Carry On Blogging Interview: Patrick Purcell

Thanks to the wonder of Twitter I have had the great good fortune to be in touch with a lovely, friendly man called Patrick Purcell. Patrick, now living in Australia, is the son of that brilliant Irish actor Noel Purcell. Noel had a long career on film, television and stage which included several films both for Peter Rogers and his wife Betty Box. 

Patrick agreed to answer some questions on the life and career of his father. Here's how we got on... 

- Can you tell me a bit more about how your father first became an actor?

He was born about 150 yards from Dublin's Gaiety Theatre, in Lower Mercer Street, a very poor part of Dublin. His dad was an Auctioneer who had a friend who worked there. Dad used to drop in to see the show and got offered a job as the Call Boy. He used to do his homework outside the Number 1 Dressing room. He did school plays and amateur dramatics, but when he told his mother that he wanted to do it full time, she said he should study a trade. So he became Apprentice to Bex and Company, as a Cabinet Maker. His counters are still in use today in the famous Brown Thomas Department store in Grafton Street. When he finished his apprenticeship he started working for various Theatre Companies but ended up mostly with the Jimmy O'Dea Co. 

- Your dad first worked for Peter Rogers' wife Betty Box back in 1954 - he went on to appear in four of the Doctor comedy films. Did he have fond memories of working on those pictures?

He always loved the Doctor films. He became great friends with James Robertson Justice, who loved squeezing 6'4" Noel and himself into his Messerschmitt Bubble car! ( He also used the Roller a lot!) He never came home from those in anything but an upbeat humour. I think it was that all the actors of the day weren't 'A' types. There were a few precious ones, but most were journeyman actors who learned their lines, were on set on time, hit their marks, made the Director happy, pocketed the cheque and on to the next!  They did have a great time, always trying to break each other up.

- In 1961, your father appeared in one of my all-time favourite comedy films - Double Bunk. Do you know if he enjoyed working on that film?

He must have, because when he came home, he wanted to buy an old Dublin Barge and do it up!  Mum soon sorted that out!

- Your dad worked for Peter Rogers and Gerald Thomas on three occasions in the early 1960s: Watch Your Stern, The Iron Maiden and my favourite, Nurse On Wheels. Did he share any memories or anecdotes about those films and do you think he enjoyed his time making them?

He loved doing all three.  

WATCH YOUR STERN . He told the tale often that, when he'd be walking from the Dressing Room in Portsmouth(?) to the ship in Uniform,  REAL sailors and Officers would salute him. He did learn from a real Admiral how to respond.  He was once or twice stopped by people who swore they served with him in H.M.S So and So. He would say he remembered her well, and keep going! He never wanted any sailor to feel foolish with him.

THE IRON MAIDEN. 
Constant hilarity! I know, I was there for quite some time.  Alan Hale, Jr. was exactly as you saw him. Cheerful and funny, but a thorough pro. He took me to lunch in Uxbridge to a great steak place when Dad was busy. They already knew his favourite!  I saw quite a few scenes being done. One stands out .

The 'Dreadnaught" was standing outside the Admirals house (Pinewood's main Door and Portico.   The Admiral's coalman, the local Vicar is at the controls. ACTION!  Away clanks the traction engine in a straight line.  It needs to turn right a bit to line up the lane, but the Vicar is trying to steer it like a car. So a half turn on the chain steering  is doing absolutely nothing. I say to the prop man beside me "Ten Bob he hits the trees"  You're on, says he. I won !
When he got home from that, he wanted to buy a Traction Engine!   Mum again said no, that she would end up taking care of it while Dad was on another film. Sanity again prevailed. 

- Although he worked for both Betty Box and Peter Rogers, Noel didn't go on to make a Carry On film which surprises me. Do you know if he was ever offered one?

He was offered a couple early on, but he was involved with 'Mutiny on the Bounty' in Tahiti (13 week shoot stretched to 13 months!). Other things often clashed with each other. For instance, he turned down Fagin in the Original Oliver Stage Show, because it would have meant years away from Dublin.

- Was he proud of his Irish and in particular, his Dublin roots?

Incredibly so. He did a few major movies for Hollywood in the '50s and'60s, like Moby Dick, Lust For Life, Merry Andrew The Blue Lagoon. After each one, they wanted to offer him a Studio Contract. Mum tried to get him to accept, because it would have meant a stable life. But he always came home to Dublin, saying "If they want me, they know where I am"

- Your father was given the freedom of the city of Dublin in 1984. What was his reaction to that honour?

He was in a wheelchair by now and his voice had faded due to throat cancer, but it didn't stop him attending the Ceremony and giving the following:

FRIENDS! ROMANS! COUNTRYMEN! Ah, that's not my proper cue!             
It's my own Darling Dubliners that I am talking to
Friends Old and New, all tried and true, Who've honoured me today
It makes me feel so humble - but this I'd like to say
If some kind fairy waved her wand and offered me the Earth
I'd rather be a Freeman in this City of my Birth.
My wanderings have taken me to countries strange and far
From Iceland to the Tropic Isles, but, lovely as they are
I didn't weep when leaving them, my heart was never there
T'was calling me to hurry home to Dublin City Fair
To York Street, Cork Street, Meath Street and the Coombe
I know them all, I've walked them all when I was in full bloom
I love the little houses where the decent people live
The open handed people who haven't much to give
God Bless them all, God bless us too and send us all his peace
May kindness and friendship in Old Dublin never cease
Dear Old Dublin! Lovely Dublin! May you ever lovelier grow
As long as leave grow on the tress and Liffey Waters flow!

copyright Noel Purcell


- I gather he has also appeared on an Irish stamp. How did that come about?

It was done as his 100th Birthday approached. Mum was asked for a photo and gladly gave a great one of Dad at his favourite hobby, Laytown Races!

