1 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:33,240 Hello and welcome to Saluting Dad's Army. 2 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:36,800 A series that wallows in sheer enjoyment of a classic 3 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:38,280 comedy series. 4 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:41,320 This edition goes behind the scenes to look at the nuts and bolts 5 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:42,480 of the show. 6 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:45,040 We'll meet the people behind the camera, who made the magic 7 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:48,520 possible, the members of the public who became part of the 'Dad's Army' 8 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:52,920 story and ask the big question about the stars of the series. 9 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:54,160 What were they really like? 10 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:58,320 Warmington-on-Sea... 11 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:01,200 I've forgotten the number. You stupid boy. 12 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:03,760 It's Warmington-on-Sea... 13 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:04,800 Just a moment. 14 00:01:04,960 --> 00:01:07,120 LAUGHTER 15 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:08,840 Wilson, Wilson. 16 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:10,560 Yes? Just checking on the number. 17 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:13,040 Oh, yes. 333 sir. Quite correct. 18 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:14,880 LAUGHTER 19 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:18,960 Arthur was Captain Mainwaring and Captain Mainwaring was Arthur Lowe. 20 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:20,600 There was no splitting the two, really. 21 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:22,560 Say no more, Captain Stewart. 22 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:25,560 You're coming to tell me that you want us for special duties, 23 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:26,600 aren't you? 24 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:28,920 Special duties? That's it. 25 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:31,600 I want you for special duties. 26 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:36,600 You can rely on us. What exactly are special duties? Oh! 27 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:40,600 I got to like him eventually, yeah. 28 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:43,160 Goodnight. Goodnight, sir. Goodnight, sir. Night, night. 29 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:47,520 He's almost human sometimes, isn't he? 30 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:50,720 He was a very private person, Arthur. 31 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:52,960 You know, very, very private indeed. 32 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:54,840 Do you know where the key is? Yes, sir. 33 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:56,320 Jones, can you hear me? 34 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,360 I'm going to tell you where the key is. 35 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:00,720 It's here. It's here. 36 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:02,640 LAUGHTER 37 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:06,400 He would do what he had to do with you and sort of in between 38 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:08,840 waiting for something, a prop or something like that, 39 00:02:09,040 --> 00:02:11,280 he wouldn't chat with you. 40 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:14,920 You know, you were there to say your lines to him and that was that. 41 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:16,760 When we went to rehearsals, 42 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:22,160 Mainwaring was always respected as being the senior person. 43 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:25,120 Everybody was very friendly, but you were aware that everybody 44 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:26,920 had a status. 45 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:30,360 Arthur Lowe's son Stephen witnessed his father's status consciousness 46 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:35,680 at first hand, in the BBC bar after a 'Dad's Army' recording. 47 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:39,080 All the cast would sit around one table all having a great time 48 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:43,680 and he would insist on sitting at another table, away from them. 49 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:45,800 Go and find another table, Pike. 50 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:51,720 Can't have the rank and file eating with us. 51 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:53,280 It wasn't like he was unsociable. 52 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:55,560 It was like he thought he was the captain of the ship. 53 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:58,120 He thought he was like, a bit better than them and that he ought 54 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:01,920 to keep a bit of a distance, and they teased him rotten about it. 55 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:04,720 Well thank you, Jones. I've already decided who the highly important 56 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:05,920 secret agent is going to be. 57 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:09,160 Excuse me sir, it's not by any chance going to be you is it? 58 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:10,200 Yes. 59 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:13,800 How did you know? Oh, it was just a guess. 60 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:20,280 Radio times photographer Don Smith shot dozens of episodes of 61 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:24,240 'Dad's Army' in rehearsal and Don saw the generous side of the 62 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:27,200 man the nation knew as Captain Mainwaring, when he took his 63 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:30,960 young son to the 'Dad's Army' studio for an episode which begins 64 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:34,800 with Mainwaring in hospital, struck down by an ingrowing toenail. 