Reply With QuoteTalk to Ken Dodd - he was a regular in Ken's BBC 1960s radio show......
I have been trying to write a book about the great film, television, stage and radio actor John Laurie. I wondered if anyone here has any interesting stories, memories or thoughts about him, or if you can put me in touch with people who knew him and worked with him over the years? Any photos would be welcome too.
Talk to Ken Dodd - he was a regular in Ken's BBC 1960s radio show......
This chap is a professional John Laurie impersonator, and very good he is too. Bless.
A vivid image of John Laurie for me was being carried away for certain death by the IRA in Juno And The Paycock
Ta Ta
Marky B
For me it's the films he made with Michael Powell (with or without Emeric Pressburger)
Red Ensign (1934)
Her Last Affaire (1936)
The Edge of the World (1937)
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)
And then he went back to the Shetland islands with Powell and some other surviving cast & crew for Return to the Edge of the World (1978)
Steve
I have not yet been able to track down copies of Red Ensign or Her Last Affaire (it's not so easy to get old British films in NZ). Are you able to describe John's roles in these two films please, whether they were big parts, small supporting bits, etc. And what sort of characters they were?Originally Posted by Steve Crook
The Edge of the World was a great film and a large role for John. I love the fact that in Dad's Army all those years later the set designer tipped a nod toward's John's part in this film, in the episode The Lion Has Phones where Jones calls the cinema by mistake. A large cinema poster from the film is seen in the background.
By the way, the suggestion of Ken Dodd is a good one and one I did explore before but I have not been able to find out where to contact him. Does anyone know an address for him please?
c/o Tony West Entertainments
P.O. Box 25
Formby,
Liverpool,
Merseyside
L38 0DA
Phone: +44 0151 929 2727
Fax: +44 0151 929 3030
Tony West Entertainments - Entertainment Agents, Management & Consultants - Singers - Comedians - Bands - Lookalikes - Theme Nights - Tribute Shows
tony@tonywestents.co.uk
or
c/o Simon Beresford
Dalzell and Beresford
26 Astwood Mews,
London
SW7 4DE
Phone: +44 (0)207 341 9411
Fax: +44 (0)207 341 9412
mail@dalzellandberesford.co.uk
They're both listed as agents on the IMDb Pro
Steve
Thanks very much Steve. I'll follow that up.
http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Britis...dp/B00177Y9WA/ was released on dvd recently.
Thanks for that, I will keep an eye out for it.
Her Last Affaire (1936)
John was a servant of some sort (porter?) at the hotel/inn where the leading characters had an affaire. He and the maid (Googie Withers) are questioned by the police. A good performance but not on screen for very long.
Red Ensign (1934)
John is the wages accountant in the shipyard where most of the action takes place. He gets to give a few warnings to the hero and to tell some of the workers that there is no money to pay them with. But he doesn't do the full Private Frazer "We're all doomed". Again a good performance but not on screen for very long.
There were quite a few references to Powell and Pressburger films in various episodes of Dad's Army.The Edge of the World was a great film and a large role for John. I love the fact that in Dad's Army all those years later the set designer tipped a nod toward's John's part in this film, in the episode The Lion Has Phones where Jones calls the cinema by mistake. A large cinema poster from the film is seen in the background.
In episode The Lion Has Phones
The local cinema is showing One of Our Aircraft is Missing (1942) and they mention Eric Portman and Googie Withers. There is a poster for it on display. There is also a poster for next week's film, The Edge of the World (1937) and the episode title is almost certainly a reference to The Lion Has Wings (1939).
In episode The Big Parade
It begins with the Pikes, Wilson, Mainwaring and Jones at the cinema watching The Spy in Black ('I don't believe in Germans being in films; why couldn't they get a British actor?')
In episode Put That Light Out
Pike refers to 'The Phantom Light with Gordon Harker' when they are in the lighthouse
In episode Time on My Hands
(The one with the German airman on the church tower), Pike knows how to release a parachute because he's seen it done in One of Our Aircraft is Missing
Other episodes have included mentions of, or references to, P&P films. We are sure that David Croft and/or Jimmy Perry must be fans.
e.g. Episode Operation Kilt: The Home Guard is defending against an exercise by the regular Army (Highland Regiment). The regulars try to trick them by starting their attack 1 hour earlier than agreed.
c.f. Colonel Blimp
Steve
Thanks for the info on those two films Steve, and yes I agree that there are lots of P&P references in Dad's Army. I think Jimmy in particular liked to include as much of his own favourite films and music as he could. As a kid he was very enthusiastic about the cinema and music hall, and it obviously influenced him greatly. It also influenced his writing of Pike, the film buff. I used to run the New Zealand Branch of the Dad's Army Appreciation Society so I know Jimmy and David and have gained quite an insight to the makings of the series. There's always much more to it than what the casual viewer thinks, and the same goes with their other shows. If you want a great read tracj down Jimmy's autobiography called 'A Stupid Boy'. It's a really good laugh, and very interesting.
I love discovering these 'in jokes'. In the background of one of the scenes in Never Let Go (1960), a poster advertising the play The Remarkable Mr Pennypacker can be spotted. One of its stars is Elizabeth Sellars, who is also one of the leading players in the film.
i haven't seen Joenoir for a while. Let us know you're alright, Joe.
An unusual image of John, 36 years before Dad's Army:
Actor John Laurie as Feste the Fool in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night at the New Theatre, 1932.
(Hulton-Deutsch Collection)
Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, which I haven't seen for many many years, was released on DVD only two days ago. The current price of £12.99, at Amazon, is far too much though. On the subject of DVDs, I received the boxset for ITV series Mystery and Imagination from Network yesterday. John's episode, The Open Door (1966), is included as a Special Feature. We're lucky to get that as most of the series was destroyed.
1966 was also the year he starred in The Master, again for ITV, which suffered an even worse fate as there are NO episodes left. I have a few TVTimes articles and listings from that time. Much more on the programme here: THE MASTER | A TELEVISION HEAVEN REVIEW.
So what do you think is a fair price for a recent and expensive high-definition restoration? Given that £12.99 gets you a futureproofed package containing a Blu-ray and a DVD, it looks like a bit of a bargain to me.
My DVD collection includes several boxsets that I bought for less than £10 each, including one containing five of James Mason's films (they're not 'quota quickies' either). If you care to look at the 'Network Sale' thread, I'm not the only one here who chooses to wait for a cheaper price and have recently voiced my frustration about two British movies that have remained at £9.99 for more than a year, Kaleidoscope and Petulia.
I'm not fussed about this H-D and Blu-Ray obsession but still respect the great effort that goes into restoration. The trouble is this applies to hundreds, even thousands of other films and programmes I'm interested in. Ironically, I have also stated here that I've been un-happy about the low cost of some DVDs. Boxsets of The Saint and The Sweeney going for £15, things like that. TOO cheap in my opinion.
I enjoyed our exchanges at the Norman McLaren thread a couple of years ago and am disappointed that after contributing more than 4,000 posts since then, you've only chosen that 'throwaway' comment to respond to. I hope you liked the picture anyway (the reason I came to this thread).
Especially for Steve, this is John Laurie as Murdoch in The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943):
I recognize him from The Edge of the World.
He was a bit younger then
Steve
He actually runs the hotel and has quite a big role not entirely dissimlar from his ones in 39 Steps and Edge of the World in that he plays a miserable Presbyterian who doesn't like the idea of people enjoying themselves in his pub
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