Say Ahhh! – Dr Finlay’s Casebook

Dr Finlay’s Casebook

One of the most amazing TV series to be brought onto the Radio waves was Dr Finlay’s Casebook. For a really excellent background article read Ian Beard’s site and episode list -

http://www.geocities.com/gregorym101/finlay.html

This cranky idea of a rather brusque pair of Scottish Doctors working in the middle of nowhere and speaking in broad Scottish tongues (or so I thought) hardly seemed to be a good starting point for a top drama series. Yet it was marvellous on the radio because some superb writers were allowed to fashion a beautiful collection of often heart-pulling stories. (I’m a bit of a fan!) Wild sexual scenes like touching each others hands in public became quite fascinating? (The Dr and his lady friend!) But it was the characters of the sick patients, the local hospital and its staff not to mention the arduous life of Dr Cameron and Dr Finlay that held one spell-bound. A Question that never got answered was did Dr Cameron know that Janet loved him? Ok I’m having fun but alongside the humour and pathos was a fascinating picture of the times that is well worth revisiting.

The original series ran to 144 episodes and we’ve just clocked over the 100 mark recovered now. Would love to see the remainder come to light so please write in if you have any.

The newer stories of ‘The Adventures of a Black Bag’ had the wonderful Ian Bannen playing the part of the ageing Doctor. I always liked Ian Bannen who used to shop in Ventnor in the corner shop opposite our home. Always polite but never a showy actor – appreciated! Personally the newer series cashed in on the later desire for programmes like Heartbeat but I dont think the stories had the same strength.

There were not many TV programs that went to radio but a few exceptions like Dads Army and To The Manor Born spring to mind. The times were a changing and listening audiences were becoming viewers. In the last few years one of the only radio series that jumped out with the same excitement and promise was in 1995/6 when a production of plays about Victoria Railway Station in Notttingham were made by the BBC. Maybe next time we will have a visit to the radio engine sheds?

For now if you fancy catching up with Dr Finlay again hit the links -

Enjoy – Ian

Dr Finlay Links

Series 1
http://www.4shared.com/dir/17230383/d08590b1/DRFS01.html

Series 2
http://www.4shared.com/dir/17233961/bf2af62b/DRFS02.html

Series 3
http://www.4shared.com/dir/17329333/b845fce5/DRFS03.html

Series 4
http://www.4shared.com/dir/17331501/813fb3e7/DRFS04.html

Series 5
http://www.4shared.com/dir/17337126/f0fb3c6/DRFS05.html

Series 6
http://www.4shared.com/dir/17338256/1a6b8b0e/DRFS06.html

Series 7
http://www.4shared.com/dir/17365739/e0cfa45f/DRFS07.html

Series 8
http://www.4shared.com/dir/17368003/dc12d0da/DRFS08.html

Series 9
http://www.4shared.com/dir/17369994/24d9a2da/DRFS09.html

Extra
http://www.4shared.com/dir/17372281/ab9c2644/DRFXTRA.html

If you fancy a lot of downloads via 4shared (all free by the way) they will download even faster by signing up for an account. If you do hit the button below and join I get a small commission towards maintaining my own account and will of course earn my undying thanks… but the episodes are all available to you.

More Cole for the Coalhole? – A Life of Bliss!

For most red-blooded males of the 50’s the sight of the sixth form from St Trinians was an absolute tonic. In amongst all the black-stockings was ‘Flash Harry’ played by a young George Cole – some people get all the luck…..

My mind is wandering, thats the joy of being politically incorrect however it does indirectly lead us into this months Gem of Radio from the 1950s – A Life of Bliss. Made originally as a perfect foil for David Tomlinson within a few episodes the star role was passed over to George Cole. A life of Bliss centred round the love life (or lack of it?) of one David Alexander Bliss (George Cole) a man who is naive to the point of stupidity. Another cast member with an interesting line in ‘bark’ was Percy “Edwards who played ‘Psyche’ the dog.

