65 STV Missing Shows

[williammcgregor]

Hi Jim,

The (S.S.A.) stands for (Scottish Screen Archive) I see Ronnie McDevitt has given us the link for them. Thanks Ronnie.

It's great that you have attended a few TV recordings; this will surely provide us with invaluable glimpses into long lost Tv shows.

I look forward to hearing your recollections about the last "Song for Scotland" thanks for saying you'll add them in a structured way.

[williammcgregor]

Hello again Jim,

Keep up the good work

William

[jimdoyle]

First let me explain. I am told I have an amazing memory for details of things that happened years ago – but sadly I can’t remember what I had for breakfast this morning. To give an example of the good part, I contacted actor John Cairney a couple of years ago and asked him about an interview he gave on the One O’Clock Gang to promote ‘Jason And The Argonauts’ in 1963 and I made some points about the interview and he recalled them, verified them and added some more, so I can get it right. Hopefully what I write in this thread will be accurate, but I welcome any corrections. This is based on my recollection of seeing (some of) this on TV in 1966 when I was 15.

More from Number 53 on the list...

Scottish Playbill

11th October 1966

'The Inward Lens'
Nutcase brother (who is a photographer) has a thing about his sister and it sends him off to murder women who look like her and takes pictures of their dead faces. The story is part police procedural and part showing you the relationship between brother and sister. In one scene the policeman is interviewing a barmaid and she says to him she suspected there was something wrong with the brother, saying ‘See the way he looks at her – that’s no the way a brother should look at a sister’. In the penultimate scene, the detective begins to piece it all together. The final scene is the only scene I remember clearly. It was quite creepy. It takes place in his studio and he has all the lights set up and the camera ready to click and he is showing his sister the pictures of the women. She thinks there is something wrong with the way they look, not realizing they are dead. After a couple of minutes conversation he stands up getting ready to strangle her and saying ‘They all looked like you Tina – they all looked like you’ and as he leans forward to do the deed, the door opens and the detective walks in which sets the camera off as he tries to strangle his screaming sister, and then it cut to the credits. I remember thinking it was an abrupt ending.
There was a review in the paper the next day – possibly the Daily Record or the Daily Express because we only took those two – which was very critical of the play and the ending.
I will post some more ‘unreliable’ memories as and when.

[jimdoyle]

Number 14 on the list

Glaister
17 JAN 1966
Just a memory of this.
I remember a week or so before the first episode of ‘Glaister’ was shown, it was advertised quite extensively. I know that’s pretty standard now, but back then it was unusual for something to get so heavily promoted. The selling point was about the work of forensic scientist John Glaister which it was assumed viewers knew about. I watched all four shows and remember enjoying them, but the one I recall in particular was ‘Gorbals Boy’ with Phil McCall. He was an unlikeable hard case I recall who pulled out a knife and started threatening people – but the one piece of dialogue I remember is when he challenges someone to have ‘a square go’. For the next few weeks in school all you could hear was people threatening others to have ‘a square go’.

[jimdoyle]

More info on Number 53 on the list...
Scottish Playbill

"All in Good Faith"

2nd May 1966

STV

10:05pm to 11:05pm
I remember sitting watching this and was going to add in some of the dialogue I remember, but the play was published and is available at Amazon

www.amazon.co.uk/All-good-faith-Roddy-McMillan/dp/0906799015

[williammcgregor]

Thanks for the recollections of "Glaister" and "The Inward Lens" Jim (great stuff)

I also like the recollections of John Cairney on the (One O'Clock Gang and the fact it's about one of my favourite films of all time "Jason & the Argonauts" (I dig it out on dvd every now and again, the wife loves it as well.

Please keep these recollections coming!

You're a wee bit older than me, but not too much, so we have both enjoyed some great programmes on STV.

[jimdoyle]

35 on the list - Man Behind The Star 1965

This show was devised by Francis Essex and he came out before the start of the recording and explained the concept of the show. He said that the public only ever saw one side of an entertainer and that this show would highlight the performer interspersed with interviews in order to show the complete person. (We would not see at the recording although they were spliced in as the show was running. Like all shows, it was recorded in real time with spaces for adverts.) I attended what I think was the first show to be recorded and it featured Roy Castle. After Francis Essex spoke, he introduced Roy and then retreated to the control room which was visible to the studio audience. Roy told a few jokes and established a rapport with the audience. He then introduced his guest stars Millicent Martin and Dickie Valentine. Each got a song and they joined Roy in some comedy bits although I only really remember one sketch where the three of them sat on the wall. Millie was in middle and Roy and Dickie were dressed as yokels and did West Country accents. I can't remember much of it but towards the end Millie was pushed backwards off the wall which got a big laugh. Then Dickie said to Roy ‘I’ve heard rumours about you and my wife’ and Roy fell backwards over the wall and Dickie said ‘Funny – I ain’t married’ and then we were told to applaud by the floor manager. The thing that was more memorable though was Roy who sang, played trumpet – ‘a little bit of triple tongueing’ – tap danced and told jokes. He was one of the most energetic performers I ever saw and after his big finish, Francis Essex ran out of the control room, all the way along the floor and hugged him to bits.

