Like Morecambe and Wise, Stanley Baxter gave up making weekly shows to concentrate on hour-long ( fifty minutes minus the commercials ) specials, usually screened in the Autumn or just before Christmas. This enabled him to ensure they were of the highest possible standard; a good deal of thought and hard work went into their making and it shows.
His second L.W.T. extravaganza contains some of his best-remembered sketches, including a hilarious parody of the period drama 'Upstairs, Downstairs' with Baxter playing Mrs.Bridges, Rose ( Jean Marsh admired his impersonation ) and Hudson. As the series was still in production at the time, Baxter was able to film on the very same sets used in the show, most notably the kitchen and drawing room. 'Thumpalong with Reg Varnish' sent up Reg Varney's 1973 A.T.V. show, and 'Nationwide' enabled Baxter to display his mastery of regional accents.
The 'Hollywood Canteen' segment is one of Baxter's finest; during World War Two, Nazi sympathising showbiz agent Willard Pringle stages a star-packed show intended to boost the morale of U.S. forces, but the songs have been rewritten so that they will now have the opposite effect, hence Jimmy Durante sings 'I'm The Guy That Joined The S.S.', Carmen Miranda goes 'I-I-I-I Hate Democracy', and Jimmy Cagney proclaims he is a 'Yankee Double-Dealer'. Stunning choreography by Norman Maen and brilliant lyrics by Ken Hoare. This sketch ought to have closed the show, instead of simply rounding off the second act.
The least successful item is 'supposing the television news was done in the style of 'The Sun'. Anyone who has looked at I.T.N. recently will see it has become a frightening reality.
A brilliant and touching number is 'Sitting On A Cloud' in which Baxter, as Maurice Chevalier, is in Heaven, ruminating on how glad he is to be deceased. The song includes the daring lyric 'Where I used to spread my joie de vivre, now Brando spreads butter in Paree', a reference to the most famous scene in the notorious 'Last Tango In Paris'.
'2001: A Royal Wedding Odysssy' closes the show and while its good fun, ends the show on a full stop rather the exclamation mark it should have had. A member of the British Royal Family is to marry the Scottish singer Zena Lavaroni, and the wedding turns into an excuse for a mass public phone-in. The final scene in which the Royal Balcony descends at Buckingham Palace and a dance ensues is as disrespectful as anything later found in 'Spitting Image'. Funny though this was at the time, its sad to watch now in the knowledge that the real Lena Zavaroni did not live to see 2001.
'Moving Picture Show' scooped three B.A.F.T.A.S in 1975, for Design, Best Light Entertainment Programme and Best Light Entertainment Performance. Baxter beat out Arthur Lowe in 'Dad's Army', Ronnie Barker in 'Porridge', and Michael Crawford in 'Some Mothers Do Ave Em'. Quite an achievement.
Director/producer David Bell died in 1990, and I.T.V. screened 'Moving Picture' by way of a tribute.
His second L.W.T. extravaganza contains some of his best-remembered sketches, including a hilarious parody of the period drama 'Upstairs, Downstairs' with Baxter playing Mrs.Bridges, Rose ( Jean Marsh admired his impersonation ) and Hudson. As the series was still in production at the time, Baxter was able to film on the very same sets used in the show, most notably the kitchen and drawing room. 'Thumpalong with Reg Varnish' sent up Reg Varney's 1973 A.T.V. show, and 'Nationwide' enabled Baxter to display his mastery of regional accents.
The 'Hollywood Canteen' segment is one of Baxter's finest; during World War Two, Nazi sympathising showbiz agent Willard Pringle stages a star-packed show intended to boost the morale of U.S. forces, but the songs have been rewritten so that they will now have the opposite effect, hence Jimmy Durante sings 'I'm The Guy That Joined The S.S.', Carmen Miranda goes 'I-I-I-I Hate Democracy', and Jimmy Cagney proclaims he is a 'Yankee Double-Dealer'. Stunning choreography by Norman Maen and brilliant lyrics by Ken Hoare. This sketch ought to have closed the show, instead of simply rounding off the second act.
The least successful item is 'supposing the television news was done in the style of 'The Sun'. Anyone who has looked at I.T.N. recently will see it has become a frightening reality.
A brilliant and touching number is 'Sitting On A Cloud' in which Baxter, as Maurice Chevalier, is in Heaven, ruminating on how glad he is to be deceased. The song includes the daring lyric 'Where I used to spread my joie de vivre, now Brando spreads butter in Paree', a reference to the most famous scene in the notorious 'Last Tango In Paris'.
'2001: A Royal Wedding Odysssy' closes the show and while its good fun, ends the show on a full stop rather the exclamation mark it should have had. A member of the British Royal Family is to marry the Scottish singer Zena Lavaroni, and the wedding turns into an excuse for a mass public phone-in. The final scene in which the Royal Balcony descends at Buckingham Palace and a dance ensues is as disrespectful as anything later found in 'Spitting Image'. Funny though this was at the time, its sad to watch now in the knowledge that the real Lena Zavaroni did not live to see 2001.
'Moving Picture Show' scooped three B.A.F.T.A.S in 1975, for Design, Best Light Entertainment Programme and Best Light Entertainment Performance. Baxter beat out Arthur Lowe in 'Dad's Army', Ronnie Barker in 'Porridge', and Michael Crawford in 'Some Mothers Do Ave Em'. Quite an achievement.
Director/producer David Bell died in 1990, and I.T.V. screened 'Moving Picture' by way of a tribute.
