Art & Hue Presents 1970s Cops!

Now this isn't strictly Carry On related, even if it does feature a pre-Carry On England Patrick Mower, but I just had to share this new range of pop art from the brilliant Art & Hue. I have a massive soft spot for the very best of British television from the golden age - the 1970s. Two of my favourite shows are The Professionals, starring Martin Shaw, Gordon Jackson and Lewis Collins and The Sweeney, which featured John Thaw and Dennis Waterman.

I don't think they make telly like that any more which is a great shame, however you can own your own piece of classic TV nostalgia with this great new range of art work.

Art & Hue presents 1970s Cops, stylish pop art illustrations of iconic Seventies police detectives, available in three sizes and 25 colour options.

Fast talking, thinking, and driving, 1970s cops leapt into action at a moment’s notice, catching bad guys unawares and foiling plots with skidding cars and a cocky swagger.

“The Sweeney”, “The Professionals”, “Special Branch”, and “Target” hooked British viewers with a captivating mix of rule-breaking and action. 

Capturing the spirit of the 1970s, Lewis Collins, Martin Shaw, Gordon Jackson, Patrick Mower, John Thaw, and Dennis Waterman have been given the Art & Hue treatment in this group of six stylish graphic illustrations.

Exclusively by Art & Hue, all pop art prints are printed on museum-quality archival card of 310gsm, made from 100% cotton, using fine art pigment inks for longevity.

2018 marks 40 years since the final episodes of The Sweeney & Target and 35 years since the final episode of The Professionals.

Visit artandhue.com/cops to see the full collection.

You can read my blog on the Carry On connections with The Sweeney here 

And you can read my blog on the Carry On connections with The Professionals here

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Carry On Blogging Interview: Julian Holloway (Part 1)

I was absolutely delighted to receive an email over the weekend from the actor Julian Holloway. I have long been a fan of Julian's work, both in the Carry Ons and elsewhere and often thought he would be a great person to interview. And all of a sudden here we are. I was surprised to hear that Julian not only was aware of my blog but had read several pieces I had written about his career. The power of the internet strikes again!

I tentatively asked if Julian would be up for a chat for the blog and thankfully he agreed. We spent a thoroughly enjoyable, entertaining hour on the phone on Monday afternoon and the whole experience was a delight. Our conversation was fairly wide ranging so I have decided to split the interview write up into two different parts. While obviously I wanted to ask about the Carry On films, I was well aware that Julian has enjoyed and continues to enjoy a wonderfully diverse career. Looking up his career history on the internet I was spoiled for choice over what to ask about, but I hope you find the following interview a good read.

Julian first joined the Carry On team in 1967 with a small part as a ticket collector in Follow That Camel. A further seven film roles followed: Simmons in Carry On Doctor; Major Shorthouse in Up The Khyber; Jim Tanner in Camping; Adrian in Loving; Sir Thomas in Carry On Henry; Roger in At Your Convenience and finally Major Butcher in Carry On England in 1976. He also appeared playing several different roles in the 1973 Carry On Christmas television special.

Julian with his parents Stanley and Violet 

To begin, I asked Julian why he decided to become an actor in the first place and how he got started in the profession.

Acting was in the family. My father was the actor Stanley Holloway and my mother the actress Violet Lane. Violet had sort of been cut off in her prime, as it were so I was pushed towards it as a career whether I liked it or not! As a young person you sometimes accept these things in a way you wouldn't as you get older. I trained at RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) and as with many other actors who come from famous acting families there are many positive and negative aspects. It can be a difficult business to establish yourself in and sometimes I wanted to be left alone to establish my own self and what I wanted to do. I found that having a well-known name opened some doors very easily but it closed others. 

Can you remember how you first came to be involved with the Carry On films?

Yes! Very clearly. When I was a child we lived out in Buckinghamshire and the likes of Betty Box and Peter Rogers, Gerald and Ralph Thomas all lived nearby in Beaconsfield. They all knew my parents so they knew me as a boy. I also would go quite regularly to see my father if he was making a film at Pinewood Studios so I was around these people from quite an early age. 

