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Post by robchapman on Sept 9, 2016 12:24:26 GMT
Fascinating and comprehensive post John. Many thanks. A TV doc that reverses the common received wisdom about Benny Hill is surely long overdue, if anyone in TV has the balls to make it. Things have got so bad they couldn't even show (or play audio extracts from) his 'rurry great irriot' Chinaman in the last doc I saw - even though that sketch is actually a riff on the joys of language. From the 60s I remember him doing a hilarious spoof of the opening credits of Branded (which starred Chuck Connors) He also originated the making breakfast mimed sketch which Morecambe and Wise now seem to get all the credit for. Here is his great Bob Dylan/Barry McGuire spoof. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLGtmHRyHmg
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Post by Stephen Byers on Sept 9, 2016 15:26:08 GMT
A good friend of mine, one Tano Rea, for a number of years appeared as an extra alongside Benny Hill. He opined that Benny Hill was a great guy to work with and very professional. I would love to track down some episodes featuring Tano Rea to show him. Any ideas please? www.facebook.com/tano.reawww.imdb.com/name/nm0713772/
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RWels
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Post by RWels on Sept 9, 2016 18:15:04 GMT
A good friend of mine, one Tano Rea, for a number of years appeared as an extra alongside Benny Hill. He opined that Benny Hill was a great guy to work with and very professional. I would love to track down some episodes featuring Tano Rea to show him. Any ideas please? www.facebook.com/tano.reawww.imdb.com/name/nm0713772/BBC or ITV?
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Post by Stephen Byers on Sept 10, 2016 8:24:40 GMT
A good friend of mine, one Tano Rea, for a number of years appeared as an extra alongside Benny Hill. He opined that Benny Hill was a great guy to work with and very professional. I would love to track down some episodes featuring Tano Rea to show him. Any ideas please? www.facebook.com/tano.reawww.imdb.com/name/nm0713772/BBC or ITV? Thank you. "The Benny Hill Show – 1 year contract" Likely BBC.
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RWels
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Post by RWels on Sept 10, 2016 10:57:12 GMT
Thank you. "The Benny Hill Show – 1 year contract" Likely BBC. Well, someone who is directly involved or a first degree relative can buy a copy from the BBC. I do not know the exact rules, but it is not very cheap. Option two is to book a viewing session at the BFI, which can probably take place in affiliated institutions as well. Much cheaper, but then you don't get to keep a copy.
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Post by Nathan Dickel on Sept 18, 2016 11:49:50 GMT
Fascinating and comprehensive post John. Many thanks. A TV doc that reverses the common received wisdom about Benny Hill is surely long overdue, if anyone in TV has the balls to make it. Things have got so bad they couldn't even show (or play audio extracts from) his 'rurry great irriot' Chinaman in the last doc I saw - even though that sketch is actually a riff on the joys of language. From the 60s I remember him doing a hilarious spoof of the opening credits of Branded (which starred Chuck Connors) He also originated the making breakfast mimed sketch which Morecambe and Wise now seem to get all the credit for. Here is his great Bob Dylan/Barry McGuire spoof. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLGtmHRyHmgIt's sad that the brit's neglect Benny We still get him here in New Zealand every couple of years, and always uncut too! (minus Thames logo usually though)
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Post by Nathan Dickel on Sept 18, 2016 11:55:02 GMT
Do seem to remember a thread over on Mausoleum cub a few years back on Benny Hill. I think someone had said it was believed that one Thames show from 1971 was missing and had turned up on a black and white print. Apart from that as far as I know as I know all the masters existed back to 1969. Some deterioration in some 1969 material was visible in compilations made for Australian TV. I'm not certain whether some of the early shows only exist tacked together as compilations for overseas sales or not. As a boy growing up with Hills work I recall my Dad enjoying the shows in the early 1960s. I always waited excitement to see the spoof television advert breaks. I recall my dad feeling that the material was 'not a s clever as his earlier stuff'; watching a headmaster spoof sketch in a 1970 Thames show. Then recall Mum watching the shows with me including a sketch 'The Hitchhiker' featuring Patricia Hayes who Mum liked in 1971. It's not widely known what's missing from his early shows but the archive for his 1960s 'show' format prgrammes is very good and comprehensive. This appears to be partly due to the fact that a large amount were produced and broadcast as telerecordings from 35mm film. It's possible that format was favoured as the BBC