18:17,080 driver and weaves between large, burly vehicles with complete 329 00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:20,160 blitheness. So you could pretend. 330 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:24,120 You could say it was a practice run, a very modest scale. 331 00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:26,760 Yeah. I mean, he opens it out, but not 332 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:29,320 in a Richard Lester kind of zany way. 333 00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:32,480 He doesn't add silly sound effects and treat make it. 334 00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:34,000 He doesn't make it into slapstick. 335 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:38,760 He does what's what's required, which is to basically treat the 336 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:41,720 subject matter as though it was perfectly normal. 337 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:44,480 It's, it's obviously quite difficult to know what's going 338 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:48,640 on for the 1st 20 minutes or so. And then you gradually start to 339 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:53,040 put things together and you realise that Arthur Groom Kirby 340 00:18:53,040 --> 00:18:58,240 is trying is he's got this build it yourself kit, an Old Bailey 341 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:03,320 full size Old Bailey kit that he's trying to manoeuvre into 342 00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:06,360 the back garden and then into the house. 343 00:19:07,120 --> 00:19:10,000 And I do think that the second-half of the film, which 344 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:13,480 is largely A courtroom scene which is playing out in the 345 00:19:13,480 --> 00:19:17,080 Groom Kirby's front room is absolutely brilliant. 346 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:20,440 And I could have watched a whole film just with that. 347 00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:22,600 It's funny. I mean, presumably it's what led 348 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:25,240 to Adam Simpson getting the Crown Court because it's the 349 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:29,480 best part of the film because it has a narrative you, you know, 350 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:31,040 where you are with a court scene. 351 00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:34,960 And it's just, it's just really, really funny. 352 00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:36,720 It's a parody of the legal system. 353 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:42,560 It's just full of insane moments about dressing a baby in black 354 00:19:43,120 --> 00:19:47,920 and lots of comedy riffs. And I just love the joke that, 355 00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:50,360 you know, how do you deal with something as impossible as 356 00:19:50,360 --> 00:19:52,600 building the Old Bailey in your front room? 357 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:55,400 And part of it is that the statue of the Scales of Justice 358 00:19:55,400 --> 00:20:00,440 is gaping through a hole in the group Kirby's bedroom, and his 359 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:04,760 wife has to step around it. There's one more thing I'd like 360 00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:08,880 to ask you, Missus Grimm Kirby. Each one of your son's 43 361 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:12,200 victims was struck on the head with an iron bar after having 362 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:14,880 been told a joke. Now, would it be true to say, 363 00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:17,600 Missus Grimm Kirby, that your son went to considerable trouble 364 00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:20,160 over these jokes? He went to very great trouble, 365 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:22,440 Sir. He sat up all hours thinking at 366 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:24,560 church for them. He wanted to make things as 367 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:27,440 pleasant as possible for them, even at considerable trouble and 368 00:20:27,440 --> 00:20:30,400 inconvenience to himself. He didn't mind how much trouble 369 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:33,080 he went to, so long as they ended on a gay note. 370 00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:40,000 Thank you, Missus Groom Kirby. The only character in this film 371 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:43,720 who seems to be an incredulous, I suppose to what's going on is 372 00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:49,400 is Stan, who's the the boyfriend of Sylvia who's been roped into 373 00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:53,800 helping Arthur get the the Old Bailey kit into the into the 374 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:56,200 front room. I love all that. 375 00:20:56,200 --> 00:21:00,680 It's weirdly it's Tom King, the villain from Emmerdale as well. 376 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:02,960 Well, I. Knew him from from Corrie. 377 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:06,440 He was Billy Walker, wasn't he? Yeah, for years. 378 00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:08,840 That's what I love about actors. They're versatile. 379 00:21:09,120 --> 00:21:12,920 But yeah, he does seem to be from a more normal world. 380 00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:15,520 And which gives you the suggestion that maybe it's just 381 00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:16,960 the groom. Kirby's are in. 382 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:21,280 They're insane. But yeah, I mean, I'm very fond 383 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:24,760 by the way of really of Julia Foster in this and her obsession 384 00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:28,720 with her arms and also just the nice sibling rivalry that every 385 00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:32,160 time she brings a boy home, she has to compete with the choir of 386 00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:36,240 Speak Your Weight Machines in the attic, not to mention the 387 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:39,480 major criminal trial going on in the front room. 388 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:42,200 Well, that's, that's the thing that that was the thing that 389 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:45,360 made me laugh the most. Was it it, It takes a while to 390 00:21:45,360 --> 00:21:50,400 get here, but we, we eventually find out that so we see Kirby, 391 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:54,400 played by Jonathan Miller, nosing around weight machines, 392 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:58,560 both conventional and speaker weight type, both outside a 393 00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:01,640 chemist shop and on the, on the tube on the underground 394 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:04,480 platform. He's got this obsession, 395 00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:07,240 obviously. And then but we find out later 396 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:13,760 that he, he's teaching them to, to sing because he wants them. 397 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:17,720 He wants them to act as sirens at the North Pole to lure people 398 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:21,120 there so that he can get a large collection of people in the one 399 00:22:21,120 --> 00:22:23,400 place, get them all to jump up and down at once to tilt the 400 00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:27,840 Earth's axis, and the ensuing Ice Age and resultant deaths 401 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:30,520 would then give him the a logical pretext for wearing 402 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:35,120 black the rest of his life. It's completely and relentlessly 403 00:22:35,120 --> 00:22:37,760 logical. It works really well and you 404 00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:39,280 believe it. With Jonathan Miller's silent 405 00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:43,280 portrayal, you believe that he's this kind of junior sociopath to 406 00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:45,040 whom all this is completely reasonable. 