Carrying On with Talking Pictures TV: Inn For Trouble and Take Two!

Talking Pictures TV are showing the wonderful comedy film Inn for Trouble this Wednesday. Peggy Mount and David Kossoff star as Ada and Alf Larkin in this big screen version of the hugely popular 1950s TV comedy. Alf Larkin has finally made good his dream to own a pub. The trouble is, it's got no customers. But leave it to the Larkins to find unorthodox ways to bring in the punters. 

Made in 1960, the film co-stars a range of wonderful British character comedy people - Esma Cannon, Leslie Phillips, Stanley Unwin, Irene Handl and a certain Charles Hawtrey. You can catch Inn for Trouble on Talking Pictures TV on Wednesday 22nd November at 12.00

And you can read another little blog I wrote on this film here: Carry On Blogging: They just don't make them like they used to

Also coming up this week on Talking Pictures TV are several episodes of the great series Take Two. The series sees Elstree's Chairman and well-known film and television historian and broadcaster Morris Bright bring some famous faces from Elstree's past back to the studios to chat about their lives and careers. It's a joy to hear more from these actors, many of whom have Carry On connections. 

On Wednesday 22nd November at 10.55,  Goldfinger and Carry On Nurse actress Shirley Eaton goes back over her long career in film and television which takes in so many classic British titles. It's really interesting to hear why Shirley decided to retire from films at such a young age in 1969 but I'm glad she is still a presence in the business today.
 

And on Friday 24th November at 20.00 the gorgeous Madeline Smith chats with great relish about how she became an actress back in the 1960s and with great fondness about working with Frankie Howerd on the film version of Up Pompeii. It was great to hear Madeline say how thrilled she was to be in Carry On Matron and how she wished she had done more of the films. I would have liked that too! You can read my blog interview with Madeline here. 

FInally, an episode of Take Two I've not seen before, featuring the legendary actress Sylvia Syms. Sylvia has enjoyed a long career on film and television and worked with several members of the Carry On team in the 1965 crime caper classic, The Big Job. She is also soon to star opposite Carry On legend Amanda Barrie in a new feature film called Together. Sylvia's episode of Take Two is on Thursday 23rd November at 20.00

So if you haven't yet checked out this great series of interviews, please do. Let's hope another series is in the offing. 

 

You can read Part 1 of my recent interview with Morris Bright here and Part 2 here

You can follow Talking Picture TV on Twitter: here
Morris Bright is on Twitter here
Elstree Studios is on Twitter here


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You can watch Talking Pictures TV on: Virgin 445 / Freeview 81 / Sky Channel 343 / Freesat 306 / Youview 81

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

Tonight on Talking Pictures TV: The Big Job

 

Talking Pictures TV are showing yet another classic British comedy film this evening, so set your videos! The Big Job is a wonderful black and white crime caper from the typewriter of Talbot Rothwell and it's rarely shown these days so this is well worth watching! 

In 1950 a gang of robbers led by the self-proclaimed George the 'Great' Brain rob a bank, stealing £50,000. However, due to a mix-up, they are pursued and caught by the police. He manages to stash away the money in the trunk of a hollow tree, before he is collared. The gang are then sentenced to serve fifteen years in Wormwood Scrubs prison.

Upon their release in 1965, the gang go back to the spot where they had left the money, only to find it is now a new town, and a housing estate has been built around the tree. To their chagrin they find that the tree is now in the grounds of the local police station, invitingly close to the wall. George and his gang take up rooms in a nearby house rented by a widow and her daughter. In order to provide a respectable front, George is forced to marry his longtime girlfriend Myrtle Robbins who is not so enamoured about the idea of recovering the loot, and wants George to settle down with her.

 

The incompetent criminals fail in their numerous attempts to get over and under the wall, all the while trying to conceal their true activities from their landlady, her daughter and a local police constable who also stays there. Eventually when the men have botched an attempt to tunnel into the grounds, the frustrated women hatch their own plot to gain the money.

The Big Job is a Carry On in all but name. Produced by Peter Rogers and directed by Gerald Thomas, the cast is headed up by series favourites Sid James, Joan Sims and Jim Dale with excellent turns from Sylvia Syms, Dick Emery and Lance Percival. Watch out also for eye-catching support from Edina Ronay (who also appeared in Carry On Cowboy the same year) and Please Sir and Sykes favourite Deryck Guyler. 

The Big Job is on Talking Pictures TV tonight at 6.30pm. 

