Goon Pod Goon Pod

“Something’s been worrying me. You’re a French
police officer and yet you’ve got a Scottish accent.”

-“Aye. It worries me too.”



Before Daniel Craig was even a twinkle in his father's eye (give it a couple of months) there was the 1967 original big screen version of Casino Royale, a far-from-subtle James Bond spoof based extremely loosely on Ian Fleming's first novel, which would go on to become the bedrock for all subsequent Austin Powers movies!



How to best describe Casino Royale? Baffling, bloated, self-indulgent, messy - yes, all these apply. However, it's a fascinating celluloid confection and there are plenty of interesting aspects to the film, plus a handful of chuckles along the way.



Famously suffering from temperamental stars (step forward Mr Sellers) and multiple directors, and shot through with the psychedelic sentiment of the time, Casino Royale is worth watching for the cast alone: along with the aforementioned Peter Sellers we have Orson Welles, David Niven, Woody Allen, Deborah Kerr, Ursula Andress, John Huston, Bernard Cribbens, Ronnie Corbett, Anna Quayle, John Bluthal, John Wells, Geoffrey Bayldon, Peter O'Toole and even Derek Nimmo!



This week Tyler is joined by Martin Holmes, the host of Vision On Sound - https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/visiononsound - to try and make sense of it all!

In 1954 Spike Milligan and Eric Sykes, along with Ray Galton, Alan Simpson and Frankie Howerd, formed Associated London Scripts, envisaged as a comedy scriptwriters' cooperative, situated above a greengrocers in Shepherd's Bush.



Soon it would swell in number, with the likes of Johnny Speight, John Antrobus, Terry Nation, Brad Ashton and Dick Vosburgh coming on board, with the mighty Beryl Vertue acting as sort of de facto agent for them all.



Between them they were responsible for much of the comedy coming out of Britain in the late fifties and sixties, including The Goon Show, Hancock's Half Hour, The Army Game, Till Death Us Do Part, Steptoe & Son, Sykes And A..., The Arthur Haynes Show and many more, while Terry Nation wrote for Tony Hancock and then came up with the idea for some pepperpot-shaped Timelord-botherers and never looked back.



The story of ALS is too big a topic to condense down to ninety minutes, but Tyler and guest Mike Haskins try their best - Mike was involved in a Radio 4 documentary about ALS some twenty years ago and had access to the likes of Antrobus and Galton & Simpson and has some fascinating tales to share!

In 1990 the airwaves were set alight with the arrival of Flywheel, Shyster & Flywheel to BBC radio.



Based on material from a series of the same name broadcast on American radio in the early thirties, these modern adaptations benefited hugely from great production, excellent scripts and a highly talented cast, particularly the two lead performers Michael Roberts and Frank Lazarus, both of whom totally captured the energy and spirit of Groucho & Chico Marx, retaining their timeless character while giving them a contemporary tweak. The then up-and-coming BBC radio wunderkind Dirk Maggs (who later gained audio industry national treasure status via his collaborations with the likes of Neil Gaiman) directed the show and it ran for three series on BBC Radio 4, attracting huge listening figures and much popular acclaim.



One of its biggest champions was a man who by this point in his life was critical about what he considered the state of modern comedy: Spike Milligan. Confessing to having been delighted and enchanted by the series – and coming from a huge Marx Brothers fan from whom he had drawn much inspiration this was high praise indeed – Spike was invited onto the show. The former Goon ended up appearing twice, and despite nerves seemed to relish every moment of it.



This week Goon Pod has the rare honour of playing host to Dirk, Michael and Frank, who look back at the series and recall how it came about, sharing favourite moments and behind-the-scenes gossip and remembering the rather challenging circumstances in which they welcomed Spike onto the show.



News of the remake was huge at the time and received international television coverage from the likes of CNN. We hear some rare clips and Frank talks about appearing on the Dick Cavett Show in an earlier iteration of Chico,
while Michael explains about how ad-libbing was positively encouraged. There is also tribute paid to Mark Brisenden, the man behind the scripts, and the supporting cast including Lorelei King and Graham Hoadly, not to mention the great Dick Vosburgh, the accomplished comedy writer who did so much to revive the Marx Brothers in the seventies and eighties and who acted as consultant on FS&F.



