I have featured
Tony Hancock before on a Tuesday (though I don't seem to have done
The Rebel yet which amazes me; and this reminds me too that I haven't yet done the apocalyptic comedy
The Bedsitting Room). This is an episode of the
half hour shows, but an unusual one as it's the first after he decided to end the partnership with Sid James and to move from the original setting at 23 Railway Cuttings, East Cheam to a bedsit in Earl's Court. To signal the change, this first episode of the last season (1961) features Hancock completely on his own. This solo exploration of boredom offers a wonderful showcase of Hancock's timing and precision without the exuberant foil of Sid's unflappable humour. And it's marvelous -- just marvelous.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
I'm off teaching the doctoral students in digital humanities today, so amuse yourself by checking out all the other overlooked gems at
Todd's blog. With luck, I'll get to the P-Con recap tomorrow, although I am teaching as usual on Wednesday (it never ends, eh?).
2 comments:
We can hope it never ends, or at least ends well! Perhaps as a handsome foyer, if not indeed a bed-sitting room...I hope you do write that one up, since I'm sure your memory of the film is fresher than mine from decades ago (one of us shall have to seek it out, and I suspect you might have the earlier forms?)
The Rebel or The Bedsitting Room? Not that it matters as I have both on DVD *and* with me. The latter is on DVD via several iterations of television and videotape, so not the clearest of quality. I did, however, have a chance to read the long-out-of-print script in the British Library (ah, research!). It was the stage version; I seem to recall that among the required "props" was Diana Dors or some other sexpot star.
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