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The show remains well worth spending a nostalgic revisit and for some fun info on it have a look here at some great snippets from Whirligig

http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/memories/snippets/snippets8.htm

Like many good things the show eventually transferred to the square box with similar success. I wonder if any copies still exist?

I have just over 30 episodes of the radio show which you can download on the following two links freely. Some debate over dating in OTR circles but I am happy with these.

ALOB Series 1-5

ALOB Series 6-8

The Man who never grew up – Jimmy Clitheroe!

There two excellent sites which will tell you all about Jimmy Clitheroe. The first I have some input into so I am biased towards

-http://www.theclitheroekid.org.uk/

the second which is excellent by the way

-http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/bridip/clitheroe/

Now for the last mmmmteen years I have been trying to relive my childhood through Radio Comedy. My two favourite shows are The Navy Lark and The Clitheroe Kid. As a result of this strange addiction I have worked with several people to hunt down some of the missing episodes of The Clitheroe Kid. This year has see a natural halt to the work and the episodes have been made public globally free of charge. We have worked hard at improving the existing stock and many episodes have been rerecorded and mastered at much higher quality. Some are blooming awful! but collectors argue over the right to hear the only known copy of an episode even if its poor or over-recorded. Fortunately there are only a few of these! We have chosen the best audible copies for this set which has not always been the highest encodes – audio recorders note.

All the episodes are available on the links below. All can be downloaded as and when you want. Suggestion: if you want to ‘grab’ the lot you might like to invest in a small premium account as it will make the download process simpler and faster.

It is not essential though.

We would like to find the remaining episodes and continue to upgrade the poor ones. If you can help please contact us by emailing

thekidhimself@hotmail.co.uk

Here are the show links

1959-61    

http://www.4shared.com/dir/14946973/96ee603a/TCKid_1959-1961.html

1962    

http://www.4shared.com/dir/14964965/b65f6fa5/TCKid_1962.html

1963
http://www.4shared.com/dir/14971409/ebd5ced9/TCKid_1963.html

1964
http://www.4shared.com/dir/14979913/df77ad3a/TCKid_1964.html

1965
http://www.4shared.com/dir/15001048/ccef15fb/TCKid_1965.html

1966
http://www.4shared.com/dir/15006144/594c0b5e/TCKid_1966.html

1967
http://www.4shared.com/dir/15011730/b55a343b/TCKid_1967.html

1968
http://www.4shared.com/dir/15016340/60c53299/TCKid_1968.html

1969
http://www.4shared.com/dir/15035864/31be876d/TCKid_1969.html

1970
http://www.4shared.com/dir/15050112/20d38a82/TCKid_1970.html

1971
http://www.4shared.com/dir/15071186/3400c1d7/TCKid_1971.html

1972
http://www.4shared.com/dir/15074600/272b085d/TCKid_1972.html

Extras
http://www.4shared.com/dir/15079338/f67cc99a/TCKid_Extras.html

Please leave a comment if any links fail and I’ll do my best to get them running again asap.

Ode dear? – Could be Cyril Fletcher

Cyril Fletcher (June 25, 1913 – January 2, 2005) was an English comedian. He was most famous for his Odd Odes, which was a section of the popular TV show That’s Life. Fletcher had first begun performing the Odd Odes in 1937, long before they first appeared on television. He came up with the idea when he was short of material for a radio show. The first Odd Ode was a comic, yet sentimental, reading of Edgar Wallace’s war poem Dreaming of Thee. Following this broadcast he was given a regular programme on Radio Luxembourg; it was this show that brought him to national attention.

Fletcher, who was born in Watford, was a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He was also a successful businessman, believing it to be important to diversify in such a fickle business as show business. He was the founder of Associated Speakers, an agency for after-dinner speakers, on whose books were the likes of the Duke of Bedford and Lord Longford, as well as himself.