In the mid 1960s I landed a recurring role in a comedy series on television called Pardon The Expression, which starred Arthur Lowe (playing his character Leonard Swindley from Coronation Street) and Betty Driver. It was a well-received part in a popular series and through that I got a call from my agent to ask if I wanted a day's work in Follow That Camel…

…punching Angela Douglas's ticket…

Yes! They had obviously seen the series and they knew of me anyway. I never had to audition for a part in a Carry On. After Camel, I was asked to be in the next one which I think was Doctor and it went from there.

When Dick van Dyke met Sir Sidney & Lady Joan Ruff-Diamond! 

I wanted to ask you a couple of questions about Carry On Up The Khyber. There is a great photo somewhere of you on the set with Sid James and Dick Van Dyke. How did that come about?

Well Dick was making Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on another stage at Pinewood at the same time we were making Khyber. It wasn't a planned visit at all, I think he'd enjoyed a scoop or three at lunchtime and had gone walk about! I'm not sure he knew where he was or what we were doing! You have to remember that in those days at Pinewood there would be several films in production all at once, many of them very expensive international films. We, the Carry On lot were always the poor relation! The grounds at Pinewood were so extensive you could have three different productions being shot in them all at once.

…these days that shot of you with Dick Van Dyke would be a staged photo call so it's interesting to hear he just turned up!

Yes you're right it would be but no, he just appeared out of nowhere! 

The climatic dinner party scene from Up The Khyber: Joan Sims get a little bit plastered with Julian & Roy Castle

The famous dinner party sequence in Up The Khyber is probably my favourite scene in any Carry On and also one of the best loved generally. 

Well it took several days to do, it was about three days I think. They actually took some time over it which shows in the end result I think and is probably why it's one of the better scenes in a Carry On. I remember on the first day the food that was provided for us was pretty awful but by the third or fourth day it was inedible! Full of bits of styrofoam or whatever they used! How none of us became seriously ill I'll never know!!

My favourite actor in that scene who I wanted to ask you about was…

…Peter Butterworth?

How did you know?!

He was brilliant! A very unsung actor. He was very difficult to act with because he would deliberately do things to wind you up and make you corpse! He was merciless and once he'd seen he was making you laugh he wouldn't let up! I remember one scene we were doing on Camping and he kept making me break up laughing. The crew were laying bets behind the scenes that we'd never get it shot! 

But he was a lovely, clever man. Very sweet. 

Julian in the film version of Porridge in 1979

I wanted to ask you about another couple of films you made, after the Carry Ons. My all-time favourite comedy series is Porridge and you were in the film version in 1979. What was that like?

Well Porridge was the best written comedy series I think. The writers (Clement and La Frenais) were at the top of their game and Ronnie Barker as the star was captain of the ship. For a start Ronnie was a comedy actor, not a comedian and that's a big difference. He was such a generous performer all for sharing out the good stuff. He also genuinely loved to laugh which made him lovely to be with and around. 

And you worked with Richard Beckinsale on that film too?

Yes I did and he was a sweetheart. It was very tragic though as he died not long after we made the film. So sad, he was only 30, 31 years old. Richard and Ronnie had a terrific working relationship though and it was clear to see Ronnie was like a adopted father figure to Richard. Ronnie was clearly devastated when Richard died. 

I was recently at an event where Liz Fraser was being interviewed about her career. She recalled being in the Sex Pistols film, The Great Rock and Roll Swindle with you! Do you remember that?!

Ha! I don't think I made the final cut in that one! It's not a film I've heard of since and I've never seen it. Funnily enough it's not one I put on my selected list of credits! 

I think you were in a cinema with Liz and Irene Handl?!

Yes that's right! I remember there was a guy there in it who's now known as Edward Tudor-Pole but at the time he was going by the name Tenpole Tudor…

Julian with Charles Hawtrey, Terry Scott, Roy Castle & Sid James in Up The Khyber

Moving on…You have appeared in so many classic series on British television from the 1970s and 1980s (e.g. The Sweeney, Minder, The Professionals) that I didn't know what to ask about so a general question: what was it like to be working in television here during that golden era?

Well I think the quality of drama production back then was very high. That period certainly to me is better than our current output. British television was the envy of the world and we exported a huge amount overseas, for instance an awful lot of our shows went out on the American channel PBS. I wonder how much is today? For me reality television has been the death knell. When you look at situation comedy now, there's a reason why the BBC are still showing episodes of Dad's Army so regularly and why it's still so popular. 

