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Post by Matthew K Sharp on Oct 3, 2004 3:49:26 GMT
In Germany they have been showing an obscure little British comedy film every Christmas since 1963. Never heard of in the UK, something to do with a butler serving dinner. Der 90. Geburtstag oder Dinner for One with Freddie Frinton. Although mostly in English, it was made for German TV - and I don't think it's ever had a screening on British TV. It gets shown every year by Australia's multicultural station SBS and has become a firm tradition here too. IMDb info here: www.imdb.com/title/tt0121210/Ooh and look! - it's on DVD in Germany. (Wanders off polishing credit card...)
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Post by Matthew K Sharp on Oct 3, 2004 4:09:54 GMT
Ooh and look! - it's on DVD in Germany. Ach gebugger! No it isn't! The DVD (twice issued) is a shorter, and apparently inferior, remake by Swiss TV using the same cast. Dammen und blasten!
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Post by CliveUK on Oct 3, 2004 8:04:55 GMT
Yeh, it's shown all over Scandinavia also on New Years Eve (it's not particualy funny, more of a tradition) Although you are guarenteed to be able to go upto any Swede and say "Same procedure as last year ?" and receive the response "Same procedure as every year" ("One for Dinner's" catchphrase)
Oddly enough, SVT (The Swedish state broadcaster) currently has a Saturday night line-up including vintage episodes "Only When I Laugh" at 7.30 followed by an hour of "Parkinson" (They like British talkshows, even if they don't know who half the guests appearing are)
Other UK TV favorites shown on Swedish TV over the years have been 'Secret Army' (renamed "Hemliga Armee") and 'Allo Allo' (renamed "Hemlig' Armee") - Note the apostrophe which somehow tells the average Swede that the latter is a spoof of the former.
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Post by Andy Henderson on Oct 3, 2004 9:48:15 GMT
I don't think anyone these days would find 'Dinner For One' particularly funny. Freddie Frinton is an old butler who serves an evening meal to an old lady. He has been doing this for a long time and it looks as if all the other guessed have died, exept the old dear, thus there are empty seats and she sits at the head of the table. He serves drinks and gradually gets drunk himself. To get to the drinks, he has to walk over a skinned tiger rug and each time, more and more drunk, he starts to trip over the head. Are you still awake? Anyhow.....it goes on and on with that premise as Frinton gets more drunk.
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Post by CliveUK on Oct 3, 2004 10:56:38 GMT
I think the German DVD features the original version, the remade, a colourised version and a German language dubbed version. The sketch is only around 20 minutes long so I guess that any DVD release must be padded out quite extensively.
As Andy says, it is a sketch built on repetitive actions as the Freddie Finton character gets drunker and drunker. It is entertaining but I could live without having to have a DVD issue with three or four different versions of the same sketch.
I am surprised this has never been shown on British Television because this subject always gets brought up in the British press around Christmas time.
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Post by Andy Henderson on Oct 3, 2004 10:59:57 GMT
I guess it appeaps to the teutonic sense of humor in the same way that they wouldn't get Norman Evan's 'Over the Garden Wall'.
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Post by Simon Mclean on Oct 3, 2004 23:38:05 GMT
Wasn't Dinner for One on BBC 2 at least once in the late 60s?
Apparently the popularity of Norman Wisdom in Albania was entirely due to Enver Hoxha, who was a massive fan - I believe they were they only Western films allowed over there for years.
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