Personally I used to love listening to Cyril’s wonderful voice as he related the story of ‘Sonia Snell to whom an accident befell’ on That’s Life. However he was a great favourite and has left a store of amusing odes still to be chuckled over. To end with here’s Cyril relating ‘Eliza Tweet’ which he himself is the hero of……clever?

ELIZA TWEET
by
Cyril Fletcher

This is the tale of Eliza Tweet
Who strolled one night along the street
Picking with dainty fingertips
A fourpenny plaice and two of chips,
Wrapped in a sheet of news which seemed
Had pictures which were most refined.
Then suddenly in such a flutter
She threw her chips out in the gutter,
For on that greasy paper there
Was the answer to a maidens prayer,
‘Cos underneath her piece of plaice
Was Cyril Fletcher’s smiling face.
So where the vinegar had trickled
His features were a trifle pickled
But ‘Liza loved it just the same
And put it in a photo frame,
And now at bedtime has to pause
For Cyril’s on her chest of drawers.
She turns his face round to the wall
While she takes off her wear an’ all
Then dons her nighty, neat and plain
And shyly turns him round again.
Then she murmers, “Good night, Duck!”
And kisses where a chip has stuck
Which mars his classic lips so chaste
And gives them such a funny taste.
And then she tells him she’ll be true
And swears he answers, “Thanking you!”
Then jumps in bed to take her rest
With Cyril clutched against her chest
And whispers,”Now I hope to be…
Dreaming oh my love of thee!”

Thanking-yew 1945 Cyril Fletcher & Peter Fettes

And an opportunity to listen again to a few gems….. click on link below for free downloads

http://rapidshare.com/users/N6FVD2

One of the Rats? – Ted Ray

Ted Ray was born Charles Olden on 21st November 1905, the son of a Wigan comedian. He stage name was inspired by a famous golfer of the 1920s, whose name he had selected from a sporting diary. Ray’s route into the theatre was punctuated by work as a ship’s steward, an office clerk and a dance band violinist before he made his debut at the Palace Theatre, Preston, Lancashire in 1927. Three years later, he was appearing in London Music Hall.

Ray began his career in music hall. Besides his comedy act, he was a talented violinist.  The earliest reference I can find to him was in 1933 when he was part of trio made up of George Elliott,  Gertie Gitana and Ted Ray who toured with their own show, George, Gertie and Ted. Shortly after the Second World War, he appeared with Henry Hall and his band.

The height of Ted Ray’s fame was undoubtedly through his work in radio comedy, where his own series, Ray’s A Laugh (pictured, above), which commenced transmission in 1949, rapidly became a firm household favourite, running eventually for twelve years. This popularity lead to four appearances – three of them consecutive – in the prestigious Royal Variety Performance. A year later, he became Master of Ceremonies on Calling All Forces, a BBC variety show.

Television work beckoned and Ray was undoubtedly a natural, able to work to the camera in empty studios as though he was in a packed theatre. His affinity and direct interaction with the audience made him a popular performer on both sides of the camera lens. In 1955, he fronted his own monthly BBC comedy series, insipidly titled The Ted Ray Show, which ran in various forms until 1958, at which point he temporarily jumped ship and made six programmes for independent television entitled (much more imaginatively) Hip Hip Who Ray, which were more stand-up focused than his BBC shows. Among his other television work were readings of children’s stories on the long-running Jackanory strand and regular appearances on McDonald Hobley’s panel game ‘Does the Team Think?’

Ted Ray also made appearances in feature films, his earliest being Elstree Calling (1930), followed by Radio Parade of 1935 (1935). He featured in a run of films in the 1950s, including the starring role in Carry On Teacher (1959), an early entry in Peter Rogers and Gerald Thomas’ long running and hugely successful film series.

After receiving serious injuries in a 1975 car crash, Ted Ray cut down his public appearances to a minimum, meaning he was unable to appear in the tenth anniversary edition of It’s A Knockout, where he would have joined original co-hosts McDonald Hobley and Charlie Chester.