407 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:49,240 Yeah, it was. It was odd because some someone 408 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:53,480 who's so voluble as as Jonathan Miller playing a wordless 409 00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:59,400 character, you know, and also Eric, Eric Sykes, famously half 410 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:04,680 deaf and had this liking for silence in comedy or silent 411 00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:06,960 comedies. It's a very wordy film for 412 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:10,280 someone like Eric Sykes, I felt, although he didn't say that much 413 00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:13,200 I suppose. I think he just appreciated the 414 00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:15,760 the comedy of it as well as, as you say, one of his rare 415 00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:18,600 starring roles. I mean, the the lovely thing 416 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:21,880 about interviewing everybody connected with Quarry people 417 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:27,000 who'd worked with him, like Eric Sykes, Jonathan Miller was they 418 00:23:27,120 --> 00:23:29,480 and John Mortimer, they just wanted to talk about him. 419 00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:33,440 They really liked his work. And you know, Sykes was clearly 420 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:35,280 delighted to have been in this film. 421 00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:37,960 Jonathan Miller, I think, I forget which one he directed, 422 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:40,880 but I think he he directed a revival of one of NF Simpson's 423 00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:44,320 plays much later on. So he went back to it. 424 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:46,840 He went back to Wally's work. So he must have loved it 425 00:23:46,840 --> 00:23:49,800 greatly. We we've talked about Alison 426 00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:53,800 Legat, who plays his wife. I didn't know her until we we 427 00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:58,200 covered the Jonathan Miller directed Alice in Wonderland a 428 00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:00,440 few months ago. How is she in that? 429 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:03,280 She plays the Queen of Hearts. Oh fantastic. 430 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:05,280 She's wonderful. Maybe that's where he met her. 431 00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:06,720 She's great. She's not. 432 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:09,880 Again, she's not a name known to me, but presumably want to 433 00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:13,560 theatre goers. But she's got the most boring 434 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:15,600 part, you know? She's the glue who holds it 435 00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:18,080 together because she's the most normal member of the family. 436 00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:22,280 Apart from hiring a woman to eat all her food, she's kind of, 437 00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:24,840 well, she's the Marge Simpson of the show. 438 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:28,280 Deal with all the nutters and clean up literally after 439 00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:30,840 everybody. And I love the scene when she 440 00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:34,120 just wanders into the into the Old Bailey in the front room 441 00:24:34,360 --> 00:24:37,840 with a few things for her husband to do and then wanders 442 00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:41,680 out again blithely. She's a witness briefly, isn't 443 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:43,240 she? She isn't. 444 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:44,960 She's fantastic in that scene and. 445 00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:48,960 Explaining the function of the cash register, which again is 446 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:55,480 just basically the cash register acts as a well, she says without 447 00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:59,080 it, Kirby would be in a state of paralysis. 448 00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:01,880 It's just a lovely idea that they've taken the notion of 449 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:07,040 Pavlov's dogs and reflexes and taking it again to I mean, this 450 00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:09,320 is the thing, the taking it to an absurd degree. 451 00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:13,720 It's the spiral of absurdity which is a feature of the Goon 452 00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:16,920 shows, taking an idea. And it's also something of Eric 453 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:20,760 Idles comedy taking of taking something that's slightly wrong 454 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:23,560 and instead of ignoring it, pulling that string until 455 00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:27,480 everything falls apart. Yeah, So the the no sale, if you 456 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:30,640 bring up no sale in the in the cash register, it's a it's it 457 00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:33,000 causes a Pavlovian response in Kirby. 458 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:36,360 And he said that he'd wanted to have been 1 of Pavlov's dogs 459 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:39,840 that was born born too latent of the wrong species, but for that. 460 00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:46,360 There are so many great lines. In one way, pendulum the 461 00:25:46,360 --> 00:25:49,360 daughter's obsession with her arms being she's a perfect, and 462 00:25:49,360 --> 00:25:52,640 the way it comes over is that she's all you hear is basically 463 00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:55,520 typical teenager, always worrying about the way she 464 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:58,440 looks, and what she's worried about is the inadequacy of her 465 00:25:58,440 --> 00:26:01,080 arms. You may say about apes. 466 00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:03,400 At least they don't have to bend down practically to the floor 467 00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:04,880 before they can reach their knees. 468 00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:08,480 Arms like apes, if you please. That's what she wants. 469 00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:10,320 Now. We couldn't run through it. 470 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:13,440 Sylvia. Need a whole new set of glands. 471 00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:15,760 You asked me. She's spending too much time at 472 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:18,160 the zoo with Stan. Oh, Stan. 473 00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:21,480 Hence they leave him out of it. I thought we were leading up to 474 00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:23,680 something like this when you started off about your arms in 475 00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:26,320 the first place. If it comes to that, I don't 476 00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:28,360 know what you've both got against apes anyway. 477 00:26:28,360 --> 00:26:32,240 We've got nothing against apes, Sylvia as such. 478 00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:39,800 So we get the impression that Stan and her often go to the zoo 479 00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:42,880 and the Natural History Museum, and she'd earlier had a 480 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:46,000 hankering to be a pterodactyl, according to her mother. 481 00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:50,840 There's a curious obsession with animals in in Anna Simpson's 482 00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:53,440 work in the first layer resounding tinkle. 483 00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:57,320 One of the things they have which is troubling the paradox 484 00:26:57,320 --> 00:27:00,200 family is that they haven't named their elephant. 485 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:03,560 They get an elephant every year from the zoo, much in the same 486 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:04,960 way that most people go on holiday. 487 00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:08,360 More of the problem and they just keep coming up with names 488 00:27:08,360 --> 00:27:11,480 for it which are all terrible and all very funny. 