65 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:42,160 Arthur Lowe saw me walk in with what was obviously my son, 66 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:47,920 and he got out of bed and with a greatly exaggerated walk, 67 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:50,120 walked across the studio floor and he said, 68 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:54,800 "Oh, good afternoon young man", and he shook him by the hand 69 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:56,080 and saluted him. 70 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:04,160 Right. And that's my memory of Arthur Lowe and my son. 71 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:09,600 And if I did look for salutes, I least I did them properly. 72 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:11,240 That salute you just gave me was rotten. 73 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:16,720 They say David Croft and Jimmy Perry started writing the show to 74 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:20,640 the characters and, of course, they did. 75 00:04:20,840 --> 00:04:22,840 Well done, Wilson. 76 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:25,720 I was just waiting to see who would spot that one first. 77 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:29,920 And the line from 'Dad's Army' that makes me laugh the most 78 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:32,920 is when the Air Raid Warden calls him Napoleon. 79 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:35,360 Buzz off, Napoleon! This is my night to have the hall. 80 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:36,960 I mean, that was dad. 81 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:38,840 He was just like Napoleon. 82 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:43,080 I'm not a hard man really, you now? 83 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:45,640 It's just that some men are born to be leaders. 84 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:47,720 LAUGHTER 85 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:49,520 Some men are born to be led. 86 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:54,000 One of those born to be led was, of course, Captain Mainwaring's 87 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:57,760 subordinate in the platoon and at the bank where they both worked. 88 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,480 The long suffering Arthur Wilson, played by John Le Mesurier. 89 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:05,400 Excuse me sir, I don't think you really need me here any more, 90 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:06,920 do you? Yes, I do. Oh! 91 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:09,240 What's the matter with you? Nothing sir. Nothing at all. 92 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:10,280 I mean, why do you ask? 93 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:12,480 Shall we say, you don't seem your usual laughing self. 94 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:16,440 Well, I think the whole situation is just a little bizarre. 95 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:17,880 I don't see why. Well, I mean... 96 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:20,800 We come into a funeral parlour to ask the undertaker if we can look 97 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:23,440 inside one of his coffins just to find a spare part for a Lewis gun. 98 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:25,160 Yes. 99 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:27,480 Well, I suppose it could happen to anyone. 100 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:31,640 John would raise his eyebrows and was always looking up, you know? 101 00:05:31,840 --> 00:05:34,000 For inspiration, I suppose. 102 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:35,600 But that was John. Very vague. 103 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:39,160 John Le Mesurier's somewhat detached attitude was a 104 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:44,280 factor the production team bore in mind when setting up complex scenes. 105 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:47,640 There was one particular episode where Ian Lavender got stuck 106 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:50,600 in a bog. Help, Uncle Arthur, help! 107 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:52,920 Just, just keep still, Frank. Keep still. 108 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:55,280 Whatever you do, keep still. 109 00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:58,480 And the rest of the platoon went to help him. 110 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:00,680 I'm sinking, Mr Mainwaring. 111 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:03,640 But John Le Mesurier was deliberately kept out of it 112 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:07,280 because he was so impractical, we knew that he would not help at all. 113 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:10,440 In fact he'd probably make it worse. 114 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:14,200 I saw this happen in a Tarzan film once, Mr Mainwaring. 115 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:17,040 Blokes trying to get a man out of the swamp, 116 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:18,640 and he got eaten by a crocodile. 117 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:24,160 Though, for all John Le Mesurier's vagueness, 118 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:27,680 his sheer skill as an actor captivated his colleagues. 119 00:06:27,840 --> 00:06:30,240 I can remember one episode. 120 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:33,560 John just walked around the table saying "Oh, dear! 121 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:35,960 Oh, dear, oh, dear, oh, dear!" 122 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:39,240 Oh, Lord! 123 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:40,280 Oh, dear, oh, dear! 124 00:06:41,840 --> 00:06:42,800 Oh, dear! 125 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:45,360 Oh, dear! 126 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:50,000 Oh, dear, oh, dear, oh, dear! 127 00:06:50,280 --> 00:06:52,960 When we were rehearsing in the church hall, I always used to stop 128 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:56,840 reading my newspaper and watch him, cos it was so brilliantly timed. 129 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:01,600 Over the years, firm friendships were forged among the cast of 130 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:02,840 'Dad's Army.' 131 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:07,960 Clive and Jimmy Beck were arm in arm, really. 132 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:09,520 Great friends. 