Ted Ray died in hospital following a heart attack on Tuesday 8th November 1977 aged 71. He left a wife, Dorothy, and their two sons, Andrew Ray, the actor, and BBC producer and Face the Music panellist, Robin Ray. He committed his career memories to paper in two autobiographies: Raising the Laughs (1952) and My Turn Next (1963).

One of the Rats?

In 1949 Ted Ray was made King Rat following a prestigious line of entertainers all the way from Dan Leno – follow the story here; -

http://www.gowr.net/History/grandorderofwate.html

An opportunity to see the man himself on ‘This is Your Life’ is available on a link on Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Ray_(comedian)

Finally, but happily a few of the Rays a Laugh shows still exist. Here’s a link for you to download a few in oreder to listen again to one of the most loved British Radio Comedians – Ted Ray

Ted Ray

http://rapidshare.com/users/F0UJ2Q

Jack Warner – MusicHall – Radio – TV – Film

Warner (born Horace John Waters in Bromley-by-Bow on 24 October 1896) was in the Royal Flying Corps in WW1, and from the ’20s in variety as a comedian, delivering comic monologues – his sisters were variety performers Elsie and Doris Waters. His film debut was in a variety theatre mystery, The Dummy Talks (d. Oswald Mitchell, 1943), and he soon became an Ealing regular, with good roles in Hue and Cry (d. Charles Crichton, 1946), as leader of a gang of crooks, and in Against the Wind (d. Crichton, 1947), as the traitor shot dead by the French resistance heroine. One of his best villains was as a hardened escaped convict chained to young George Cole in My Brother’s Keeper (d. Alfred Roome, 1948).

But he will always be remembered for two roles. First was London bus driver Joe Huggett, representative of the steady, reliable working man, on a family holiday at Holiday Camp (d. Ken Annakin, 1947), in which Warner and Kathleen Harrison, described by one critic as ‘South London’s answer to Ma and Pa Kettle’, captured the spirit of post war Labour Britain – ‘making do’ and generally promoting the wartime egalitarian spirit in peacetime. Three more Huggett films followed, as well as a long-running ’50s radio series on the BBC Light Programme, all presenting an idealised version of working-class family life.

Second, in The Blue Lamp (d. Basil Dearden, 1949), Warner played the fatally heroic P.C. George Dixon, a character so popular that he was revived by Ted Willis for BBC television in Dixon of Dock Green (1955-76). It presented a reassuring, nostalgic world where young thugs see the error of their ways after a lecture from fatherly PC Dixon, who matured into the oldest serving constable in the country. In The Ladykillers (1955), he was at the police station desk again, reassuring little old Katie Johnson. But for most of the ’50s, he was in supporting roles, often in domestic settings, as in Home and Away (d. Vernon Sewell, 1956), which repeated the Huggett formula. His last starring role (following TV popularity as Dixon) was as the police inspector in Jigsaw (d. Val Guest, 1962). He was awarded the OBE in 1965.

Early material by Jack Warner isnt easily found but there are a few gems on the following links to give you a taste of his earlier career in Musichall and Variety. The next thread deals with Meet the Huggetts and more shows can be downloaded there.

(free link)

Jack Warner

http://rapidshare.com/users/Q640DN

Meet the Huggetts

I was three when this charming little comedy hit centre stage in the Nations affections. Jack Warner was already a star from the days of the music halls and radio shows during the war. As Mr Huggett he played the average bloke (1950’s mode anyway) and was a great role model leading to his popularity in Dixon of Dock Green later on the TV. As Pa Huggett he starred along side with Kathleen Harrison as Ethel, a rather mousy wife I always thought. It ran on the radio from 1953-61 and was a spin-off from the cinema’s popular comedy drama of 1947, Holiday Camp, which had introduced the salt-of-the-earth Huggett Family. Sadly like many 50s programs examples are rare but heres a few to enjoy including a few recent finds.
Here’s a free link for a few episodes

Meet The Huggetts

Professor Jimmy Edwards

Name:      Jimmy Edwards

Birth:     Date:     March 23, 1920
Place:     Barnes, London, England.
Death:     Date:     July 7, 1988
Place:     London, England.
Occupation:     Comedian
Biographical Notes:

Jimmy Edwards was a British radio and television comedy actor, best known as Pa Glum in Take It From Here and as the headmaster ‘Professor’ James Edwards in Whack-O.