489 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:13,760 Can. You remember any? 490 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:19,960 Mr. Trench And there's a whole conversation about Mason saying 491 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:24,320 what about Hodge and Mini Parrot says Hottage is all right for a 492 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:27,840 a monkey. And somebody said we could call 493 00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:29,560 it Mr. Trench and that's a good name for a juror. 494 00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:33,280 It's an insane conversation about the appropriateness of 495 00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:37,080 names, which is very much an Anna Simpson thing, the idea 496 00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:39,280 that words and phrases are interchangeable. 497 00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:43,440 Mona Washbourne as the aforementioned Aunt Mildred. 498 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:47,080 She reminded me a bit of the Joan Hickson character in 499 00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:49,080 Clockwise. I don't know if you've seen 500 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:50,960 Clockwise of you I love. Clockwise. 501 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:55,200 Joan Hickson's character, that Wittering old lady who's always 502 00:27:55,200 --> 00:28:00,080 going on about some some cow who's after the Sherry glasses. 503 00:28:02,360 --> 00:28:04,640 She reminded me, she reminded me of her, but she's always going 504 00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:10,080 on about friends of hers. Oh, Maude Banquet, who doesn't 505 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:15,920 go anywhere without a camel. And Maude also had an ambulance 506 00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:17,920 at one point until she had an accident with it. 507 00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:21,000 One element of a character from The Playboy, I believe, which 508 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:24,520 was omitted from the film, was that at night they would cover 509 00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:28,720 her up like a parrot. I know I wanted to say that. 510 00:28:28,720 --> 00:28:33,000 One thing about it's interesting that John Cleese turning the the 511 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:36,080 clockwise connection because John Cleese turns up in 512 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:39,040 elementary My dear Watson, which is ATV. 513 00:28:39,040 --> 00:28:43,200 It's on YouTube ATV thing, it's Ennis Simpson does Sherlock 514 00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:45,840 Holmes. John Cleese plays Sherlock 515 00:28:45,840 --> 00:28:48,600 Holmes. Willie Rushton plays Watson, and 516 00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:52,360 it's fantastic because part of it makes sense and a part of it 517 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:55,280 does not. And what's doubly interesting is 518 00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:57,880 that Cleese returned to the topic and he without asking 519 00:28:57,880 --> 00:29:01,120 anybody, he did his own Sherlock Holmes thing, this time with 520 00:29:01,120 --> 00:29:04,480 Arthur Loews Watson a few years later, which I always think was 521 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:08,040 a bit cheeky since, well, Anna Simpson didn't own Sherlock 522 00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:11,960 Holmes, Neither did John Cleese. But yeah, I recommend going on 523 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:14,240 YouTube and looking up Elementary, my dear Watson. 524 00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:18,120 It's got some fantastic. It also contains a a large 525 00:29:18,120 --> 00:29:19,880 section of the TV show called My Blah. 526 00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:23,000 Yes, it does. It's just a sudden some bonus 527 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:25,560 Frank Muir there. Some bonus Frank Muir. 528 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:29,520 Frank, you don't. You don't see these so much 529 00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:33,800 nowadays, just after the First World War. 530 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:35,440 You've got a lot of them. They were sort of practical 531 00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:39,680 garden gnome in small town houses. 532 00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:43,480 They could get a clothesline on on the one tree there, but they 533 00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:45,240 had no way to fix the other end of the line. 534 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:50,200 So they had these rather lovely objects on the grass and the 535 00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:53,200 other end of the chord was tied around the projecting part 536 00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:55,000 there. And then the the thing was 537 00:29:55,000 --> 00:30:00,440 pulled until the line was tied. It's a clothesline straightener 538 00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:06,720 about 1922. Just getting back to the 539 00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:09,760 production of this film, it was it was produced by Michael 540 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:12,480 Deeley and we've discussed Michael Deeley on this show 541 00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:15,360 before. He produced The Case of the 542 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:18,880 Mukhnees Battle Horn with Sellers and Milligan and Dick 543 00:30:18,880 --> 00:30:22,160 Emery in 56. That was his, I think that was 544 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:25,120 his first proper sort of producing role. 545 00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:27,880 And obviously he went on to produce a lot of films, 546 00:30:27,880 --> 00:30:32,040 including this one, stuff like Blade Runner, The Deer Hunter, 547 00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:37,120 The Italian Job, and also and also Sandy the Reluctant Nudist, 548 00:30:37,680 --> 00:30:40,760 which I think was during a rather fellow patch in his 549 00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:46,560 career. It was filmed in Fulham. 550 00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:50,440 So it was #27 Silverton Rd. is the house or the exteriors of 551 00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:51,640 the house that they, that they film. 552 00:30:52,080 --> 00:30:55,800 And they they took over the nearby Crabtree Hotel and they 553 00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:58,680 set up make up, hairdressing and wardrobe departments there. 554 00:30:58,840 --> 00:31:02,680 Excellent. It starts off with this, this 555 00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:06,160 office, insurance office, scores of desks, as I say, very much 556 00:31:06,160 --> 00:31:09,400 like the Rebel, a little cameo, very blinking. 557 00:31:09,400 --> 00:31:11,240 You'll miss some cameo from Trevor Bannister. 558 00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:15,200 Did you notice that from? Are you being served? 559 00:31:15,760 --> 00:31:17,640 Yeah. Yeah, and the dustbin men. 560 00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:20,880 Football this afternoon? No, I don't think so. 561 00:31:21,760 --> 00:31:23,080 I don't have another go at the car. 562 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:26,880 Fred, played by George Cole, gives Arthur a lift on his 563 00:31:26,880 --> 00:31:29,320 motorbike. And this is the first ink thing 564 00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:32,680 that we get that Arthur has these weird obsessions or 565 00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:37,040 pursuits because Fred asks him if he's working on another Great 566 00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:38,880 Wall of China. Yeah. 567 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:44,480 He says straight line. And and later we see Arthur's 568 00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:48,120 wife collecting all the books that Arthur's discarded around 569 00:31:48,120 --> 00:31:49,760 the room. And she says, first at 570 00:31:49,760 --> 00:31:51,440 Stonehenge, you know, it's Noah's Ark. 571 00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:55,600 There's there's also a nice connection that Simpson wrote. 