Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads was actually a revival, in 1973, of the successful Dick Clements/Ian La Frenais 1960s comedy The Likely Lads, so notable for its fibrous but sympathetic treatment of life for two young men coming of age in North East England. This "Very Best of" collection brings together classic episodes from the 1973 series. Although tinged with nostalgia--the décor and styles of the early 1970s are almost pungently evocative--the quality of the writing defies the passage of time. Seven years on from their initial adventures, Rodney Bewes (upwardly mobile, self-improving Bob) and James Bolam (feckless, chippy Terry) meet by accident on the train. Bob is about to marry Thelma and move into modern semi-detached heaven, while Terry is just out of the army and drifting back home without a great deal of purpose. The relationship between the two men, basically sound but frequently compromised by their very different aspirations, is very cleverly drawn and played so that your sympathies never stay on one side for very long. Best of all, Brigit Forsyth's Thelma, a dragon in the making, adds an astringent dynamic. She is, says Terry, "so stuck up she thinks her backside's a perfume factory". The insecurity he generates in her is responsible for much of the comedy. On the DVD: The Very Best of Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads comes to disc with no extras, simply standard 4:3 picture format video production and episode selection. But it's still fresh as a daisy all the same. --Piers Ford
For many, an appearance in the magistrates' court is their first encounter with the Law. Bemused, perhaps frightened and often arrogant, their offence may range from a simple motoring case to murder. But whatever the degree of involvement, the experience is one that will remain indelibly etched on the memory. In each of its four series Six Days of Justice examined six fictitious cases, exact in detail, with procedural advice supplied by magistrates; although similar in style and content to Crown Court, its evening scheduling allowed the series to tackle cases with a greater degree of authenticity than its daytime counterpart. This first series features strong performances from George Sewell, Earl Cameron and Bernard Hepton, among others, and was scripted by some of the era's most highly acclaimed scriptwriters, including Trevor Preston and P.J. Hammond. Episodes Cross Fire Suddenly You're In It A Private Nuisance Who Cares? With Intent To Deceive Open House
Two siblings Eli and Nellie inherit the family pickle company. When Nellie meets up with the bachelor owner of a rival pickle company her brother Eli encourages the match making knowing that if all goes well he'll be free to pursue the finer things in life...
A groundbreaking comedy and a subtle satire of the UK building industry in the 1960s (which is still frighteningly relevant today!) an excellent cast of comedians in their early days (Ronnie Barker Richard Briers Peter Butterworth Bernard Cribbins) will have you rolling in the aisles!
The Revenge of Billy the Kid is an outrageous farce like no other comedy film you've ever seen. Its bizarre blend of murder and mirth terror and titters simply defies sane description! When horney-handed farmer Gyles MacDonald has his wicked way with the farmyard goat little does he realise the freakish consequences of his strange desires. The Macdonalds are crude and grotesque living by their (dim) wits on a desolate island. Shunned by the mainlanders the family's laughable lifestyle is shattered when the unfortunate goat finally gives birth! Only Gyles' soft-headed daughter takes pity on the hideous creature. Naming it Billy she warns her brutish brothers to keep their hands off her new-found friend! But Billy doesn't beat about the bush. He grows quickly... Too quickly for Gyles who realises his diabolical secret will soon be out and the legacy of his evil lust is about to drop him deep in the manure....
