Last of the Summer Wine. Richard Webber

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ were reaching the twilight of their lives, despite what they may have wanted to believe, so savouring the final drops of life to the full, like you would a fine wine, were of paramount importance.

      Roy Clarke’s title conjures up images of rurality, too, and this aspect of the programme was an integral part of its success and longevity. For me, like millions of other fans, the characters’ regular wandering on the hills, far beyond the clatter and noise of civilisation, was a crucial element—a form of escapism. It’s a well-known fact that much of the filming takes place in and around Holmfirth, a small West Yorkshire town situated in the Holme Valley. Six miles south of Huddersfield, the town grew up around a corn mill and bridge in the thirteenth century, and has now been placed firmly on the tourist map, thanks to Summer Wine. The location was suggested by the late Barry Took, who’d filmed a half-hour instalment of a BBC documentary series close to the town; aware that Duncan Wood was shooting a Yorkshire-based comedy pilot, he recommended they take a look at Holmfirth.

      The central trio of characters, beginning with Bill ‘Compo’ Simonite, Norman Clegg and Cyril Blamire, were written as old

       DID YOU KNOW?

      Peter Sallis, who’ll forever be linked with the wonderful Norman Clegg, found himself cast as his own father in Roy Clarke’s First of the Summer Wine.

      friends, creating an instant bond between them and affording Roy the chance to exploit their long-held friendships for comedy purposes.

      When casting the lead roles, one actor was top of the list to fill the shoes of Norman Clegg. Peter Sallis had already appeared in Roy Clarke-scripted programmes and the writer knew that upon creating Clegg, a retired lino salesman, Sallis was the man for the job. The other lead roles went to experienced thespian Michael Bates (Cyril), who’d appeared in myriad TV and big-screen roles, and equally experienced cockney actor Bill Owen (Bill).

      However, the casting of Owen, whose long list of credits included the first two Carry On films, Sergeant and Nurse, worried Roy Clarke, who regarded Compo as the archetypal layabout. He’d only seen Owen playing roles as straight cockney, whereas Jimmy Gilbert, who produced the first series, had seen him in plenty of northern parts on stage. Roy’s doubts were soon dispelled, though, when he observed Owen at the opening read-through. Now, of course, it’s hard to imagine anyone other than Bill Owen playing Compo, the kind-hearted, welly-wearing scruff bag.

      The personnel may have changed over the years, but Summer Wine’s adaptability has seen it remain largely unaffected by any upheavals. Just like the Carry On films, where producer Peter Rogers intentionally avoided hiring star names, Summer Wine benefits from the same approach. Other sitcoms may have struggled if one of its leading names had departed: think of Porridge without Barker, Fawlty Towers without Cleese—well, you can’t, can you? Employing well-proven and reliable character actors in the roles, intentionally or not, has enabled the programme to grow with age and cope with the changes in faces that one would expect in a programme lasting nearly four decades.

      One such change was the departure of Michael Bates. When he left in 1975, he was replaced by Brian Wilde, alias Barrowclough in Porridge, who played Foggy Dewhurst for nine years—although he came back for a seven-year stint in the

      1990s—before Michael Aldridge, as Seymour Utterthwaite, arrived for four years to make up the male trio. Then, after Wilde’s second spell ended, veteran actor Frank Thornton, who’d delighted sitcom audiences with his sniffy portrayal of Captain Peacock in Are You Being Served?, was a last-minute replacement as Herbert Truelove.

      Throughout the years, the programme has enjoyed a plethora of supporting characters. Three of the most memorable were present in the opening instalments: Nora Batty, Ivy and Sid, played by Kathy Staff, Jane Freeman and John Comer respectively. Other regulars have arrived over the years, such as Edie (Dame Thora Hird), Pearl (Juliette Kaplan), Auntie Wainwright (Jean Alexander), Glenda (Sarah Thomas), Marina (Jean Fergusson), Wally (Joe Gladwin), Wesley (Gordon Wharmby), Howard (Robert Fyfe), Barry (Mike Grady), Smiler (Stephen Lewis), Tom (Tom Owen), Alvin (Brian Murphy) and Entwistle (Burt Kwouk). All have done a sterling job under the direction of, among others, Jimmy Gilbert, Sydney Lotterby and, of course, Alan J W Bell, who has produced and directed the series for 27 years.

      The series has now reached its 30th season, with Russ Abbot joining the cast as Hobbo. There is uncertainty surrounding its long-term future but regardless of how long it continues, Summer Wine will remain a classic sitcom and, hopefully, enjoyed by generations to come.

       ‘HAIL SMILING MORN OR THEREABOUTS’

       Blamire and Compo go into the library to look at a photo exhibition. Compo takes out one of his doorstep-sized sandwiches.

      BLAMIRE: You know, if ever one of those came up in the middle of the North Sea, there’d be an international incident to decide who was entitled to stick a flag into it.

      COMPO: Come on, let’s go call on Clegg.

      BLAMIRE: Just a moment. Just a moment. I’m studying contrast and tone. I used to exhibit myself, you know.

      COMPO: You mucky old devil.

      BLAMIRE: In the 14th Field Signals Regimental Camera Club, I won the Mrs. Colonel Langford O.B.E. Award for my interpretation of a soldier’s farewell at F11 in 1/60th of a second. Of course, the equipment has improved since those days.

      COMPO: (Sadly) Mine hasn’t.

      BLAMIRE: It’s marvellous what you can do with a close-up lens.

      COMPO: Well, hurry up and do it and let’s go and get Clegg.

      BLAMIRE: You’ve no cultural interests at all, have you?

      COMPO: I’ve got me ferrets.

      BLAMIRE: Didn’t you take any advantage of the army’s further education schemes?

      COMPO: Well, we had this army film show once about social diseases. My mate fainted. (He approaches the display) Well it’s all a lot of rhubarb this, innit? Look at this—a tatty bit of wood. Who wants to take a photograph of a photograph of a lump of wood?

      BLAMIRE: It’s a study in texture.

      COMPO: I bet that bloke had a dolly bird sitting on there.

      BLAMIRE: So what?

      COMPO: And he clicked his shutter and she fell off. (He has a good chuckle)

      BLAMIRE: You’ve no idea, no idea at all.

      COMPO: Hey up! (looking very closely at a picture) Hey, look at this ’ere “September Morn”.

       MEMORIES…

      ‘Duncan Wood recognised the comic element in my ITV series, The Misfit, and wanted me to try a sitcom. What threw me, though, was he required something for three old men—a dreadful idea, I thought. It left me cold and after playing about with it intensively for a couple of weeks, I couldn’t make it work. It bored me. Then, out of desperation, I thought that if they were all footloose and free, they were in the same position as adolescents at the other end of the scale. The minute I saw them as kids, it worked.’

       СКАЧАТЬ