572 00:31:57,240 --> 00:31:59,560 He took the concept, you know, you often read about, you know, 573 00:31:59,800 --> 00:32:02,240 St. Bishop Anselm built Salisbury 574 00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:06,280 Cathedral. You he really wrote a piece 575 00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:09,200 where he took that literally and had the Archbishop of Canterbury 576 00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:12,720 of some undetermined era building a cathedral himself. 577 00:32:12,720 --> 00:32:14,040 And the whole thing is just the Archbishop. 578 00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:17,000 It was hard work getting those stones in place, but somehow I 579 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:20,800 managed to. So, yeah, he does as I say, he 580 00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:24,120 does this whole spatial thing quite often where people are 581 00:32:24,120 --> 00:32:27,360 building things that would not fit, you know, TARDIS, like, 582 00:32:27,360 --> 00:32:29,560 would not fit in the available space. 583 00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:32,360 Because if you build a Great Wall of China, you know 584 00:32:32,360 --> 00:32:34,080 Stonehenge's order. But where do you put a Great 585 00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:40,200 Wall of China? There was ATV play in 61 as part 586 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:41,760 of the Younger Generation series. 587 00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:48,200 You won't remember it, David, and it was these one off plays 588 00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:51,480 for television. And there was one called Goodbye 589 00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:56,120 Charlie written by Tim Aspinall. And Tim Aspinall later worked on 590 00:32:56,120 --> 00:32:57,520 Corrie. He was the man who killed off 591 00:32:57,520 --> 00:33:02,520 Martha Longhurst. OK, but the plot of Goodbye 592 00:33:02,520 --> 00:33:09,800 Charlie was this young man who lives in a in a bed set and he's 593 00:33:09,800 --> 00:33:12,840 building a full size aeroplane in the basement. 594 00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:16,440 That sort of thing was in the was in the the zeitgeist around 595 00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:18,760 this time, I guess. That TV play, by the way, 596 00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:22,440 featured Michael Caine, Ronald Lacy and John Thor among the 597 00:33:22,440 --> 00:33:25,400 cast. Back when you could see people 598 00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:28,960 like that on telly every night. Where were you, Mr. Grim Carey, 599 00:33:28,960 --> 00:33:32,240 before you came here today? I was living in a world of my 600 00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:35,080 own, Sir. Where, roughly would this world 601 00:33:35,080 --> 00:33:38,960 be in relation to, say, chest of the street? 602 00:33:40,160 --> 00:33:43,320 Oh, quite some way away, Sir. Your peasants there, in other 603 00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:45,480 words, entailed travelling some distance. 604 00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:46,880 Quite some distance. Yes, Sir. 605 00:33:47,560 --> 00:33:49,760 Do you enjoy travelling, Mr. Grim Carey? 606 00:33:50,080 --> 00:33:53,440 On the contrary, Sir. Do you mean you actively dislike 607 00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:55,160 it? Actively dislike it, my Lord. 608 00:33:55,280 --> 00:33:58,480 You actively dislike travelling and yet you made this lengthy 609 00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:01,520 journey to check on the street of the masochist at the time, 610 00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:05,520 Sir. A What a masochist, my Lord. 611 00:34:05,840 --> 00:34:08,880 A term employed in certain quarters to denote an addiction 612 00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:14,000 to pain as a source of pleasure. Graham Crowden as one of the 613 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:17,960 councils, is cross examining Arthur Grimm Kirby. 614 00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:22,360 Arthur Grimm Kirby, who's who's erected this Old Bailey? 615 00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:26,199 He's both watching the proceedings and taking part of 616 00:34:26,199 --> 00:34:29,040 the proceedings. Yeah, it's quite surreal, but it 617 00:34:29,040 --> 00:34:32,320 works. And he seems quite delighted to 618 00:34:32,320 --> 00:34:38,040 be called as a witness. And this whole extended cross 619 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:42,800 examination where Crowden asks him to cast his mind back to an 620 00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:46,280 August day the year before and asks him a specific day and ask 621 00:34:46,280 --> 00:34:47,920 him if he can remember what he did on that day. 622 00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:50,120 And Arthur can. He was in Chesterly St. 623 00:34:50,639 --> 00:34:53,159 interviewing someone for a life insurance policy. 624 00:34:53,480 --> 00:34:57,360 And then he adds with this kind of like almost like a little 625 00:34:57,360 --> 00:34:59,920 listeners lascivious sneer. It was a woman. 626 00:35:03,160 --> 00:35:05,320 She wore a string of pearls around her waist for the 627 00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:07,840 tightness. For the tightness, it's such a 628 00:35:07,840 --> 00:35:09,320 great, it's an Alan Bennett line. 629 00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:12,960 And then there's a whole bizarre thing about I remember because I 630 00:35:12,960 --> 00:35:16,960 was a masochist at the time. Yeah, he was a masochist. 631 00:35:16,960 --> 00:35:20,440 He was at a loose end which was practically hanging off, and 632 00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:23,720 this seems to discuss the judge so much that he hasn't remanded 633 00:35:23,720 --> 00:35:27,680 in custody. He's the judge, is a fantastic 634 00:35:27,680 --> 00:35:30,360 character, he's annoyed by everything, doesn't know things. 635 00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:33,840 And I also want to really single out Graham Crowdon, whose 636 00:35:33,840 --> 00:35:37,400 daughter Sarah Crowdon is someone I know and Sarah was in 637 00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:39,760 it. If so, then yes, Graham 638 00:35:39,760 --> 00:35:42,840 Crowdon's scene stealing performance. 639 00:35:43,320 --> 00:35:45,560 You feel very sorry for George Cole's the barrister because 640 00:35:45,560 --> 00:35:50,000 every time he gets up, Graham Crowden throws himself about, 641 00:35:50,480 --> 00:35:54,880 lounges about, makes gerns at the camera and basically scene 642 00:35:54,880 --> 00:35:57,520 steals like a bastard. He's fantastic in it. 643 00:35:58,200 --> 00:36:00,600 But he's brilliant in every Lindsay Anderson film I've seen 644 00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:02,960 him in as well. He's, oh, he's fantastic in it. 645 00:36:03,040 --> 00:36:05,920 He's got that. He's got that madness to him 646 00:36:05,920 --> 00:36:07,800 which really works in this kind of film. 647 00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:10,840 He seems to be genuinely enjoying the anarchy. 648 00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:15,360 Yes, yeah. George Cole, he's defending 649 00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:19,640 Kirby, who's who's not there, but then he is there at the end 650 00:36:20,120 --> 00:36:22,400 and seems to get off on a technicality. 651 00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:25,560 I don't quite. It's a sentence, I think that 652 00:36:25,560 --> 00:36:28,960 the judge has to sentence. To sentence him to death for one 653 00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:31,240 murder would put him beyond the reach of the law. 654 00:36:31,240 --> 00:36:33,120 So as a result, they're discharging him. 655 00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:37,560 It makes complete sense. It's Yeah. 656 00:36:37,560 --> 00:36:39,640 And he's no point arguing with this judge. 657 00:36:39,640 --> 00:36:43,600 And it just the the movie does kind of tail off really, but it 658 00:36:43,600 --> 00:36:47,680 has this beautiful ending where Sykes gets into bed and he's 659 00:36:47,680 --> 00:36:53,240 reading a book about life on the ocean bed and it just ends with 660 00:36:53,240 --> 00:36:56,520 this fantastic image of a beautiful sun kissed beach. 661 00:36:57,440 --> 00:37:00,360 And there's that going to be his next pursuit. 