This fantastic box set brings together six of Doris Day's finest efforts. Billy Rose's Jumbo (Dir. Charles Walters 1962): Pop and Kitty Wonder are the owners of the Wonder Circus and because of Pop's addiction to gambling they are constantly in debt and the creditors are very close to foreclosing on them. Their main attraction is Jumbo the elephant and it seems that their competitor John Noble wants Jumbo and is luring away all of their acts leaving them with virtually nothing. Then all of a sudden a mysterious man named Sam Rawlins joins them as a wire walker and Kitty is taken with him what they don't know is that he's Noble's son. The Glass Bottom Boat (Dir. Frank Tashlin 1966): Jennifer Nelson and Bruce Templeton meet when Bruce reels in her mermaid suit leaving Jennifer bottomless in the waters of Catalina Island. She later discovers that Bruce is the big boss at her work (a research lab). Bruce hires Jennifer to be his biographer only to try and win her affections. There's a problem Bruce's friend General Wallace Bleeker believes she's a Russian spy and has her surveillanced. But when Jennifer catches on...Watch out! Love Me Or Leave Me (Dir. Charles Vidor 1955): Story of torch singer Ruth Etting's rise from 1920s taxi dancer to movie star simultaneously aided and frustrated by Chicago mobster Marty Sydney's headstrong ways and pressure tactics. Please Don't Eat The Daisies (Dir. Charles Walters 1960): Drama critic Larry McKay his wife Kay and their four sons move from their crowded Manhattan apartment to an old house in the country. While housewife Kay settles into suburban life Larry continues to enjoy the theater and party scene of New York. Kay soon begins to question Larry's fidelity when he mentions a flirtatious encounter with Broadway star Deborah Vaughn. Young Man With A Horn (Dir. Michael Curtiz 1950): Aimless youth Rick Martin learns he has a gift for music and falls in love with the trumpet. Legendary trumpeter Art Hazzard takes Rick under his wing and teaches him all he knows about playing. To the exclusion of anything else in life Rick becomes a star trumpeter but his volatile personality and desire to play jazz rather than the restricted tunes of the bands he works for lands him in trouble. Calamity Jane (Dir. David Butler 1953): Deadwood Dakota Territory is largely the abode of men where Indian scout Calamity Jane is as hard-riding boastful and handy with a gun as any; quite an overpowering personality. But the army lieutenant she favors doesn't really appreciate her finer qualities. One of Jane's boasts brings her to Chicago to recruit an actress for the Golden Garter stage. Arrived the lady in question appears (at first) to be a more feminine rival for the favors of Jane's male friends...including her friendly enemy Wild Bill Hickock.
George and Mildred was a spin-off from Johnny Mortimer and Brian Cookes successful 1970s sitcom Man About the House, and ran from 1976 to 1980. This release features the first six episodes. Starring the late, great Yootha Joyce as Mildred Roper, a sex-starved cockney housewife with pretensions to the middle classes, and Brian Murphy as George, her hopeless and incorrigible husband, this series sees them make the upward move to posh Middlesex suburbia, despite George being on supplementary benefit--mortgage conditions were evidently easier in 70s sitcomland. Their neighbours are snooty estate agent Jeffrey Fourmile, his wife Ann and son Tristram. Jeffrey is perturbed that the Ropers arrival will lower the tone of the neighbourhood ("Tristram will get nits!") as they stink up the street with their three-wheel car and cheap wartime furniture. Much mildly amusing comedy at the expense of the working/middle class divide ensues, with no double-entendre left unturned and some period gags to match the Ropers interior decor. Situations involving a local MP, Mildreds even snobbier sister and an unsightly caravan brought out the best in Joyce and Murphys excellent characters, while Nicholas Owen as Tristram was among the least annoying of child sitcom stars. --David Stubbs
Doctor Helder (Briant) is sent to an asylum for experimenting on cadavers. There he is rescued by Doctor Carl Victor (Cushing) the original Doctor Frankenstein now living under a new identity who learns that a new monster is set to walk the earth...
Go Kart Go Rival groups build their own Go-Karts and encounter excitement and trouble in their efforts to win the local Go-Kart race. Featuring a very young Dennis Waterman! A Hitch In Time An erratic time machine cuts a bullying teacher down to size...