started producing a sideline series 'Benny Hill c. 1959 - 60 specifically aimed at selling him to overseas audiences. Ironically it's most of that series which is depleted. The series was a compendium of individual programmes presented as comedy drama plays based on one central topic. I recall reading in Bob Monkhouse's biography only a small amount of shows per series; between 3 and 5 usually were produced. Bob was friends and an admirer of Bennys work; sadly he is not around now to advise as he would be a good authority on the subject. Of I think 3 shows made in 1959-60 the BBC now hold 2. One is about a fantasist obssessed with TV and this is where the oft shown 'Juke box jury' scene originates from. The other episode themed around a wedding was found in a collection by collector Mick Hall in the early 1990s. From the 1963 series of 'Benny Hill', 1 entry exists 'The mystery of Black bog Manor'; a horror thriller. Another entry (missing); 'The time bicycle' sounded interesting. It revolved around a bike which took the rider into different time periods; a variation on 'The time machine'. Though many view a lot of Bennys work as being below the belt; few have had the patience to look further and this example shows how influential and ahead of his time he could be. In 1972 the horror film compendium featuring Joan Collins; 'Tales that witness madness' used exactly the same idea to great success. Bob Monkhouse pointed out how Benny was one of the first to observe the medium of television and satirise it from within it's own medium with the advert spoofs. They remain some of the most topical as well as witty pieces. Returning to archive status, the last three 'Benny Hill shows' for the BBC c 1968. were produced on tape as opposed to 35mm. It was later proposed that the VTs were wiped quickly after Bennys new contract to Thames was announced; perhaps as they realised they might have no repeat use. Of these 3 I think film inserts for a show featuring June Whitfield are held in the BBC film Library. A compilation of 1965 shows featuring the spoof of 'Twilight zone' where TV sets come to life; was made in 1967 and this exists. Most of the 'Benny Hill show' format shows that are missing seem to hail from the 1955 - 59 period in which they would have been transmitted live rather than pre recorded. The material that exists was probably kept to monitor the BBCs output. As far as I know this consists of one 1957 show and a show at the BFI from 1955. The archive of Benny Hills TV work is on reflection pretty good and a comprehensive history of what went out. All of Benny's Thames work exists on original quad tape. There were 3 specials between the end of 1970 and 1971 though that were done in black and white (by turning off the colour signal on the cameras) due to a technician strike. I'm guessing some master source tapes survive too, as quite a few bits on the syndicated versions (for the US, France etc) have clips without Cue dots (wheras they appear on the broadcast masters) and a few run-off chases even appear minus the credits scrolling over top!
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RWels
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Post by RWels on Sept 18, 2016 12:19:43 GMT
Returning to archive status, the last three 'Benny Hill shows' for the BBC c 1968. were produced on tape as opposed to 35mm. It was later proposed that the VTs were wiped quickly after Bennys new contract to Thames was announced; perhaps as they realised they might have no repeat use. On other sites this is often told as "out of spite the bbc wiped his last shows" - but I always had my doubts about that sort of completely unverifiable story.
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Post by Alan Turrell on Sept 18, 2016 19:03:15 GMT
Fascinating and comprehensive post John. Many thanks. A TV doc that reverses the common received wisdom about Benny Hill is surely long overdue, if anyone in TV has the balls to make it. Things have got so bad they couldn't even show (or play audio extracts from) his 'rurry great irriot' Chinaman in the last doc I saw - even though that sketch is actually a riff on the joys of language. From the 60s I remember him doing a hilarious spoof of the opening credits of Branded (which starred Chuck Connors) He also originated the making breakfast mimed sketch which Morecambe and Wise now seem to get all the credit for. Here is his great Bob Dylan/Barry McGuire spoof. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLGtmHRyHmgIt's sad that the brit's neglect Benny We still get him here in New Zealand every couple of years, and always uncut too! (minus Thames logo usually though) Yes i'm afraid that's what it's come to in this country these day's you can no longer have a laugh or a joke anymore without offending or upsetting someone and tv has been affected badly by this,i watched some episodes of Dick Emery the other night and i found myself laughing i had literally forgotten how to laugh and i'm not joking i for one would love to see Benny Hill and all the other great comedies back on tv again and uncut but it ain't ever gonna happen.