662 00:37:00,360 --> 00:37:01,840 That's. That's the assumption that he's 663 00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:06,640 going to live on the ocean bed and presumably his own home, and 664 00:37:06,640 --> 00:37:10,080 offer a few brief moments of happiness beneath the tide. 665 00:37:11,320 --> 00:37:13,640 He, he is, he's complete. The character's completely 666 00:37:13,640 --> 00:37:15,120 detached from the rest of his family. 667 00:37:15,120 --> 00:37:21,120 He doesn't seem bothered by the fact that his son is on trial 668 00:37:21,200 --> 00:37:24,400 for the murder of 43 people. Well, mind you, neither does the 669 00:37:24,400 --> 00:37:25,880 mother, neither does the child lady. 670 00:37:25,920 --> 00:37:28,800 They, they, they know that he's got, he's done these terrible 671 00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:33,160 crimes, but it's all for the right reasons, because he wants 672 00:37:33,200 --> 00:37:37,960 to, to wear black. It's just this, this acceptance. 673 00:37:38,080 --> 00:37:41,000 And I love the idea that the parents are responsible because, 674 00:37:41,760 --> 00:37:43,920 you know, he's worn black ever since he was a baby. 675 00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:45,240 And this is because of his parents. 676 00:37:45,240 --> 00:37:47,880 And that bizarre moment when he says if he was black, we were 677 00:37:47,880 --> 00:37:49,800 going to dress him in white, and if he was white, we were going 678 00:37:49,800 --> 00:37:51,800 to dress him in black. So they planned everything. 679 00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:55,200 They're responsible. Well, their son's obsession with 680 00:37:55,200 --> 00:37:58,120 black. Now I think I missed here. 681 00:37:58,160 --> 00:38:00,440 He might be able to help me out if there may be nothing to it 682 00:38:00,480 --> 00:38:03,160 whatsoever. Arthur Groom Kobe doesn't want 683 00:38:03,160 --> 00:38:07,720 to swear in the Bible because there's there's passages in it 684 00:38:07,720 --> 00:38:11,720 that he does not approve of. He he wants to swear on Uncle 685 00:38:11,720 --> 00:38:16,240 Tom's cabin instead. Was there was there anything 686 00:38:16,240 --> 00:38:19,280 there underlying thing that I missed or was that just a just a 687 00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:21,240 random book that they chose that it's? 688 00:38:21,280 --> 00:38:25,400 Just the NSCI think Simpson is if anything, making a point that 689 00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:27,320 like swearing on the Bible. You might. 690 00:38:27,320 --> 00:38:32,520 It's just a book, you know, he's pointing out the absurdity of 691 00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:35,480 saying holding a book and saying this book. 692 00:38:35,480 --> 00:38:38,760 Holding this book means I will tell the truth is nonsense. 693 00:38:38,760 --> 00:38:41,600 You might as well swear on the a A Book of the Road or Uncle 694 00:38:41,600 --> 00:38:45,160 Tom's Cabin. I'm one of these people that 695 00:38:45,160 --> 00:38:47,480 when I'm watching old films, if there's if someone's reading a 696 00:38:47,480 --> 00:38:50,480 newspaper or magazine, I always, I'm always thinking, well, that 697 00:38:50,480 --> 00:38:52,480 dates, that dates when they film that. 698 00:38:52,480 --> 00:38:55,320 So I tried to find a, we see Sylvia at one point in the 699 00:38:55,320 --> 00:38:57,320 kitchen reading a copy of Rave magazine. 700 00:38:57,880 --> 00:38:59,560 Oh yeah. And the Internet is great now 701 00:38:59,560 --> 00:39:03,440 because within two minutes I was able to say they they filmed, 702 00:39:03,440 --> 00:39:05,480 they started filming this in March 64. 703 00:39:06,080 --> 00:39:10,320 And that is Rave, an issue from March 64. 704 00:39:10,320 --> 00:39:13,360 It's got picture of Cliff on the front with a eating an apple. 705 00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:16,400 Oh Cliff, who of course PT eights are directed in summer 706 00:39:16,400 --> 00:39:17,320 holiday. Some holiday. 707 00:39:17,320 --> 00:39:18,680 That's probably a little nod, wasn't it? 708 00:39:18,680 --> 00:39:20,840 Yeah, possibly. Maybe, Maybe they weren't 709 00:39:20,840 --> 00:39:24,840 thinking that hard. The death's head on the 710 00:39:24,840 --> 00:39:26,880 mantelpiece that Stan gave to Sylvia. 711 00:39:27,440 --> 00:39:31,480 Supposed to be a memento Mori. It didn't work and it's faulty. 712 00:39:31,760 --> 00:39:36,720 It's a faulty memento Mori. And the implication in, in the, 713 00:39:36,880 --> 00:39:39,720 you know, I think it's the mother's voice that just, you 714 00:39:39,720 --> 00:39:41,200 know, she, they bought a crap one. 715 00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:43,960 She would have gone to John Lewis and got an expensive 716 00:39:43,960 --> 00:39:51,200 memento Mori. Didn't haven't mentioned Glenn 717 00:39:51,200 --> 00:39:54,480 Houston as Sergeant Barnes. He's fantastic in it. 718 00:39:54,960 --> 00:39:57,000 He stops and we see him first he stops. 719 00:39:57,000 --> 00:40:02,160 So Eric or Arthur is pushing this, this really awkward 720 00:40:02,160 --> 00:40:05,960 looking cart laden with large wooden panels and the and the 721 00:40:05,960 --> 00:40:07,680 like. He's pushing it on the road, 722 00:40:07,680 --> 00:40:11,640 down the road, on the road, followed slowly by a police car. 723 00:40:11,640 --> 00:40:14,600 And then Glenn Houston as Sergeant Barnes speaks to him 724 00:40:14,600 --> 00:40:16,480 and then let's him let's move on. 725 00:40:16,920 --> 00:40:21,520 And I think Eric with the cart then runs a red light and has to 726 00:40:21,520 --> 00:40:26,800 drag it back and gets a ticket. But he later gives evidence in 727 00:40:26,800 --> 00:40:32,160 the in the Kirby trial, he he talks about when he goes to he 728 00:40:32,160 --> 00:40:36,640 goes to visit the Grim Kirbys and he speaks to Arthur and he 729 00:40:36,640 --> 00:40:40,880 says it's beginning to add up down at the Mortuary, Mr. the 730 00:40:40,880 --> 00:40:46,120 Grim Kirby. This is the the reason that NF 731 00:40:46,120 --> 00:40:50,840 Simpson is always great is that the ideas are fantastic, but the 732 00:40:50,840 --> 00:40:55,360 comedy is brilliant. He and he was unable, by the 733 00:40:55,360 --> 00:40:58,000 way, I think to tame this. He wrote some sketches for Dick 734 00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:02,440 Emery, bizarrely enough, which I've seen, and A, that shows you 735 00:41:02,440 --> 00:41:05,000 that Dick Emery had quite a broad brief when it started. 736 00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:09,720 It wasn't just the character roster, but B, they're insane. 737 00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:12,600 He can't just write a sketch where a funny character comes 738 00:41:12,600 --> 00:41:14,840 in, says a catch phrase and goes off again. 739 00:41:15,360 --> 00:41:18,200 It they're long and involved and bizarre. 740 00:41:18,200 --> 00:41:22,680 The shaggy dog stories. Yeah, so I've got them 741 00:41:22,680 --> 00:41:28,800 somewhere, but worth looking up. Yes, and you mentioned the Crown 742 00:41:28,800 --> 00:41:33,400 Court story because it was over 3 episodes, Am I right? 743 00:41:33,400 --> 00:41:35,120 I think. It's certainly what it was, the 744 00:41:35,120 --> 00:41:38,520 standard length for a Crown Court. 745 00:41:38,520 --> 00:41:41,720 It always lasted the afternoon TV week. 746 00:41:42,960 --> 00:41:44,280 Yeah. And I did. 747 00:41:44,280 --> 00:41:48,200 I did watch that a couple of years ago, I think. 748 00:41:48,200 --> 00:41:51,000 Do you know what, Dave? I think it was off the back of 749 00:41:52,320 --> 00:41:54,760 our first discussion when you talked about NF Simpson. 750 00:41:55,560 --> 00:41:58,760 And I think I looked into a little bit and I thought, oh, 751 00:41:59,200 --> 00:42:01,040 interesting, there's a Crown Court that he wrote. 752 00:42:01,040 --> 00:42:05,160 So I watched that. It's basically about people in a 753 00:42:05,160 --> 00:42:08,840 hotel on the edge of a Cliff and the toilets have been installed 754 00:42:08,840 --> 00:42:11,520 at the bottom of the Cliff. Yeah, it's an old people's home, 755 00:42:11,520 --> 00:42:14,640 but yeah. And there's a model, which of 756 00:42:14,640 --> 00:42:18,440 course is fantastic. And yeah, these very old people 757 00:42:18,440 --> 00:42:22,040 have to descend a sheer Cliff face, use the toilet. 758 00:42:22,040 --> 00:42:25,440 And what I love is just when you've grasped this, it goes off 759 00:42:25,440 --> 00:42:28,760 on a tangent and every tangent is explored. 760 00:42:29,080 --> 00:42:33,920 And it is just, it's hell in a, in a very funny way. 761 00:42:34,640 --> 00:42:37,200 Everyone involved is an idiot or a maniac. 