I wasn't going to ask you about any particular actor, but I know you worked with the late Gordon Jackson in The Professionals. He was one of my favourites. What was he like?

Gordon was a lovely man and such a solid actor. But he was a worried man, always worried that he'd forget his lines or dry. I worked with him at least two or three times and he never ever dried, always totally professional. Gordon actually wrote out all his lines in long hand and used different coloured pens, so concerned was he that he'd not know them! I think he used to go through the long hand notes every night at home with his wife Rona before the next day of filming! Extraordinary. I also think he was a good influence on Kenneth Williams, I know they were very close for a long time and Kenny was also very fond of the Jackson family. 

Julian gets to know Babs and Fanny (Barbara Windsor & Sandra Caron) in Carry On Camping

So that's Part 1 of my interview with Julian. Don't worry, there's more on the Carry Ons in Part 2, including Julian's thoughts on working with Sid James and for Peter Rogers. And there's more on some of Julian's other television work and his thoughts on his years spent working in America. So look out for that coming up soon!


You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Carry On Faces in Different Places: Floodtide

Here we go with a brand new series of blogs looking at some of the cream of British comedy film making from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Although this blog is all about the Carry Ons, believe it or not, there were some other joyous comedy films made away from Peter Rogers Productions. However, given the quality of the actors Peter employed to make his series, it's no wonder that most of them popped up elsewhere.

So far I've looked at the wonderful 1959 crime caper Too Many Crooks , the 1954 domestic comedy starring Dirk Bogarde, For Better For Worse , the big screen spin off Please Sir! and the wonderful Up Pompeii and the brilliant John Gregson and Diana Dors vehicle, Value for Money.
  
Most recently I blogged about the Sid James and Kenneth Connor comedy horror What A Carve Up!

Today I'm going off track a bit with a blog about the 1949 romantic drama, with a bit of ship building thrown in, Floodtide.

Carry On Faces?

Quite a few Carry On connections in this film. There is a substantial supporting role for the wonderful Jimmy Logan playing Tim Brogan. This role is miles away from his parts as Bert Conway in Carry On Abroad and Cecil Gaybody (!) in Carry On Girls, but there is still plenty of cheeky charm! Also in the film is reliable Scottish character actress Molly Weir, playing landlady Mrs McTavish. Molly had a cameo in Carry On Regardless and much later, in the film of Bless This House.

Floodtide also co-stars the brilliant Janet Brown, years before her fame as Mrs Thatcher impersonator extraordinaire. Janet was of course married to Carry On legend Peter Butterworth from 1947 until his death in 1979. And the film leading couple are played by Gordon Jackson and Rona Anderson, whose main Carry On connection was that they were lifelong friends or Carry On star Kenneth Williams.

What's it about?

David Shields (Gordon Jackson), the son of a Scottish farmer, dreams of a life in the city. Against his father's wishes he obtains a job in the shipyards where his flair for design moves him swiftly up the ladder. This is resented by many of his colleagues, as is his impatience and dislike for performing menial tasks. However, David designs a revolutionary ship which impresses his boss, whose daughter (Rona Anderson) he is deeply in love with. Will he succeed in all he wishes to achieve?

Best Bit?

Much of the film is carried by the easy, affable charm of Gordon Jackson and his terrific chemistry with Rona Anderson and Jimmy Logan. My favourite scene sees a drunken Jackson lured back to the flat of scheming temptress Judy (Elizabeth Sellars). He is rescued just in the nick of time by Logan and Anderson and as Judy's true colours are revealed, Logan's Tim Brogan deals with her perfectly with the line "you'll get the jail for that caper, ye daft wee besom".

Did you know?

Gordon Jackson and Rona Anderson first met on the set of this film. They would go on to marry two years later, in 1951. They had an enduring marriage, which lasted until Gordon's early death from cancer in 1990. They worked together again on film in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in 1969 and later still, when Rona surprised Gordon as one of the guest stars in an episode of The Professionals in 1981. The casting director Esta Charkham had kept Rona's casting secret from Jackson.


You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan on Facebook and on Instagram

Carry On Faces in Different Places: Sailor Beware!