 

You can watch Talking Pictures TV on: Virgin 445 / Freeview 81 / Sky Channel 343 / Freesat 306 / Youview 81

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

The other Miss Syms

Before I start, I know the lovely actress Sylvia Syms never actually appeared in a Carry On film, but she came very close to it, appearing alongside the likes of Sid James, Joan Sims and Jim Dale in the 1965 comedy The Big Job. I think Sylvia was terrific in that film and wonder therefore why she never did star in another Peter Rogers Production. Here are a few of my favourite Sylvia Syms' films. 

Sylvia was a very welcome presence in The Big Job, providing not just glamour but also a sparkling comic performance as Sid's girlfriend who desperately wants to become his wife. As the gangster's moll, she is part of the gang that also includes Lance Percival and Dick Emery. What a cast! By 1965 Syms was already a big name having appeared in several well received and now classic British films.

One of my favourites is the war film Ice Cold in Alex. This 1958 Pinewood offering stars John Mills, Anthony Quayle and Harry Andrews as they attempt to make it across the desert back to British lines in Alexandria. Syms plays a nurse, Diana Murdoch who accompanies the men on the trip. It is a classic, solid British war film that just isn't produced these days. The group face multiple perils en route and in the midst of the drama, love blossoms between Sylvia's character and Captain Anson, played by the legendary film actor John Mills. The film also boasts that famous final scene of the main characters enjoying that ice cold beer at the bar in Alexandria at the end of their perilous journey. The scene ended up, many years later, in an advert for Carlsberg lager.

Another film of Sylvia's that I love is the 1961 Basil Dearden picture, Victim. This film is notable as the first English language film to use the term "homosexual". The film focuses on the story of a successful barrister played by Dirk Bogarde who although apparently happily married to his wife Laura (Syms) has a previous life that involved a relationship with another man. 

The plot involves a blackmailing ring and despite his best efforts to avoid the controversy, eventually Laura finds out the truth about her husband. For the times, this film proved to be both highly controversial and also a major breakthrough. It was a big gamble for Dirk Bogarde, the matinee idol star of the frothy Doctor comedies. He puts in a wonderful performance and is matched by Syms as his distraught by still loving wife.

Much more recently, Sylvia starred alongside Helen Mirren in the 2006 film The Queen. This film tells the story of the Queen's reaction to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997 and the rise of Tony Blair. Sylvia is on wonderful form in her role as the Queen Mother. Written by Peter Morgan and directed by Stephen Frears, the film was a huge success and won Mirren an Oscar. 

Other appearances have included Expresso Bongo with Paul Scofield, The Punch and Judy Man with Tony Hancock and Shirley Valentine with Pauline Collins. Thankfully Sylvia is still active today and has recently celebrated her 82nd birthday. As a tenuous link to Carry On, Syms' actress daughter Beatie Edney played Joan Sims in the Kenneth Williams biopic Fantabulosa.

So do you think Peter Rogers should have snapped up Sylvia Syms for a role in an official Carry On after her turn in The Big Job? Or do you think she was offered a role and turned it down? 

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A Murder Is Announced: Two Joans at their very best

I recently watched the classic Miss Marple drama A Murder Is Announced on one of the myriad of satellite television channels that churn out old programmes again and again. For once, I'm really glad they did as I had forgotten just how wonderful this Miss Marple is.

The BBC produced twelve Marple adaptations between 1984 and 1992, each starring the irreplaceable Joan Hickson as Agatha Christie's famous elderly sleuth. They are so faithful to the original stories and to the post-war Britain they represent. I prefer some of the tales more than others but they are all excellently scripted, beautifully filmed and perfectly cast. 

A Murder Is Announced in easily my favourite. First of all it is an excellent story. Most importantly for me, it boasts a cast of truly excellent actors which include Ursula Howells, Renee Asherson, Kevin Whately, John Castle, Samantha Bond and Sylvia Syms. Leading the cast is the magnificent Joan Hickson. Joan, known to us for her super turns in five of the Carry On films, really came into her own as Miss Marple. After decades as a working actress, well-loved by her peers and regular cinema and film goers, she eventually became a world-wide star as Jane Marple. The series catapulted her to fame on both sides of the Atlantic at a time when most people have long since retired.

Joan Hickson was the most subtle of actors. The eyes always told you everything. I'm thinking in particular of one of my very favourite scenes which sees Marple take tea with Asherson's simple Dora Bunner at The Bluebird Cafe. Over coffee and rather dreadful post-war cakes (Not that one, it tastes of salmon) Jane Marple quietly yet shrewdly persuades Dora to relax, trust her and open up, sharing important information that ultimately helps Marple to crack the case. It's a beautifully played little scene showcasing Hickson at her very best.