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Post by Patrick Coles on Sept 18, 2016 19:37:21 GMT
very true - what some people fail to grasp re Benny's later ITV shows that got more 'riskay' was that in pretty much EVERY sketch Benny's 'lusting males' came to grief DUE to their 'lusts' - and Benny was commenting on how such actions on the guy's part were his undoing...! (we laugh AT him as he loses out or gets his 'just desserts' etc)
what some dislike I suspect is the apparent 'exploitation' of the lovely girls in the 'Hill's Angels' dances/routines etc - tho' those lovely ladies all seemed to be quite happy to wear the scanty outfits AND were devoted to Benny whom they all said really looked out for 'his girls'
and the racier later sketches were merely a latter era of Benny's true comedy back catalogue - his earlier BBC shows were very different and are still funny, his sketches and skits on films and TV shows plus 'moments that didn't quite go as intended' were classic comedy, and his BBC and ITV shows are magnificent
Benny's versions of 'Ironside', 'Kojak', 'The New Avengers' and of course 'Charlene's Angels' were hilarious !
Benny's great spoofs of current TV commercials ('The Girl with the sun in her hair' shampoo and the Sunlight Lemon Liquid ads springs to mind) influenced later works by the likes of The Goodies and Kenny Everett etc
Benny's silent sketches were straight out of the vintage silent screen era, while his 'characters' were great caricatures - his 'Baby Boy' sketch (with his coming out of character for a moment to comment re the then current train strike !) still cracks me up !
Benny's music was supreme too - and he had chart hits from the sixties 'Harvest of Love', 'Transistor Radio' and the great 'What A World'...through to his 1971 chart topping 'Ernie' (his albums can be found on PYE Records, Decca, and Columbia and are worth grabbing if you spot one in a local charity shop)
Benny was a multi talented comedy artist - and a decent profile film actor too ("Light Up The Sky', 'Those Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines', 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang', 'The Italian Job' etc)
so a few TV execs ought to wake up to the major comedy talent languishing in the Television archives, and free themselves from the hideous chains of 'Political Correctness' and bring Benny back to our TV screens !
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Post by Peter Stirling on Sept 18, 2016 22:46:15 GMT
Network did attempt to release his shows for ATV sometime ago but appeared to have ran into rights hell.
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Post by Nathan Dickel on Sept 19, 2016 9:43:00 GMT
Network did attempt to release his shows for ATV sometime ago but appeared to have ran into rights hell. I still hope that those will see release one day. (I swear I saw a dvd cover of it on the net years ago too! but I can't find any trace of it!) I also read that recently some material was found in Bob Monkhouse's (a great performer himself and a friend of Benny's) archive. Does anyone know what was actually found?
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RWels
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Post by RWels on Sept 19, 2016 10:19:29 GMT
No, but they say that Charlie Chaplin was also a fan and had copies. I wonder if that avenue has ever been checked.
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Post by Peter Stirling on Sept 19, 2016 14:39:45 GMT
Network did attempt to release his shows for ATV sometime ago but appeared to have ran into rights hell. I still hope that those will see release one day. (I swear I saw a dvd cover of it on the net years ago too! but I can't find any trace of it!) I also read that recently some material was found in Bob Monkhouse's (a great performer himself and a friend of Benny's) archive. Does anyone know what was actually found? The Xmas show Benny did for ATV did partially appear on an amateur video recording (not much left of it) along (IIRC) with an ep of the long lost Tony Hancock show did for ABC around the same time, this reel was quite a well known find at the time but I don't think it belonged to Bob? There is a general thought that the ATV xmas show was for the American market (his 'Spotlight' shows were) but I think that is ridiculous, in a time when Brit comedians went down like lead balloons in the US ..just what the hell would Americans have made of Arthur Mullard and Rita Webb LOL Chris Perry put a list of what was found in BM's collection on his Kaleidoscope website during the promotion of the tribute..it may be still there?
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Post by Richard Marple on Sept 19, 2016 16:52:05 GMT
I did wonder what Americans made of The Wrong Box, with Tony Hancock & plenty of other Brits not really known in the USA, along with Michael Caine, Peter Sellers & Dudley Moore who were better known, or soon to be.
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