Born James Keith O’Neill in Barnes, London, Edwards served in the Royal Air Force during World War II, winning the Distinguished Flying Cross. His Dakota was shot down at Arnhem in 1944, resulting in plastic surgery — he disguised it with the huge handlebar moustache that later became his trademark.

A feature of London theatre in the immediate post-War years, having previously performed in the Cambridge Footlights review, Edwards gained wider exposure as a radio performer, appearing in the long-running Take It From Here, where he developed the Glums alongside June Whitfield.

Graduatating to television, his appeared in shows such as the panel game Does the Team Think?, The Seven Faces of Jim, as well as guest slots in Make Room for Daddy and Sykes. Edwards also worked with Eric Sykes when he acted in the Sykes-penned short films The Plank (1967) (alongside Tommy Cooper) and Rhubarb (1969) (which also featured Harry Secombe).

He published his autobiography, Six of the Best, in 1984, as a follow up to the earlier Take it From Me. Amongst his outside interests were brass bands and the handlebar Club, in which all the members had such moustaches. During the 1970s he also came out as a homosexual.

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‘Take it From Here’ shows are fairly easy to obtain so I have chosen some less common material to let you enjoy Jim with. There is a complete set of his Radio Biography ‘The Life of Jim’ and episodes from ‘Blowing Bubbles’, ‘Mr Murgatroyd and Mr Winterbottom’, a ‘Just Jim Tribute’ and an edition of Radio Lives called ‘Wake up at the back there…Jimmy Edwards!’ Hope you enjoy them and do let me know if you find any more.

Life of Jim

JIM MISC

Whacko – Jimmy Edwards

In todays age of political correctness one wonders how a story about a rogue of a headmaster thrashing his pupils with a cane daily would go down? Such abuse surely would not be funny…well, actually it was, and still is! That’s me blindfolded and up against the wall then. Like most adolescents growing up in the 50s and 60s on a diet of Jennings and Just William this was of course ‘just like real life’ and ‘jolly exciting’ as the boys invariably got one over on ‘Jim’

This classic sit-com started life on BBC Television in October 1956 and starred ‘Professor’ Jimmy Edwards. Written by the masterful team of Frank Muir and Denis Norden, this was undoubtedly one of the major successes of early British television. There were 8 series in all with a couple of special shows, giving a grand total of 60 half hour shows, and 3 shorts. But the story doesn’t stop there, and this is one of the more unusual shows where a radio series and even a film were spawned from the TV version.

RADIO.
Cast list

* Professor James Edwards- Jimmy Edwards
* Mr. Oliver Pettigrew- Arthur Howard (first show only)
* Mr. Aubrey Potter- Roddy Maude-Roxby
* Mr. Alfred Tennyson- Frederick Treves
* Mr. Arnold Halliforth (series 2&3)- Edwin Apps
* Matron- June Whitfield
* A.J.Lumley (series 2&3)- Roger Shepherd
* Phipps (series 2)- John Coxall
* Fenner (series 3)- John Coxall

The Radio ran for three series from 1961 to 1963. Of the 44 known episodes 41 exist still and can be be found to enjoy on the links at the end of this item. Should you have any of the 3 missing ones please contact me!!!