762 00:42:38,520 --> 00:42:42,760 But everyone just accepts it. Everyone just and what I you 763 00:42:42,760 --> 00:42:45,520 know, and that's a great tradition of literature, that's 764 00:42:45,520 --> 00:42:48,320 Kafka. And you know, if you, that's 765 00:42:48,560 --> 00:42:50,680 what I love is that's the British tradition that is Spike 766 00:42:50,680 --> 00:42:54,320 Milligan, that is NF Simpson and to some extent Monty Python, 767 00:42:54,560 --> 00:42:57,520 that you take an absurd world, you're immersed in it, but also 768 00:42:57,520 --> 00:42:59,960 it's got jokes just like real life. 769 00:43:00,520 --> 00:43:04,000 We're now entering the 73rd day in the case of Cosmic Planning 770 00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:07,280 Consultants versus the Rosenberg Research Foundation, in which, 771 00:43:07,280 --> 00:43:10,760 by an oversight, an old people's home 3000 feet up in the 772 00:43:10,760 --> 00:43:14,040 Cairngorms has been provided with lavatories situated at the 773 00:43:14,040 --> 00:43:17,400 foot of a sheer precipice several 1000 feet below. 774 00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:21,000 It's been an exceptionally protracted hearing during which 775 00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:24,200 both sides have put up what the judge has referred to as a 776 00:43:24,200 --> 00:43:26,560 vegetable smokescreen of red headings. 777 00:43:27,120 --> 00:43:29,920 It's in the nature of red headings, however, that sooner 778 00:43:29,920 --> 00:43:33,760 or later they come home to roost and in these final stages of the 779 00:43:33,760 --> 00:43:36,920 hearing we may expect to hear the flapping of their wings. 780 00:43:37,320 --> 00:43:40,280 Defence counsel is questioning A vital witness. 781 00:43:40,840 --> 00:43:43,160 Where is he dressed in this peculiar manner? 782 00:43:43,400 --> 00:43:47,560 He is a Sherpa Malad, Himalayan mountain guide whose occupation 783 00:43:47,560 --> 00:43:49,840 it is to lead climbers to the summits of such mountains as 784 00:43:49,840 --> 00:43:51,320 Everest. Everest. 785 00:43:51,520 --> 00:43:56,240 He has Malad what is about the summit of Everest makes it so 786 00:43:56,320 --> 00:43:59,320 vital to arrive. It is done in order to keep such 787 00:43:59,320 --> 00:44:03,000 people as Sherpa solo combo here in business malad and so prevent 788 00:44:03,000 --> 00:44:05,840 their becoming a burden on the state by reason of unemployment. 789 00:44:06,120 --> 00:44:09,200 I see. And you have come here straight 790 00:44:09,200 --> 00:44:12,720 from the Gamalier? Yes, Sir, having had no time to 791 00:44:12,720 --> 00:44:15,200 change. I was in the middle, Sir, of 792 00:44:15,200 --> 00:44:18,440 taking a party up to foot of Everest when I was summoned to 793 00:44:18,440 --> 00:44:20,080 be here to give evidence to the court. 794 00:44:20,840 --> 00:44:23,800 Where is this party now? They're on the mountainside 795 00:44:23,800 --> 00:44:25,960 playing Luda Malad awaiting his return. 796 00:44:26,160 --> 00:44:29,080 This was probably the best known of his plays. 797 00:44:29,080 --> 00:44:32,960 A resounding tinkle was that was never filmed, I take it? 798 00:44:33,360 --> 00:44:37,800 No, there is ATV version which is extant which I have seen 799 00:44:37,800 --> 00:44:39,560 which has got Derek Guyler in the lead. 800 00:44:40,200 --> 00:44:44,400 That's very much worth watching. There was a beautiful play 801 00:44:44,400 --> 00:44:46,680 starring Bernard Hepton called Silver Wedding. 802 00:44:47,760 --> 00:44:51,720 Wow. But he sort of like a lot of 803 00:44:51,720 --> 00:44:56,600 people, he has this success with the first two or three plays and 804 00:44:57,320 --> 00:45:01,400 doesn't really capitalize on it. Things just move on really after 805 00:45:01,400 --> 00:45:03,960 that. So the early stuff is fantastic. 806 00:45:04,280 --> 00:45:06,160 Just anything you can get is worth. 807 00:45:06,840 --> 00:45:09,960 I would just say to somebody just go online, look out for 808 00:45:09,960 --> 00:45:14,040 stuff, buy the plays. My friend Ian Grieves put 809 00:45:14,040 --> 00:45:17,680 together a basically the bet a complete NS Simpson collection. 810 00:45:18,320 --> 00:45:20,480 But just what you can find, really. 811 00:45:21,400 --> 00:45:23,320 And if somebody's actually staging one of his plays, 812 00:45:23,320 --> 00:45:27,240 absolutely go and see it. It's nice on the documentary you 813 00:45:27,240 --> 00:45:27,960 made. So was that. 814 00:45:27,960 --> 00:45:30,440 That was a few years before he died. 815 00:45:30,840 --> 00:45:34,080 I've just fancied making this documentary because I liked his 816 00:45:34,080 --> 00:45:37,840 work and then told my friend Ian Greaves. 817 00:45:37,840 --> 00:45:41,520 He said oh they're doing a live stage version of a resounding 818 00:45:41,520 --> 00:45:42,920 tinkle. I think it was at the Royal 819 00:45:42,920 --> 00:45:44,360 Core. So I went. 820 00:45:44,360 --> 00:45:47,320 Then at the end an old bloke got up and did a speech and I've 821 00:45:47,320 --> 00:45:50,360 been told that Ennis Simpson, you know, wild rumours, he was 822 00:45:50,360 --> 00:45:53,240 in a care home. He was no longer couldn't really 823 00:45:53,280 --> 00:45:54,840 hadn't really got it together anymore. 824 00:45:54,840 --> 00:45:58,520 And there he was and he delivered a hilarious speech and 825 00:45:58,520 --> 00:46:03,600 it was like, wow, oh, wow. We tracked him down very quickly 826 00:46:03,880 --> 00:46:06,600 and then found a vast amount of people who wanted to talk about 827 00:46:06,600 --> 00:46:08,400 him. So I'm very proud of that 828 00:46:08,400 --> 00:46:11,120 documentary because it was a little kind of keeping him in 829 00:46:11,120 --> 00:46:14,560 the public eye and also marking his presence because there was 830 00:46:14,560 --> 00:46:17,160 nothing he the thing was, he lived. 831 00:46:17,160 --> 00:46:20,520 It sounds horrible, but he lived, if you like, too long to 832 00:46:20,520 --> 00:46:23,600 be remembered. If he'd gone 20 years ago, there 833 00:46:23,600 --> 00:46:26,600 would have been plenty of people around to commemorate him and 834 00:46:26,600 --> 00:46:28,080 there would have been seasons of his stuff. 835 00:46:28,080 --> 00:46:32,080 But because he he was literally forgotten that he lived until 836 00:46:32,080 --> 00:46:34,080 his 90s. I remember going to a party once 837 00:46:34,080 --> 00:46:36,040 and saying what is this? He goes, it's my 90th and I'm 838 00:46:36,040 --> 00:46:41,400 like, oh Blimey. Was he ever in fashion, if you 839 00:46:41,400 --> 00:46:42,880 know what I mean, or? Yeah. 840 00:46:42,880 --> 00:46:46,080 During the Royal Court period with Pinter and Mortimer. 841 00:46:46,240 --> 00:46:50,120 OK, You know, Kenneth Tynengate wrote this rave review of him, 842 00:46:50,640 --> 00:46:55,520 and his plays were popular. He's part of the repertoire. 843 00:46:55,520 --> 00:46:58,240 He's just kind of. And the other problem is he's 844 00:46:58,240 --> 00:47:02,680 not, he's not humorless. This is a big bug bear of mine. 845 00:47:02,680 --> 00:47:05,680 Obviously, you know, if you're funny, you're not art. 846 00:47:07,680 --> 00:47:10,320 And he was very, very funny. And you can't. 847 00:47:10,440 --> 00:47:13,760 You're not allowed to do both. Yeah, in that documentary, 848 00:47:15,800 --> 00:47:19,520 either you or somebody quotes Kenneth Tynan actually about 849 00:47:19,720 --> 00:47:24,040 talking about Ian Eskew. That says, what's it something 850 00:47:24,040 --> 00:47:25,200 like? If you've seen all of his plays, 851 00:47:25,200 --> 00:47:27,560 you've seen. When you've seen all of Ian 852 00:47:27,560 --> 00:47:29,200 Esco's plays, you've seen one of them. 853 00:47:29,200 --> 00:47:36,400 It's one of my fights every day. And what would it have been like 854 00:47:36,400 --> 00:47:40,160 to get spend an afternoon at a pub with John Mortimer and 855 00:47:40,160 --> 00:47:45,520 Pinter and and F Simpson? It would have been they're 856 00:47:45,600 --> 00:47:48,800 they're so I, I never met Pinter, but you hear stories. 857 00:47:49,160 --> 00:47:52,640 The three of them were so unlike as people. 858 00:47:53,240 --> 00:47:57,880 You know, there's something quite like Wally NF Simpson was 859 00:47:57,880 --> 00:48:02,200 a was a, was a teacher for years and he's got that kind of, you 860 00:48:02,200 --> 00:48:05,440 know, the English teacher you really like vibe about it. 861 00:48:05,760 --> 00:48:08,640 And John Mortimer is Rumpel. He's basically more Sherry. 862 00:48:08,640 --> 00:48:11,360 I don't mind. And Pinter's kind of steely and 863 00:48:11,360 --> 00:48:13,840 frightening. So they were, you know, you 864 00:48:13,840 --> 00:48:17,000 pretty much got all of English drama there in the 1950s. 865 00:48:18,120 --> 00:48:21,240 I watched the film version of The Birthday Party. 866 00:48:21,760 --> 00:48:24,000 Oh, right, I'm not very good on Pinter, I'm afraid. 867 00:48:25,120 --> 00:48:28,640 It was, it was interesting, Yeah. 868 00:48:30,240 --> 00:48:34,920 It's unlike Simpsons. So, so many extended periods of 869 00:48:34,920 --> 00:48:38,320 silence and just people glaring at each other silently. 870 00:48:39,640 --> 00:48:41,280 That's the thing. The Pinter pause. 