Three more rollicking good tales starring Michael Palin in various guises. Written by Michael Palin and Terry Jones. 'The Testing Of Eric Olthwaite' 'Whinfrey's Last Case' and 'The Curse of The Claw'. The Testing of Eric Olthwaite: A Ripping Northern Yarn set in the dark days of the depression before Last of the Summer Wine started bringing jobs to the area. Eric's tough mining parents find their son so boring that they run away from home. Eric torn between love for his parents and lack of brain cells becomes involved with a hardened criminal. The rest is history. Whinfrey's Last Case: Dashing Gerald Whinfrey saves his country twice a week but in 1913 a German plot to start the First World War without telling anybody coincides with his holiday. Where do Whinfrey's priorities lie? Has he got any? A knockout tale of international intrigue. If only Dickens could write like this - Mrs Reg Dickens Eltham. The Curse of the Claw: Gothic terror comes to Maidenhead. A timely reminder of what happens when men dabble in the dark world of oriental superstition. Michael Palin aided by inexpensive plastic surgery plays old and young Kevin as well as Kevin's childhood hero Uncle Jack - an enormously cheerful physical disaster area who has every disease known to man usually at the same time.
Rising Damp - A genuine British comedy classic the popularity of 'Rising Damp' remains unparalleled some 25 years after the first transmission. 'Rising Damp' detailed the day-to-day events at Rigsby's dingy boarding-house in Eric Chappell's hilarious sitcom. The landlord from hell Rupert Rigsby prowled around his dilapidated eyrie poking his nose into his lodgers' affairs. In this feature length movie Rigsby (Leonard Rossiter) is still intending to make Miss Jones (Frances De La Tour) his wife but she's far more interested in the intellectual and athletic Philip (Don Warrington)... George And Mildred - George and Mildred are the ultimate odd couple the popular landlord and landlady from Man About The House who became a household name with Thames Television in the 1970's and 80's. Mildred is vain snobbish and domineering; George is shy timid frigid and henpecked. Together they make a great partnership! In this feature length movie Mildred is still trying to steer him towards romance; George still doesn't know what she's driving at... Bless This House - The movie of the successful TV series in which two arguing families discover that their respective offsprings have been having a secret affair and plan to marry...
A moody film noir Room 36 is a labyrinthine thriller. The twisting nihilistic narrative tells of Helen Woods MP sent to a sleazy hotel to deliver classified information destined to bring down the British Government. Unknown to Woods in Room 38 of the hotel her arrival is awaited by Connor a brutal hit-man. Meanwhile a prostitute arrives at the hotel to visit Richard Armstrong a guest staying in Room 36... and were it not for a simple twist-of-fate no-one would be set-up framed crossed double-crossed or killed... Room 36 has been described by Empire magazine as 'Worthy of Hitchcock himself' and makes excellent viewing. Room 36 is a low-budget British thriller shot in black-and-white from director Jim Groom. Hit man Conner is supposed to meet MP Helen Woods in a hotel room to exchange money for microfilm. Things get really messed up when a call girl accidentally arrives in room 38 instead of room 36.
Heaven and the Suicide King is a powerful and edgy thriller set against a backdrop of a sinister wife swapping syndicate amidst the glamour and glitz of Hollywood. Tommy and his actress wife 'Heaven' relocate to Los Angeles each with their own dreams of prosperity. While Tommy struggles with his new business venture Heaven's dream of becoming a successful actress is kick-started when she befriends a group of high powered film executives.
A moody film noir Room 36 is a labyrinthine thriller. The twisting nihilistic narrative tells of Helen Woods MP sent to a sleazy hotel to deliver classified information destined to bring down the British Government. Unknown to Woods in Room 38 of the hotel her arrival is awaited by Connor a brutal hit-man. Meanwhile a prostitute arrives at the hotel to visit Richard Armstrong a guest staying in Room 36... and were it not for a simple twist-of-fate no-one would be set-up framed crossed double-crossed or killed... Room 36 has been described by Empire magazine as 'Worthy of Hitchcock himself' and makes excellent viewing.
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