Here we go with a brand new series of blogs looking at some of the cream of British comedy film making from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Although this blog is all about the Carry Ons, believe it or not, there were some other joyous comedy films made away from Peter Rogers Productions. However, given the quality of the actors Peter employed to make his series, it's no wonder that most of them popped up elsewhere.

So far I've looked at the wonderful 1959 crime caper Too Many Crooks , the 1954 domestic comedy starring Dirk Bogarde, For Better For Worse , the big screen spin off Please Sir! and the wonderful Up Pompeii and the brilliant John Gregson and Diana Dors vehicle, Value for Money.
  
Today we're going to cover another classic British comedy film, Sailor Beware! a 1956 British romantic comedy film directed by Gordon Parry. It was released as Panic in the Parlor in the United States.

The film is an adaptation of the successful stage play of the same name. It follows the story of a sailor betrothed to be married, but wary that home-life may echo that of her parents: a hen-pecked husband and battle-axe mother.

Carry On Faces?

The star of the film is the wonderful, larger than life Peggy Mount. Peggy had played the role of Emma Hornett on the stage and it became the role which made her name. Peggy would of course go on to star with Sid James in the ITV sitcom George and the Dragon. Playing Peggy's daughter is Carry On original Shirley Eaton. We all know Shirley from her roles in Carry On Sergeant, Nurse and Constable. Playing Aunt Edie Hornett (more on her later) is the gorgeous Esma Cannon, who added energy and laughter to four Carry Ons - Constable, Regardless, Cruising and Cabby.

Also, look out for Ronald Lewis as Albert Tufnell. Although Ronald never appeared in a Carry On, he did work for Gerald Thomas and Peter Rogers in two films - Twice Round The Daffodils and Nurse On Wheels, both opposite Juliet Mills. You can read more about why I think Ronald should have made a Carry On here: Carry On Blogging: When Leslie and Terence Didn't Carry On

And I can't finish without mentioning the wonderful Gordon Jackson, seen here playing Albert's friend Carnoustie Bligh. Gordon, a long-time friend of Kenneth Williams, has always been a favourite of mine, for his roles in films like The Great Escape and Whisky Galore to television in The Professionals and Upstairs, Downstairs.

What's it about?

Royal Navy sailor Albert Tufnell is to marry Shirley Hornett the next day. He and his best man, fellow sailor Carnoustie Bligh, travel to the Hornett household.

However, Albert begins to have second thoughts when he spends the day with her family. He has no problem with her father Henry or with meek spinster aunt Edie, but her domineering mother Emma is another matter entirely. (Meanwhile, Carnoustie and Shirley's beautiful cousin Daphne Pink are attracted to each other.) When Albert announces that he and Carnoustie are going to see their pals that night, Emma objects strenuously, as does Shirley, but they go anyway. Later, Emma sends Henry to fetch them, but it is they who have to bring back a thoroughly drunk Henry.

Edie lets slip plans for the couple to live in a house three doors away, plans made without consulting the bridegroom. Albert gives Shirley a chance to inform him, but she does not do so, which concerns him.

Best Bit?

Without a doubt the best bit of this film is the character of Edie Hornett, played by the glorious Esma Cannon. Esma appeared in many, many films during her career but often was restricted to cameo roles or small supporting parts. In Sailor Beware, Esma has a brilliant starring role and works so well with Peggy Mount. The very visual different in their stature and shape provides instant comedy but of course, the way the characters look is also reflected in the way they behave. I love Esma's dithery, twittery performance - it's an absolute joy.

Did you know?

The film features an uncredited performance from a young Michael Caine. Very new to the profession and in one of his earliest appearances on film, Michael plays a Sailor who can be seen very briefly, so keep your eyes peeled!

There are also uncredited roles for future stars Henry McGee, playing a milkman and future Good Life and Yes Minister star Paul Eddington, playing a Bearded Sailor. 

  
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Carrying On with The Professionals!

 

One of my all-time favourite British television series has to be The Professionals. It had it all - action, humour, social comment, daft 1970s fashions and three cracking leading actors in Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon Jackson. Over the course of 57 episodes, screened between 1977 and 1983, CI5 agents Doyle and Bodie tackled an endless crime wave (and no, I don't mean Shaw's perm) across London with Jackson as their slightly fearsome yet very wry and human boss, George Cowley. 