- Do you know if your dad had a favourite role in his career? 

I think he was proudest of 'Mutiny' and staying sane while Brando and Richard harris tried to kill each other regularly!

- Of all his performances, do you have a favourite and why?

Watch Your Stern seconded by 'Iron Maiden"  He did a great Admiral!

- How do you think your father would like to be remembered?

I am very honoured and proud that he is remembered on these wesites. He was so humble, yet proud that he felt he gave value for money

- Finally, I must ask - what's your favourite Carry On film and why?

Carry on Nurse!  No contest!

I would like to thank Patrick for taking the time to answer my questions - it was a joy. 

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Carrying On with The Iron Maiden

 

Spurred on by my recent conversations with the wonderful Noel Purcell's son Patrick (more on that soon) I settled down today to watch one of the few Peter Rogers Productions I have still not seen. Thanks to the brilliant Talking Pictures TV, which I can now finally access, I caught a rare screening of the 1962 film The Iron Maiden.

The Iron Maiden is a charming film, very typical of Peter and Gerald's output in the late 1950s and early 1960s. A rare colour film from the duo at this stage, Maiden is very far removed from the innuendo-encrusted delights to come from later Carry On series entries. Instead this film is much more reminiscent of the classic Ealing comedies, showing the little man railing against adversity in the glorious post-war British countryside. The film is fairly innocent with gentle humour and some rather twee romantic interludes, however the cast is chock full of superb character actors and it's a joyous diversion from the modern world, perfect for a lazy afternoon in front of the television.

 

The Iron Maiden of the title is a vintage traction engine which is a labour of love for leading man Michael Craig. In many ways this film is Peter Rogers' attempt to provide a follow up to the hugely successful Genevieve released almost a decade earlier. While the John Gregson and Dinah Sheridan film focussed on vintage cars, this 1962 picture takes on the world of old engines. It's a curio looking at it from 2017 but it gets full marks on the nostalgia front! Michael Craig is perfect in the lead role. As Jack Hopkins he is in full on romantic hero mode. Craig had previous with the Rogers/Thomas family, having worked twice for Peter's wife Betty Box, first of all in 1959's Upstairs and Downstairs and then the year later starring opposite Leslie Phillips in Betty's Doctor in Love. Michael is a great actor and definitely has the looks and charm to carry the film. Just a shame he didn't work more for the dynamic Pinewood duo as he would have been great in some of the 1960s Carry Ons. Thankfully Michael is very much still alive and well and living in Australia.

An interesting aspect of this film is the number of American actors who form part of the principal cast. Michael Craig's love interest is played by the delightful Anne Helm while her parents are brought to life with considerable charm by Alan Hale Jr and Jeff Donnell. It provides a diversion and these very American characters add interest with their reactions to some rather quirky, curious British eccentrics. 

The film follows the burgeoning romance between Craig and Helm and it's very much opposites attract. There are several lightly comic set pieces involving a headstrong Kathy (Helm) and an equally dogmatic Jack, mostly involving various scrapes with the traction engine. It's all very frothy and light and apart from one unfortunate scene which Craig puts Helm over his knee and gives her a spank, it's all enjoyable stuff. 

However, as with many other films Peter and Gerald produced at this time (Watch Your Stern, Raising The Wind, Nurse On Wheels spring to mind) the main joy of The Iron Maiden is spotting a whole host of familiar faces in supporting roles. The Carry On flag is kept flying by Joan Sims (barely a Peter Rogers film without her at this time) and a young, pre-Carry On Jim Dale in a minor supporting role. Other familiar Carry On supporting players also feature: the charming Brian Rawlinson turns up as a country policeman who has various accidents on his bike; Judith Furse and Ian Wilson play an oddly matched pair of traction engine enthusiasts while that lovely actor Brian Oulton gets a fairly substantial role as the local Vicar. There are also blink and you'll miss 'em appearances from the likes of Michael Nightingale, Anton Rodgers and Cyril Chamberlain.

There are other notable non-Carry On actors present too. I've recently been hearing memories from Noel Purcell's son Patrick on his father's role in the film as Admiral Sir Digby Trevelyan and Patrick was even present on set to see some of the scenes filmed. Cecil Parker, a year before filming his Carry On Jack cameo, appears as Hopkins' boss Sir Giles Thompson. George Woodbridge, another familiar face has a lovely cameo role as Mr Ludge while future Emmerdale legend Richard Thorp (Alan Turner) also turns up as Harry Markham. 

The Iron Maiden has all the hallmarks of classic, confident Rogers and Thomas. The cinematography is by Alan Hume, co-producer is Frank Bevis and Eric Rogers does the music. Interestingly, the film is written by neither Norman Hudis or the soon to emerge Talbot Rothwell. Instead, legendary lyricist and composer Leslie Bricusse is behind this film and it's a decent effort on his part. Eric Rogers was soon to join the Carry On team as their full time music director following the departure of Bruce Montgomery. Some of the music in The Iron Maiden is very familiar indeed, a test run for Carry On Cabby perhaps and a rather stately little number which would turn up six years later in Up The Khyber. You can see all the elements gelling already.

 

All in all, The Iron Maiden isn't the best film Peter and Gerald turned out at the peak of their powers but it does feature some of the very best British character actors around. It's a diverting little yarn which survives on the quality of the cast and the willingness of the audience to indulge in some delightful nostalgia. 

As an aside, it's definitely worth checking out Talking Pictures TV. They very often show some rare and classic gems from the world of British cinema, the kind of films you used to watch on BBC Two on a rainy afternoon. There are some absolutely lovely titles to be seen so do check that channel out. You can follow them on Twitter here and there website is here

And stay tuned for my interview with Patrick Purcell, son of the great Noel Purcell, coming soon!

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