The film ‘Bottoms Up!’ was made at Elstree in 1960. The script was written by Michael Pertwee with contributions from Frank Muir and Denis Norden – some lines from the film are reproduced exactly in the radio series, identifying them as the work of Muir/Norden. The film was directed by Mario Zampi and provided Professor Edwards with a main student irritant by the name of Wendover (inspirationally played by John Mitchell), who would become Lumley in the radio series.

Now you’ve finished reading the comic here’s the Radio episode links

WKO SERIES1

WKO SERIES 2

WKO SERIES 3

Educating Archie

(Picture) Archie Andrews and the little girl played by Beryl Reid

In 1944, while ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his dummy Charlie McCarthy (a smart-aleck schoolboy) were starring on American radio, Britons were tuning their home wireless sets to another smart-aleck schoolboy who was also a ventriloquist’s dummy: Archie Andrews. (No relation to the American comic-book character of the same name.) The immensely popular Archie starred in his own radio programme ‘Educating Archie’ which ran until 1960, abetted by ventriloquist Peter Brough. Unlike his counterpart Edgar Bergen, Brough tended to stay in the background, preferring to let Archie bounce his wisecracks off a rotating series of comedians (including Tony Hancock) and guest stars. Eventually Archie made the transition to television, in a series titled ‘Here’s Archie’ (because audiences were finally getting a look at him). In 1958, the format of the earlier radio show was adapted for television.

‘Educating Archie’ (tv version) ran on ITV from September 1958 until Christmas 1959. The first 13 episodes were transmitted fortnightly, not weekly, owing to the technical problems involved in manipulating Archie’s wooden body in a convincing fashion. Regulars on this series included Irene Handl as the gardener, Dick Emery in two roles (and different make-ups) as the gardener named George and a conniver named Monty, and Freddie Sales as the lodger. Although nominally a children’s series (it aired before 7.00pm), ‘Educating Archie’ featured some sophisticated humour that adults could appreciate … and the Dads in the audience enjoyed watching Sheena Marshe, a very sexy (and stacked) blonde who helped wooden-headed Archie get his education (and some more wood, too).

Whereas Charlie McCarthy rather improbably wore a top hat, tailcoat and monocle, Archie Andrews was dressed much more plausibly for a schoolboy, with a striped public-school scarf draped across his throat to conceal the join between his neck and his body. From a technical viewpoint, Peter Brough was an even less competent ventriloquist than Edgar Bergen: Brough’s lips moved frequently (one reason why he preferred to stay in the background), and there were the inevitable “gottle of geer” jokes due to Brough’s (Andrew’s) inability to pronounce the plosive letters B and P whilst ventriloquising. By the way: ventriloquists dislike the word ‘dummy’: the preferred term for the puppet is the ‘figure’.

Most of the comedy material in the tv version of ‘Educating Archie’ was written by Marty Feldman, in collaboration with several other scripters … and Feldman’s bizarre surrealistic humour was already solidly in place at this early date. Marty Feldman was not yet an onscreen performer; his physical appearance was deemed too grotesque for sensitive viewers. It would be nice to see a face-to-face confrontation between wooden Archie and pop-eyed Marty (who resembled Mr Punch, the most famous puppet of them all), but this was not to be.

Peter Brough had never shown any great love for show business, and he hung up the dummy in 1961 in order to take over his family business, leaving the field clear for younger and better ventriloquists such as Arthur Worsley and his dummy Charlie Brown. (Why do so many English ventriloquists’ dummies have the same names as American comic-book characters?) But Archie and Brough continued to make occasional tv appearances until Brough’s death.

Here’s those links again

Radio Shows

http://rapidshare.com/users/C4KVMD

and theres more…….

ARCHIE’S THE BOY

Like many before and after him Archie went down under to test the waters in Australia. It didnt last long before he was back to Blighty but we have a few audio recordings of the event.

Radio Shows

http://rapidshare.com/users/R5PM7Q

And finally here’s a picture of a young man who would rapidly make his way up through Radio to become a major and international TV Success story – Benny Hill