A must-listen for fans of the Marx Brothers, the Goons or great comedy in general!

It is June 1970. Ted Heath is days away from becoming British Prime Minister. Mungo Jerry are riding high at the top of the charts. And popular television personality Simon Dee's career is just about to collapse in a spectacular fashion.



How ironic then that Dee should co-star in the film we're discussing this week, playing a popular television personality!



Doctor In Trouble was the last of the Doctor film series, which by 1970 had fully committed to aping the Carry Ons. As well as Dee, Harry Secombe is one of the principle cast, and the star is Leslie Phillips playing Dr Tony Burke, who somehow manages to stow away on a luxury cruise liner and spends much of the voyage trying to evade the clutches of Master-At Arms-Freddie Jones!



Oh, and Robert Morley's in it too.



Secombe is brilliant, as you would expect, and Dee (although not given a huge amount to do) puts in a fairly creditable performance. Leslie Phillips is, well, Leslie Phillips and how did we forget to mention that the peerless Irene Handl pops up too?



Joining Tyler this week is writer, director and actor John Hewer. John has been behind some tributes to and revivals of classic British comedy performers and shows, including The Bed Sitting Room, Tommy Cooper and Steptoe & Son.



They talk about the history of the Doctor series, the sad decline of James Robertson-Justice, the rise and fall of Simon Dee, problematic gay stereotypes from around this period, seventies posh nosh and consider the prospect of a nude Welshman on the film set!



You'll really dig it!

"All trams have been melted down and made into
melted-down trams."




In 1952 London's last tram rolled into the depot. Two years later the Goons decided to mark the occasion with a show - better late than never!



At the London Pleasure Transport Board, Redundant Tram Department, Inspector Ned Seagoon receives a phone call informing him that there’s still a tram at large on the Highgate-Kingsway route, and, indeed, the tram map still has one flag pin stuck in it, for a number 33.



Driver Henry Crun refuses to move the tram unless he is afforded a proper last tram ceremony. Seagoon has to negotiate with the corrupt Chairman of the Country & Town Planning Society who agrees to the ceremony, but on the cheap.



Writing was credited to Spike Milligan & Eric Sykes but it seems fairly certain Eric took the lion's share of work that week.



The Last Tram (from Clapham) is a real gem of a Goon Show - well structured, well-paced, with some interesting one-off characters, a nice pay-off and the odd unusual choice of sound effect (such as the otherworldly harp).


Joining Tyler to talk about it is our Welsh-language correspondent from Down Under, Andy Bell!


As well as chatting about the show they discuss Britain's Rudest Man, the length of Alan Ladd, the Telegoons version of the show, Spike in Australia, the history of London's tram network and... Menace Strain Bullshine?



Andy can be found on Twitter/X: @obelloz

"In ye year of Grace, Mary and Uncle Fred, 1190, Wallace
Greenslade, an itinerant announcer, was bounde for Nottingham when ye coach was stoppd inne Sherwood Forest by Robin Hood who did persuade himme to join hys
bande as second sackbuttist and part-time dustman. Greenslade did don Lincoln Green and did assiste ye outlaws in their recklesse adventures."

(Radio Times listing for 'Ye Bandit of Sherwood Forest', December 1954)

This week Tyler and guest Chas Early look at the Robin Hood-themed episodes of The Goon Show - Ye Bandit of Sherwood Forest from Series 5 and the special from 1956, Robin Hood, as well as some brief chat about the earlier Christmas Pantomime of Robin Hood from Series 3 which only exists now in script form.

All three shows share some similar dialogues and scenes and each featured special guests: Charlotte Mitchell in Ye Bandit; Dennis Price and Valentine Dyall in the 1956 Robin Hood; and Dick Emery & Carole Carr back in 1952.

There's a lot to unpick so splug yourself on a gillikin spike and tune in!