A Murder Is Announced also features the gorgeous Joan Sims in the supporting role as Miss Murgatroyd. The simple, plain Amy Murgatroyd is a delicate role for Sims and she captures the character perfectly. It is so different from the roles Joan is best known for and I always watch it wishing she had been given more opportunities to play in this kind of classic drama. Joan was quite simply an excellent straight actress with a flair for comedy. In A Murder Is Announced, Murgatroyd lives with Miss Hinchcliffe (wonderfully played by Paola Dionisotti). While it is never referenced fully in the drama, it is quite clear to us that these two are lesbians. It is all very subtly played but after Murgatroyd's very sad demise, Hinchcliffe's grief at the loss of her partner is very clear to see and painful to watch. 

I love both Joans in this classic period drama. Both performances are so far removed from anything they did in the Carry On series, which is not to knock those roles or the films. I just love seeing Carry On actors doing something a little different on screen. We all know the Carry Ons were so successful mainly down to the quality of the actors Rogers and Thomas cast again and again. It's just nice to see the breadth and depth of that quality in other roles. So if you haven't seen the BBC adaptation of A Murder Is Announced, check it out next time it appears in the television schedules. You won't regret it.

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Not Quite A Carry On: The Big Job

I have decided to write about some of the other films Rogers and Thomas made during their prolific careers. Apart from their 31 Carry Ons together, the famous producer/director team also made many other films, particularly during their peak in the late 1950s and early 1960s. I have already blogged about one of my favourites, the sprightly Nurse On Wheels and the big screen version of sitcom favourite, Bless This House. Now I am going to look the classic crime caper, The Big Job.

I love The Big Job. Apparently it was an old script that had been knocking about for some time and Peter Rogers seized upon the opportunity to turn it into a quick release in between Carry Ons. The Big Job was the last of a long run of comedy films Rogers and Thomas made as a side line to the Carry Ons. Released in 1965, it came just as the Carry On films were reaching their peak in popularity. Carry On Cleo had just been released and the glories of Cowboy and Screaming were just around the corner.

Rogers engaged regular Carry On scribe Talbot Rothwell to breathe new life into The Big Job. It is a classic comedy about a bunch of petty criminals who are caught mid bank robbery, put away for a long stretch and come out determined to get their hands on the loot once again. The money was stashed in a tree shortly before the gang were captured by the police and on tracking it down fifteen years later, quickly discover that the intervening years have seen a housing estate spring up around the tree. What's worse is that the tree is now situated in the yard of a police station.

The film basically follows the gang's attempts to get at the money. Of course their pathetic attempts are constantly foiled. There is nothing new in this film but as always with a comedy film from Rogers and Thomas, it is the cast that raises the material into a different league. The Big Job is no exception. Although not an official Carry On, the film features three of the best actors to grace the series in Sid James, Joan Sims and Jim Dale. 

Sid plays the ring leader of the criminal gang, one George Brain. This is perfect casting as Sid had often played characters in both comedy and more serious films that dodged the long arm of the law. Joining him in this instance are regular co-star Lance Percival and that wonderful comedian, Dick Emery. Sadly this is the only film Dick made for Rogers and Thomas which is a great shame. He was a natural for this kind of comedy and I think it would have been great to see him in a Carry On. Also starring is the gorgeous Sylvia Syms as Sid's permanently sidelined girlfriend. For once Sid's character really isn't interested in women. It's the thrill of the loot that's his driving passion here. Syms is great opposite Sid and the others, a real class act.

Of course Sylvia isn't the only Ms S(y)ims in this film. Carry On regular Joan grabs a prime role as predatory landlady Mildred Gamely. The gang lodge with Mildred and her sex kitten daughter, brought to life by future fashion designer Edina Ronay. Edina would work for Rogers and Thomas again the same year when she took the part of Dolores in Carry On Cowboy. She was terrific in Cowboy, her American accent is excellent! Joan eventually gets her claws into Dick (as it were) and reveals herself to be much more of a criminal mastermind than any of the men.

Jim Dale co-stars as another lodger, a local police constable who continually gets on Sid's nerves with his bumbling. Jim has several terrific scenes with Deryck Guyler and the rest of the local policeman's choir. Also appearing are Carry On semi-regulars Wanda Ventham, Michael Ward, Brian Rawlinson and Frank Thornton. 

It might not be high art but I love it. Another cosy comedy film from a bygone era featuring a cast of prime acting talent. Definitely worth a watch if you fancy a burst of classic comedy nostalgia. 

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