So loving these Hancock's Half Hours on Radio 4 +

Anna and the King of Siam

Hattie keeps breaking into song with Hollywood musical numbers, which Hancock is not keen on, but she insists, with Tony finally joining in and the results are absolutely hysterical - I mean, come on Hattie and Tony duetting in a mock Webster Booth and Anne Ziegler earnest style of singing. Brilliant! And so funny.

Cyrano de Hancock

Sid has gone all vacant and moody, so Hancock wants to know why, but sensing it involves sex, he tells Bill to go to bed, but he's upset and says how can he learn about life if he's not allowed to listen

This is not verbatim:-

Tony: "Well spell it out. Is it a W-O-M-A-N?"

Sid: "Y-E-S"

Tony: "Not every word Sid, or we'll be here all night! So it's a W-O-M-A-N. What about it then?"

Sid: "Promise you won't laugh if I tell you"

Tony: "Of course, Sidney. You're amongst friends"

Sid: "I'm in love"

Tony breaks out in hysterical laughing, and boy, can he do hysterical laughing, which sets me off. 😂

But Grizelda (Hattie) overhears Tony telling Sid what to do to tell her he loves her, and she takes it that Tony is also in love with her, and seeing him as a better catch than small-time crook Sid, insists that Tony marries her. This all finishes up in church with KW's snide character as the vicar (SO FUNNY) and the wedding goes wrong.

And next Wednesday at 8 12 and 19, is The Last of the McHancocks, which is another of my absolute favourites.
Hancock goes to Scotland to claim his inheritance of a Scottish castle, but the wonderful James "Bloody" Robertson-Justice as Laird Seamus McNasty of the McNasty clan is the sworn enemy of the McHancocks and determines to take Tony's inheritance from him

All in all, superb script writing by G&S AND interpretation by Tony - wonderful!

Listened to the wild man one again yesterday

Great moment when Bill accidentally says the line " that's not a Cyril , squid! "

Instead of " that's not a squirrel, Sid!"

And the prize goes to Mr Hancock with his barrage balloon on the end of a wire cable. It's a descending angel! Well,nevermind it's big and we like it!

No prizes for guessing where that came from.

Been catching some of these after finally discovering what channels you can get on DAB radio. They've varied in quality from up and down but still above general par, to sublime and magnificent like the ep where the Americans were in town and the one with Tony's parked car he couldn't drive. Wasn't around when they first aired and was born into a world of TV, but catching a run of these brings home how big and important the wireless was to us for a long time, and tells us we can cope very well without pictures, as we provide them in our head.

Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 1st September 2023, 10:02 AM

All in all, superb script writing by G&S AND interpretation by Tony - wonderful!

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Bang on, a perfect marriage of writer and performer, which sadly begs the question again why he would ever want to part with it, but he was a complicated man with demons.

Couldn't accept that that was his lot, and was sure he could conquer the world of comedy, if only he could get rid of the old circle of friends/writers that surrounded him, which he did and then sadly lost his way.

"Friends from all over the world.... none in this country, but all over the world!"