The series fell out of favour in the 1980s due the amount of violence on display let alone some other aspects which did still portray life as it was in the Britain of that time. I love it in the same way I love The Sweeney - strong characters, great actors and a unique time capsule back in the slightly grim recent past. The series also featured the usual delightful cavalcade of guesting British character actors and several of these were also familiar Carry On faces. So what are the links between these two great British institutions? 

 

Probably one of my very favourite Professionals cameos came in the 1979 episode "Backtrack" and in the shapely shape of Liz Fraser. Liz, the face of many classic British comedy films from the 1950s, 60s and 70, gladly hammed it up shamelessly as "fence" Margery Harper. Margery was a rather colourful character who took a bit of a shine to Ray Doyle! The scenes featuring Shaw, Fraser and Lewis Collins are full of wonderful comedy and are deliciously knowing. The strength of Liz's performance once again proves why we should have seen much more of her in British television drama over the years.

Julian Holloway, an actor who appeared in countless classic British series at the time, also played the guest role of policeman Harvey in The Professionals episode "First Night", first broadcast in 1978. This episode saw Julian work most closely with Gordon Jackson in several scenes at CI5 HQ and also on the South Bank by the River Thames. Fellow character actor Derek Francis, well known to Carry On fans for his brilliant roles in the likes of Carry On Matron and Abroad, appeared in not one but two episodes of The Professionals, in different roles. In the first series episode "Look After Annie" he played the rather unpleasant John Howard and four years later he was back, playing Len Hatch, a member of the criminal underworld in the story "You'll Be All Right".

 

Another actor to appear twice in the series was the late Llewellyn Rees, first as Sir Arden French in the first series episode "Everest Was Also Conquered" and then three years later he cropped again as Dr Philip Hedley in the 1980 story "Wild Justice". In between these two episodes, Rees played the Lord Chief Justice in the 1978 film Carry On Emmannuelle. Patrick Durkin, who played small parts in Carry On Sergeant, Nurse, Cabby, Spying, Cowboy and Dick, first joined The Professionals in the rather bizarre part of a Russian hitman, Terkof, in the 1977 episode "The Female Factor". To me it looks like his performance is very obviously dubbed. In 1980 Patrick was back for the cameo role of truck driver Wally in "Hijack". 

The familiar Australian actor Ed Devereaux, who had small roles in the films Carry On Nurse, Regardless, Cruising, Jack and Bless This House, grabbed a major guest starring role in the 1979 episode "Runner" seeing him work opposite well-known actors Michael Kitchen and James Cosmo. Ed played the rather fierce gangster Albie. Reliable character actor Harry Towb popped up for a brief cameo as small time rogue Harry Spence in the 1980 Professionals episode "Blood Sports". Harry played the dubious Doctor in the film Richard O'Callaghan takes Jacki Piper to see in Carry On At Your Convenience.

 

The glamorous Penny Irving (I wonder what happened to her?) played the character Pam in the very first episode of The Professionals ever broadcast, "Private Madness, Public Danger" in 1977. Penny, who went on to appear in many episodes of Are You Being Served? was one of Joan Sims' Birds of Paradise in the 1974 film Carry On Dick. Fellow "Bird" Laraine Humphrys, who also appeared in Carry On Girls and the 1973 Carry On Christmas television special, played the uncredited role of Doyle's girlfriend in the 1977 story " When The Heat Cools Off". 

Another Carry On actress, the lovely Suzanne Danielle, played one of her earliest acting roles in the first series episode "Killer with a Long Arm" in 1977. Playing the role of Pretty Girl, Danielle would find herself playing the leading lady in the last of the original Carry Ons following year in Carry On Emmannuelle. 

 

Finally, no blog on The Professionals can go without mentioning one final link to the Carry Ons. In Gordon Jackson, the series found one of it's most bankable and talented stars. Gordon was also one of Kenneth Williams' closest and most loyal friends. Despite this Kenneth didn't pull any punches when watching Jackson in the series in early 1978. Let's just say that although Kenneth thought Gordon one of the best actors in the country, he did not think the role of George Cowley suited him at all!

Anyway, to finish, here's a reminder of the brilliant intro theme from The Professionals:

 
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