[williammcgregor]

Hi Jim,

Thanks for your memories of attending this show recording...keep 'em coming!

[jimdoyle]

More info on #12 – Did You See Una
I attended the recording of what I think was the first in the series and I think I attended another show a few weeks later. It was new to TV at the time and the floor manager explained the concept of the show. He then introduced Una Mc Lean who said hello then introduced ‘my pal wee Philly McCall’. As well as being one of the cast members, Phil McCall was also the warm up man. I knew Phil from other TV shows like BBC Scotland’s ‘Let Me Do The Talking’ – am I the only one who remembers that? - and in particular from ‘The Gorbals Boy’ episode of ‘Glaister’ which I have written about above. Phil was popular with the audience, but I remember one of his jokes was him pointing to the overhead mike and saying ‘That’s a boom – in the north of England that’s what people sit down on’. I only remember two sketches in detail and I am pretty sure they were from different shows. The first one was to do with books and the sketch was looking at those Somerset Maughan types where everyone is stiff and proper. Una McLean was not in the sketch but introduced it by reading from the book it was supposedly from and then delivered the punch line at the end. When one of the characters takes a revolver and shoots someone (who the audience cannot see) she announces ‘I have just shot Humphrey Hepplewhite’ – cut to Una looking puzzled and saying ‘Humphrey Hepplewhite? Who’s Humphrey Hepplewhite???’ and then thumbs back through the book.
A second sketch I recall had Una and three others sitting round a table. The sketch was set in the future and they were recalling the music of the 1960s. One of the actors involved was Sam Kydd and I remember being impressed when he was introduced at the beginning of the show because we had seen him in things like ‘Crane’ and his own show ‘Orlando’ and here he was in Glasgow’s own Theatre Royal. The only line I really remember was when Una says ‘What did you call those people in the music business.... They weren’t singers...’ Sam says ‘Hangers on?’ and Una clicks her fingers and says ‘That’s it – disc jockeys.’
The final bit I recall was there was a sketch called ‘Bonnie On The Clyde’ which the floor manager said we may have read about already as it was a Bonnie And Clyde send up and part of it had been filmed already in St Vincent Street in Glasgow where Una comes out of car, brick in hand, and rushes over to a jeweller shop ready to smash the window and a member of the public not knowing it was a sketch for TV tried to stop her. It made the local papers.

[williammcgregor]

You've done it again Jim, thanks for the recollections. I have been swithering about getting in touch with Una McLean to try and see what she can remember from her 1960's STV shows?

If I finally do send her a personal letter of e-mail can I use your recollections from this post? as it might help to jog her memory?

By the way isn't Una brilliant in River City?

[williammcgregor]

Number 12 on the list...

Did You See Una?

This is a photo from the episode entitled "Read Any Good Books Lately?" it comes from the Anglia region TV Times

it was shown in the Anglia region on the 22/06/67.

There is an episode guide to "Did You See Una?" on page 8 of this thread.

[Peter Stirling]

William- were the Scottish Playbills shown outside Scotland?.
If it has not been done already I am trying to compile a list for the IMDB.
I know the early 1970s ones were and did list as many as I could under their network umbrella title.

[williammcgregor]

Jan 29, 2016 15:08:29 GMT Peter Stirling said:

William- were the Scottish Playbills shown outside Scotland?.
If it has not been done already I am trying to compile a list for the IMDB.
I know the early 1970s ones were and did list as many as I could under their network umbrella title.

Hi Peter,

In answer to your question I do not know for sure (yet) so far I have checked my TV Times dvd for the 28/2/66...2/5/66...11/10/66...8/11/66 and 6/12/66

For all of those dates it was (NOT) shown on Anglia, Ulster or Border. That's about as far as I can check as I do not have any TV Times for any other English region for the dates concerned that is.

[williammcgregor]

I've just sent an e-mail to BBC Scotland to ask Una McLean if she remembers anything about "Over to Una" or "Did You See Una"

[mikejones]

Jan 29, 2016 17:49:53 GMT williammcgregor said:

Jan 29, 2016 15:08:29 GMT Peter Stirling said:

William- were the Scottish Playbills shown outside Scotland?.
If it has not been done already I am trying to compile a list for the IMDB.
I know the early 1970s ones were and did list as many as I could under their network umbrella title.

Hi Peter,

In answer to your question I do not know for sure (yet) so far I have checked my TV Times dvd for the 28/2/66...2/5/66...11/10/66...8/11/66 and 6/12/66

For all of those dates it was (NOT) shown on Anglia, Ulster or Border. That's about as far as I can check as I do not have any TV Times for any other English region for the dates concerned that is.

I might be able to check the times and Guradain listings to see  " Scottish Playbills" were shown doon south.   I just need to check is it  " Scottish Playbills" Im looking for?