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| Copyright REBELLION |
Our memories of certain things from our past don't always stand up to critical evaluation years after the fact, do they? Almost 30 years ago, there was some kind of TV Anniversary series where old shows were re-broadcast in an indulgence of nostalgia for those who had originally watched them back in the '60s. One such programme was The Arthur Haynes Show and, by gawd, it was utterly awful. Did my parents, myself and older sibling actually find it even remotely funny back in the day, to say nothing of the nationwide TV audience? It was pure sh*te, though I suppose there's always a chance it wasn't a typical example and other episodes were funnier. Perhaps this one had been chosen at random and hadn't been viewed in advance of being broadcast, but poor old Arthur must've been spinning in his grave.
It's the same with old British comics (we're talking paper periodicals now, not comedians), as although the art in such publications was usually top-notch and of a higher standard than a lot of comics today (in my view anyway), the stories themselves (especially humour strips) weren't always what you could call 'classics'. Having said that, the latest Robot Archie volume from The Treasury Of British Comics (Rebellion) is a proper treat, and a good laugh to boot. Most of my exposure to Archie was from when he appeared in Vulcan in the '70s and I don't remember those tales as being particularly memorable (though most of them were reprints from a Dutch comic if I recall rightly), but I had a hearty chuckle at Archie's shenanigans and 'patter' in the three stories presented in this terrific tome and thoroughly enjoyed them.
Which is my legendary long-winded way of saying if you haven't yet bought this book, snap one up right away, settle back in a comfy armchair and lap up the awesome adventures of Archie as he cuts a swathe of devastation and destruction through evil aliens and World War I German soldiers in a trio of time-travelling tales that'll have you looking forward to volume three and placing an order for volume one if you don't already have it. Highly recommended.
Incidentally, I previously showed you the softcover version in an earlier post, but the one that kicks off this post is the hardcover edition with an exclusive cover which costs a few measly quid more. Undecided as to which one to buy? Then do what I did - get both!
I do remember The Arthur Haynes Show the best part of which were the reoccurring sketches of Haynes as a tramp with Nicholas Parsons as his foil. Haynes had a suppressed smile that implied he was ahead of the joke.
ReplyDeleteWell, of course he was, T47 - he'd read the script. Apparently, the shows were often inadequately rehearsed, with the actors resorting to ad-libbing through them and often breaking up and laughing. Arthur was, I think, the highest paid comedian in Britain at the time, 'til he died in 1966.
DeleteIn retrospect the lack of rehearsal makes perfect sense. Probably because he was a 'Top TV Comedian' at the time as was Dave King, they were cast as London taxi drivers in a Hollywood movie starring Gina Lollobrigida and Rock Hudson. Neither showed any comedic traits in their roles.
ReplyDeleteHe was in one of the 'Carry On' films as well, I think, and probably other movies. I don't remember whether I knew or not back in 1966 of his death, but it tallies with my subsequent memories of the TV show being there one year and not the next. Ah, where did my life go to?
DeleteI have a fascination of comedy going back to Music Hall up to 1990 I would say, when comedians stopped being funny (although I do like Harry Hill). The rot set in with the advent of alternative comedians, the 'alternative' meaning 'not funny'. So I loved the series 'Heroes of Comedy' and I'm fairly sure Arthur Haynes was the subject of one episode. I'd never really heard of him until then. Unfortunately the clips in the episode didn't seem particularly funny so I didn't follow up with any research afterwards. I was surprised when they said he was the top comedian of his day. I suppose there was limited choice on TV at that point so he held a captive audience.
ReplyDeleteI've never read Robot Archie but have read only good things about it so it's on my To Do list.
I find a few modern-day comedians entertaining, though my favourite was Bob Hope (whom I met twice), but like you say, alternative comedians were usually an alternative to comedy and failed to impress me. In regard to comics, there's never been a time when some strips (both humour and adventure) were less than impressive, story-wise. However, there was always an element of professionalism about them - unlike a lot of the content of the relaunched Dandy in what now seems an eternity away. Incidentally, I didn't mean to suggest that Robot Archie is a humour strip, but there's something about the character's persona and patter that is extremely humorous.
DeleteI only know about Arthur Haynes because Nicholas Parsons used to mention him in interviews over the years so I knew that Parsons had been the straight-man to Haynes back in the '50s. Did you know, Kid, that Nicholas Parsons worked in the Glasgow shipyards for a while in his late teens? Despite being posh and English he went to stay with Scottish relatives who got him a job at the shipyards - apparently the shipyard workers found Nicholas Parsons rather strange at first but they soon warmed to him and Parsons always spoke very fondly of his experience. He could do a perfect Glaswegian accent too as he demonstrated in numerous interviews.
ReplyDeleteYes, I knew about Nicholas's shipyard days, CJ, as I heard him talk about them in various interviews over the years. However, he most definitely couldn't do a perfect Glaswegian accent. You'll be telling me next that James Doohan (Scotty) did a perfect Scottish accent as well. (Actually, it was better than he gets credit for, but it was 'Hollywood Scottish'.)
DeleteYou'd know better than me, Kid, so I'll retract the final sentence in my previous comment :)
ReplyDeleteBut Nicholas Parsons' Glaswegian accent sounded a lot more Glaswegian than my father's Glaswegian accent but that's probably because I was so used to my father's accent that I didn't notice it.
There probably is no single Glaswegian accent, CJ, it'll depend on what part of Glasgow someone comes from. My father was from Bridgeton Cross (called Brig'ton Cross by the locals), which was a rough part of Glasgow, but his accent wasn't what you'd expect it to be.
DeleteMy father grew up in Carntyne but he was born in Edinburgh.
ReplyDeleteAh, so he was from Auld Reekie.
DeleteWhat's this?! James Doohan wasn't Scottish?! What is this madness?! You'll be telling me Elvis is dead next. Seriously, I didn't know he was Canadian.
ReplyDeleteI've got bad news for you, M - Elvis is dead next.
DeleteSo many of those old UK comics are such a big part of my childhood and as a kid I loved them and found the adventure strips genuinely exciting and the humour strips fun. Of course as I got older my tastes matured and changed and looking back some of these comics look bland but some are still special. I first read Robot Archie in the Lion comic and wasn't a fan but I re-read a few of the Lion issues I have a few years ago and very much enjoyed them
ReplyDeleteBritish comics were usually always value for money back in the day, McS, with several strips to choose from, meaning that there was always something to enjoy out of the bunch. If you didn't like every strip, what did it matter, as comics were so cheap, if you only liked 3 out of 7, you still got a bargain. Sure, not every humour strip was a laugh-out-loud riot and not every adventure strip was a thrill-a-minute roller-coaster ride, but they were always written with a measure of skill. I was well-impressed by the Robot Archie volume because he's a bit of a big-head and his patter is funny.
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