In the 70s and 80s, late-night television often aired a cinematic gem before the latest public information film about a badly driven Vauxhall. There might be Nicky Henson and his […]
“I am aiming for a universal comedy that will transcend class and state barriers.” “Cut out the slang.” That was the advice the by-then-retired Stan Laurel gave to Tony Hancock […]
There are two early scenes in The Rebel that make the viewer realise they are viewing one of the finest comedies of its generation. The first is of Tony Hancock […]
“Baleful” is the mot juste (appropriate word) for the various chars, housekeepers and landladies embodied by Irene Handl, whether dealing with a “bohemian” lodger or confronting incomprehensible government paperwork. Beneath […]
In the 1960s, no other TV company did crime drama like ITC. In fact, few British series of the time boasted the Hollywood-like gleam and ambition of Man In A […]
To glance at any 1950s or early 1960s copy of the Spotlight Casting Directory is to be immersed in a world of ambition, hope and quiet desperation. Asides from the […]
For many years, British cinema and television boasted a profusion of landladies, barmaids and charwomen who were forever on the alert for those who dared ‘to take a liberty’. They […]
12th September 1927 – 9th July 2019 Some actors – no names – change moods with the verve and ease of a Morris Marina 1.8 TC struggling into third gear […]
‘I am the girl who says loudly and clearly the unfunny line before the comedian’s funny line. I prefer to leave it at that’. June Whitfield stated in a 1961 […]