871 00:48:41,280 --> 00:48:45,440 He's kind of gone down in history, not so much with the 872 00:48:45,440 --> 00:48:47,560 quotes, but for the bits where no one says anything. 873 00:48:49,360 --> 00:48:51,880 You've had this beautiful technique of substitution. 874 00:48:52,240 --> 00:48:54,480 It doesn't seem like substitution, really. 875 00:48:56,280 --> 00:49:01,480 These juxtapositions are funny because they are, you know, it's 876 00:49:01,480 --> 00:49:04,440 like weird juxtapositions. They're only weird because we're 877 00:49:04,440 --> 00:49:07,680 not in the habit of of of linking them together. 878 00:49:08,280 --> 00:49:10,280 So as he was sort of saying in a way, that rabbit hutches and 879 00:49:10,280 --> 00:49:12,600 their majesty of heaven are fairly interchangeable. 880 00:49:13,120 --> 00:49:18,280 Well, yeah. That reminds me of the onset of 881 00:49:18,280 --> 00:49:20,880 original paren's breakdown in the beginning of fallen rise of 882 00:49:20,880 --> 00:49:24,120 original paren where he he starts using the word parsnip 883 00:49:24,640 --> 00:49:27,400 instead of kind of randomly instead of whatever word should 884 00:49:27,400 --> 00:49:29,360 be in the sentence. And when people tell him what he 885 00:49:29,360 --> 00:49:30,800 said, he just says, well, what's it matter? 886 00:49:30,880 --> 00:49:33,880 You know, writing desk parsnip, What's the difference really? 887 00:49:33,880 --> 00:49:35,720 And that's a very NF Simpson point of view. 888 00:49:35,720 --> 00:49:39,520 In fact, he just presents this complete alternative template 889 00:49:39,520 --> 00:49:44,360 for thinking and reacting, which is deadpan, absolutely deadpan, 890 00:49:44,680 --> 00:49:47,760 but at the same time kind of gloriously nonsensical. 891 00:49:48,240 --> 00:49:52,880 Jonathan Coe, who's been a guest again on In your documentary, he 892 00:49:52,880 --> 00:49:55,920 mentions the Fall and Rise original parent David Nobbs, 893 00:49:55,920 --> 00:49:59,920 influenced by NF Simpson. And David Nobbs admitted that as 894 00:49:59,920 --> 00:50:02,920 well. He he also said that he took 895 00:50:02,920 --> 00:50:07,200 Wally's thing of the disconnect, the apparently not connected 896 00:50:07,200 --> 00:50:10,680 adjective, the noun like a resounding tinkle, an upward 897 00:50:10,720 --> 00:50:12,400 fall. And his first book was called 898 00:50:12,400 --> 00:50:14,480 the Itinerant Nobs. His first book was called the 899 00:50:14,480 --> 00:50:18,720 Itinerant Lodger. So he was hugely influenced by 900 00:50:18,720 --> 00:50:19,880 him. There's also a bit of Tom 901 00:50:19,880 --> 00:50:23,200 Stoppard. Tom Stoppard I met and he told 902 00:50:23,200 --> 00:50:25,000 me that he thought Ennis Simpson was great. 903 00:50:25,520 --> 00:50:29,440 And this is my bit boring except for the fans in a resounding 904 00:50:29,440 --> 00:50:33,320 tinkle, the long version. There's a bunch of critics who 905 00:50:33,320 --> 00:50:37,000 sit outside the play and comment on it as it's going on. 906 00:50:37,240 --> 00:50:41,000 And that device is used in Stoppard's The Real Inspector 907 00:50:41,000 --> 00:50:44,360 Hound. So while he's influence, it 908 00:50:44,400 --> 00:50:47,520 really runs through things. It's not shouted about. 909 00:50:48,280 --> 00:50:50,240 It's kind of buried, but he's he's there. 910 00:50:50,240 --> 00:50:52,760 He's an important part of comedy and drama. 911 00:50:54,040 --> 00:50:57,560 Sylvia at the end of the film we've got her and Stan having 912 00:50:57,560 --> 00:51:00,040 this kiss in the hall. Yeah. 913 00:51:00,560 --> 00:51:03,200 And she breaks the 4th wall. She stares straight into the 914 00:51:03,200 --> 00:51:05,600 camera and says I don't know why you don't go and stand outside 915 00:51:06,040 --> 00:51:08,680 Buckman Palace of the Taj Mahal. Gulp at that instead. 916 00:51:09,720 --> 00:51:13,800 It's a great line because it just, it breaks the 4th wall in 917 00:51:13,800 --> 00:51:16,720 a completely pointless way. You know, it's not like Breck. 918 00:51:16,720 --> 00:51:19,600 It doesn't run through the play. People don't keep addressing the 919 00:51:19,960 --> 00:51:21,360 the audience. It's just once. 920 00:51:21,360 --> 00:51:23,520 In fact, the end of the film is really beautiful. 921 00:51:23,520 --> 00:51:26,640 I'm not sure how much that's Wally that you've got the lovely 922 00:51:26,640 --> 00:51:29,560 scene of Mona Washbourne with this, her fantastic, slightly 923 00:51:29,560 --> 00:51:33,400 simple smile, just smiling beatifically out of the window. 924 00:51:34,440 --> 00:51:38,280 That, you know, we leave this mad family on quite a high note. 925 00:51:40,320 --> 00:51:45,800 To outer space by moonlight on roller skates. 926 00:51:48,000 --> 00:51:51,280 Oh, it's just such a great line. She's the Buzz Lightyear of 927 00:51:51,280 --> 00:51:55,400 English drama and. Julia Foster with Sylvia and and 928 00:51:55,760 --> 00:51:58,080 Ken Farrington understand they're both still with us as 929 00:51:58,160 --> 00:51:59,240 well. You know, just that's. 930 00:51:59,240 --> 00:52:02,000 Fantastic. Julia Foster I mean, I have this 931 00:52:02,000 --> 00:52:03,600 great theory. I probably mentioned it, that 932 00:52:03,600 --> 00:52:07,560 the Carry On films were an evil black hole because they took so 933 00:52:07,560 --> 00:52:11,360 much British talent and just shoved it into the stupid thing. 934 00:52:12,000 --> 00:52:14,680 And Julia Foster, she's gorgeous in this film. 935 00:52:14,760 --> 00:52:17,200 I don't know why they don't all go and stand outside Buckingham 936 00:52:17,200 --> 00:52:20,560 Palace or the Taj Mahal or something. 937 00:52:21,720 --> 00:52:28,000 Look all but that instead. The film was fairly lukewarm in 938 00:52:28,000 --> 00:52:33,480 terms of the critical reception, although one reviewer I I I 939 00:52:33,480 --> 00:52:36,320 noted said director Peter Yates is dead right to film these 940 00:52:36,320 --> 00:52:40,240 goonish goings on in a style of utter style of utter matter of 941 00:52:40,240 --> 00:52:42,680 factness. The zigzag sequiturs and verbal 942 00:52:42,680 --> 00:52:46,400 vivisections of Mr. Simpson's dialogue need no embellishment, 943 00:52:47,480 --> 00:52:49,360 actually. That's a nice review. 944 00:52:49,360 --> 00:52:51,920 Zigzag Sequiturs. I like that, Mike. 945 00:52:52,640 --> 00:52:54,640 Yeah. I mean, it's in that it's nice 946 00:52:54,640 --> 00:52:57,160 that it was made at that time because it's in that Richard 947 00:52:57,160 --> 00:52:59,960 Lester universe. It's in that Spike Milligan 948 00:52:59,960 --> 00:53:02,440 universe. It it's stands next to them. 949 00:53:02,440 --> 00:53:05,040 It's not part of that world, but it does fit. 950 00:53:05,040 --> 00:53:07,760 If you were doing a British comedy Film Festival of the 60s, 951 00:53:07,760 --> 00:53:12,080 you could put that with Hard Day's Night and the Goon Movies, 952 00:53:12,080 --> 00:53:16,480 such as they are. See, I would have had Milligan 953 00:53:16,480 --> 00:53:22,600 down as being a fan and, and even a friend of because, you 954 00:53:22,600 --> 00:53:24,680 know, I, I would have imaged because Milligan used to make 955 00:53:24,680 --> 00:53:27,080 friends with everybody he was friends with Robert Graves, for 956 00:53:27,080 --> 00:53:28,680 example. I would have thought he would 957 00:53:28,680 --> 00:53:31,920 have been the, the sort of, you know, NF Simpson would have been 958 00:53:31,920 --> 00:53:35,760 right up Spike St. in terms of forming a, a bond in a, in a, in 959 00:53:35,760 --> 00:53:37,160 a friendship. But I've not been able to find 960 00:53:37,160 --> 00:53:41,480 any anything that suggests that Milligan and he ever met or 961 00:53:41,480 --> 00:53:43,160 spoke or anything, which is surprising. 962 00:53:43,160 --> 00:53:47,280 No, nor have I, I can only, I mean, my only answer to that is 963 00:53:47,280 --> 00:53:50,440 hypothetical, which is they're working almost in the same area, 964 00:53:50,720 --> 00:53:54,160 which tends to make people move away from each other rather than 965 00:53:54,160 --> 00:53:56,480 towards. But I don't think they, I don't 966 00:53:56,520 --> 00:53:59,680 think they would have benefited much from working together, you 967 00:53:59,680 --> 00:54:02,840 know, or from because they're doing the same thing in their 968 00:54:02,840 --> 00:54:05,200 own way. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 969 00:54:06,680 --> 00:54:11,360 And Eric, I just saw an interview with Eric Sykes during 970 00:54:11,440 --> 00:54:18,160 the filming of this in 64. And he didn't say much about the 971 00:54:18,160 --> 00:54:19,960 film itself. He was talking about his career 972 00:54:20,200 --> 00:54:23,880 in general. But he did say, I mean, he was 973 00:54:23,880 --> 00:54:25,720 very glowing about the film in your documentary. 974 00:54:25,720 --> 00:54:27,920 But he but when he was interviewed on set, he said the 975 00:54:27,920 --> 00:54:33,680 film is the first comedy of its kind, but people will think it's 976 00:54:33,680 --> 00:54:35,640 abnormal. There's no delinquent son or 977 00:54:35,640 --> 00:54:37,760 daughter on the streets or mother who's a shoplifter. 978 00:54:38,440 --> 00:54:42,000 So some sharp social commentary there from Eric. 979 00:54:42,440 --> 00:54:43,880 I would say there is a delinquent son. 980 00:54:45,040 --> 00:54:49,600 Yeah, I, it's, it's just occurred to me that I, yeah, I 981 00:54:49,600 --> 00:54:53,640 had Eric Sykes autobiography, but I don't remember what he 982 00:54:53,640 --> 00:54:57,040 says about his only starring moving role, movie role, which 983 00:54:57,040 --> 00:55:00,400 is interesting. Yeah, he made a few films around 984 00:55:00,400 --> 00:55:06,120 this time where he was second build if you like, but he's not, 985 00:55:06,120 --> 00:55:08,200 I don't know with Eric Sykes. I don't think he's got enough 986 00:55:08,200 --> 00:55:12,960 range to be A to to have been a great movie style or movie 987 00:55:12,960 --> 00:55:16,760 actor, but he's got the he was the perfect casting. 988 00:55:16,760 --> 00:55:22,120 I think I'm trying to who was The Who was The Who was the 989 00:55:22,120 --> 00:55:24,800 Arthur character in the play? I'm just having a quick look. 990 00:55:26,080 --> 00:55:31,120 It was George Benson who not the singer, but. 991 00:55:31,480 --> 00:55:37,200 Oh, wouldn't it be great? Do not know George Benson and I 992 00:55:37,200 --> 00:55:41,880 imagine any attempt to be to Google George Benson actor. 993 00:55:43,200 --> 00:55:51,920 Oh when I recognize him that he was born in 1911 from in 994 00:55:51,920 --> 00:55:53,080 Cardiff. I'm trying to see what 995 00:55:53,080 --> 00:55:55,480 filmography give me two seconds. That's fine. 996 00:55:55,960 --> 00:55:58,960 He was in films called the man from Toronto holiday lovers. 997 00:55:58,960 --> 00:56:02,080 Keep it 1932. He starts off. 998 00:56:02,680 --> 00:56:05,360 He's in the pure hell of Saint Trinians and the Great St. 999 00:56:05,400 --> 00:56:08,560 Trinians Train Robbery. Oh, I'm the private. 1000 00:56:08,560 --> 00:56:11,240 He's Inspector Lestrade in The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. 1001 00:56:11,240 --> 00:56:12,280 Oh, I. Love that film. 1002 00:56:12,800 --> 00:56:14,840 Don't you love that film? Pretty cool. 1003 00:56:15,120 --> 00:56:17,200 Yeah, It's big Jonathan. That's a big Jonathan Coe 1004 00:56:17,200 --> 00:56:19,560 favorite, that one. Oh, yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. 1005 00:56:20,000 --> 00:56:23,000 I think that's the for me, that's the best depiction of 1006 00:56:23,720 --> 00:56:31,040 Watson on film or TVI think Colin Blakely is brilliant in 1007 00:56:31,040 --> 00:56:33,760 that. Colin Blakely brings a certain 1008 00:56:33,760 --> 00:56:37,640 kind of rage to it. You, you know, suddenly go mad 1009 00:56:37,640 --> 00:56:41,000 and start beating people up. At well, at one point he thinks 1010 00:56:41,160 --> 00:56:43,400 wrongly. He thinks that that Holmes has 1011 00:56:44,920 --> 00:56:50,040 compromised a lady's virtue and calls him an unspeakable CAD. 1012 00:56:50,680 --> 00:56:52,240 And was such a pleasure. I love it. 1013 00:56:53,360 --> 00:56:57,360 Shocking behaviour. So, David, thank you again for 1014 00:56:57,360 --> 00:57:00,720 coming back to talk about this. It's as I said, it's, I think 1015 00:57:00,720 --> 00:57:03,680 it's on YouTube. I've got a personal copy of the 1016 00:57:03,680 --> 00:57:05,880 film. It is available certainly on 1017 00:57:05,880 --> 00:57:10,520 YouTube, I think, and it's, it's well worth an afternoon viewing. 1018 00:57:11,560 --> 00:57:14,680 But you have to you, you can't just watch it and be looking at 1019 00:57:14,680 --> 00:57:15,720 your phone or anything like that. 1020 00:57:15,720 --> 00:57:17,880 You, you, you have to totally concentrate. 1021 00:57:18,320 --> 00:57:21,240 It pays off for that concentration, that's for sure. 1022 00:57:21,600 --> 00:57:23,960 And if you're a Goons fan, if you're a Python fan, which if 1023 00:57:23,960 --> 00:57:26,880 you listen to this, why wouldn't you be, then I think you, you, 1024 00:57:27,040 --> 00:57:30,760 you'd be all about this film. So, so thanks for, for, for 1025 00:57:30,760 --> 00:57:35,680 coming on to talk about it. And, and what are you doing at 1026 00:57:35,680 --> 00:57:37,040 the moment? I know there's a there's a new 1027 00:57:37,040 --> 00:57:38,880 series of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane Austen? 1028 00:57:39,000 --> 00:57:41,920 That's right, a radio series starring French and Saunders. 1029 00:57:41,920 --> 00:57:44,680 And I've got a short story collection now called And Other 1030 00:57:44,880 --> 00:57:46,880 Stories. I actually wrote a story once 1031 00:57:46,880 --> 00:57:50,080 based on The Woman Who Eats Everything. 1032 00:57:50,480 --> 00:57:53,320 Is the idea that you would now in the modern age, well, maybe a 1033 00:57:53,320 --> 00:57:55,680 few years ago now, you would employ somebody to come around 1034 00:57:55,680 --> 00:58:00,960 and watch all your saved television for you because 1035 00:58:00,960 --> 00:58:04,520 everybody's got that hard disk that needs to be cleared of 9 1036 00:58:04,520 --> 00:58:08,640 million episodes of Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones and just 1037 00:58:08,640 --> 00:58:10,760 employing someone to come around and watch your TV. 1038 00:58:12,440 --> 00:58:14,880 So. And yeah, I did just want to 1039 00:58:14,880 --> 00:58:19,040 say, Tyler, thanks for featuring NS Simpson in this, because I 1040 00:58:19,040 --> 00:58:22,480 very much feel like someone who's doing publicity for his 1041 00:58:22,480 --> 00:58:25,040 legacy, and it's great that you've featured it. 1042 00:58:25,840 --> 00:58:29,080 Well, my pleasure. And as I said before we started 1043 00:58:29,080 --> 00:58:33,560 recording, I think I'd never really, I'd probably heard of 1044 00:58:33,560 --> 00:58:36,080 him, but I'd never really until you mentioned them to me 1045 00:58:36,080 --> 00:58:38,520 originally. And then I watched clips of the 1046 00:58:38,520 --> 00:58:41,240 film at the time and then I've watched it now in its entirety 1047 00:58:41,240 --> 00:58:43,320 and I definitely do want to seek out more. 1048 00:58:44,560 --> 00:58:48,560 I, I did watch the I have watched the, the Klees and 1049 00:58:48,560 --> 00:58:52,880 Rushton comedy Playhouse. I have watched that and I have 1050 00:58:52,880 --> 00:58:54,680 obviously watched the Crown Court, but I want to seek out 1051 00:58:54,680 --> 00:58:58,440 more. And oh, just one thing I wanted 1052 00:58:58,440 --> 00:59:00,760 to ask you. What's happening with with your 1053 00:59:00,760 --> 00:59:04,160 podcast The Old Fools? Thank you for asking. 1054 00:59:04,160 --> 00:59:07,640 We're we're trying to re float it so hopefully it's coming back 1055 00:59:07,640 --> 00:59:10,880 soon. And that's the two of you. 1056 00:59:10,880 --> 00:59:13,960 It's you and Ian Martin. That's right. 1057 00:59:14,360 --> 00:59:16,160 And but you always have a female guest. 1058 00:59:16,520 --> 00:59:20,080 We always have a variety of female guests to keep the world 1059 00:59:20,080 --> 00:59:24,640 on its even keel. Yes, and one of the things that 1060 00:59:24,640 --> 00:59:27,720 intrigues me, and I love it, is from what I've seen, the lost 1061 00:59:27,720 --> 00:59:31,120 films of Hollywood. Yes, that's the calendar we've 1062 00:59:31,120 --> 00:59:36,760 run out where I had the idea of what if loads of famous films 1063 00:59:36,760 --> 00:59:38,960 like When Harry Met Sally and The Matrix. 1064 00:59:39,240 --> 00:59:43,000 What if they were remakes of earlier films? 1065 00:59:43,440 --> 00:59:46,960 And I had the idea years ago and then it occurred to me the other 1066 00:59:46,960 --> 00:59:51,440 day that if these we made posters for these films, it 1067 00:59:51,440 --> 00:59:54,920 would actually be much funnier. So I asked Chris Barker, who's 1068 00:59:54,920 --> 00:59:57,480 the king of this sort of thing, and we made a sold out calendar 1069 00:59:57,760 --> 01:00:00,720 and I've got more plans. I'm hoping to do postcards with 1070 01:00:00,720 --> 01:00:02,800 Chris and maybe another calendar next year. 1071 01:00:03,320 --> 01:00:05,160 Oh, they're brilliant, beautiful works of art. 1072 01:00:05,760 --> 01:00:07,760 They're gorgeous. Chris has done such a great job 1073 01:00:07,760 --> 01:00:10,600 and if you Google Lost Films of Hollywood you will find on 1074 01:00:10,600 --> 01:00:14,640 Kickstarter a nice video showing you all the funny posters. 1075 01:00:15,120 --> 01:00:16,360 Very good. Excellent. 1076 01:00:16,360 --> 01:00:18,760 Well, thank you again, David, and thank you all for listening. 1077 01:00:19,320 --> 01:00:23,760 Next week, we are talking about two episodes of This Is Your 1078 01:00:23,760 --> 01:00:28,640 Life featuring Spike Milligan. So watch out for that. 1079 01:00:29,200 --> 01:00:33,600 So until then, please keep rating and reviewing and I will 1080 01:00:33,600 --> 01:00:36,040 see you next time. See you soon. 1081 01:00:36,120 --> 01:00:36,560 Bye.