133 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:13,880 And they would pace up and down the rehearsal room together. 134 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:17,320 Well, I can tell you, when I was out in the Sudan there was some 135 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:20,200 terrible carryings on in the Officers Mess. 136 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:21,880 It was absolutely alarming. 137 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:25,440 But I'll tell you one thing, if you drunk too much out in that heat, 138 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:27,440 that would turn you into a gibbering idiot. 139 00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:32,880 Blimey, you must have knocked a bit back, then. 140 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:38,520 Though the 'Dad's Army' starts spent a lot of time working 141 00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:43,000 together, they still sought out each other's company when off duty. 142 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:47,720 We were very lucky, actually, that dad mixed quite a bit with the 143 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:50,000 other members of 'Dad's Army.' 144 00:07:50,280 --> 00:07:56,200 We had a lovely place growing up and often they'd all come along, 145 00:07:56,720 --> 00:08:00,240 John Le Mesurier, Frank Williams, Teddy Sinclair. 146 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:03,880 Arthur was there, and I think there was a kindness that was, 147 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:06,840 that was there that I certainly felt growing up. 148 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:14,120 In the 'Dad's Army' episode 'The King was in His Counting House', 149 00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:17,760 Captain Mainwaring hosts a party for the platoon at his home, 150 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:20,400 with excruciating results. 151 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:23,840 Well, very nice of you to come. 152 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:26,160 Very nice of you to ask us, George. 153 00:08:29,200 --> 00:08:32,120 Aye, v-v-very nice. 154 00:08:32,280 --> 00:08:33,880 Oh, very nice, indeed. 155 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:41,640 What a lovely party Mr Mainwaring. 156 00:08:42,680 --> 00:08:44,880 Yes, I'm enjoying myself. 157 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:52,160 However, off duty, Arthur Lowe could be a highly entertaining host. 158 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:54,280 After dinner he played, I can't remember if it was a 159 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:57,280 clavichord a spinet, but he played this beautiful 160 00:08:57,480 --> 00:08:59,520 17th century instrument. 161 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:05,080 And he's very cultured, but he was an odd mixture. 162 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:08,960 He bought this huge boat with a big funnel. 163 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:10,840 It was a big old steamboat. 164 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:14,400 It turned into a huge restoration project. 165 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:16,080 My dad loved having a project. 166 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:20,920 You can imagine him with a clipboard and a jobs list, and getting 167 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:24,400 everybody organised to do all the jobs on the boat. 168 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:27,240 The next thing in our line of fire is the cricket pitch. 169 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:29,640 That scoreboard will have to come down. Oh, no, please sir, 170 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:31,240 please, please, not the scoreboard. 171 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:33,960 I know you're captain of the cricket club, Wilson, but we can't make 172 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:36,680 any exceptions. But why can't we wait until the end of the cricket 173 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:39,480 season? Unfortunately, the Nazis don't play cricket. 174 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:43,120 If they did, we wouldn't be on opposite sides now. 175 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:48,200 It's difficult for somebody who is a well known actor to get much 176 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:51,240 privacy, and I think that that was where he sought his privacy. 177 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:54,800 However, I particularly remember visits from John Le Mesurier 178 00:09:54,960 --> 00:09:57,240 and Ian Lavender at different times. 179 00:09:59,560 --> 00:10:00,760 Oh! Pike. 180 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:02,160 Hello, uncle. Mr Mainwaring. 181 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:05,720 Couldn't you, couldn't you get in either? 182 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:08,200 No. 183 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:10,960 Mum threw a bucket of water over me. 184 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:13,720 That's what she does to the cat. Oh, I see. 185 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:16,360 Well, it's supposed to cool their ardour, you see. Yeah, well... 186 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:18,760 Very good. It certainly does that, uncle. 187 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:22,560 I don't think I'll get married after all. 188 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:24,960 Oh, I think you're very wise, Frank. 189 00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:26,040 I never did. 190 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:31,040 Coming up in part two, 191 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:34,440 the partnership behind the magic of 'Dad's Army.' 192 00:10:43,210 --> 00:10:46,730 Welcome back to 'Saluting Dad's Army' and more behind the scenes 193 00:10:46,970 --> 00:10:50,890 stories from the comedy series, which endures like no other. 194 00:10:51,170 --> 00:10:54,250 At the heart of the success of 'Dad's Army' was an extraordinary 195 00:10:54,530 --> 00:10:56,730 relationship and I don't mean the romance between Wilson and 196 00:10:57,010 --> 00:10:59,170 Mrs Pike, compelling though that was. 197 00:10:59,330 --> 00:11:00,690 I'm talking about the happy, 198 00:11:00,970 --> 00:11:03,730 brilliant and hugely productive partnership between the 199 00:11:04,010 --> 00:11:08,530 co-writers of 'Dad's Army' Jimmy Perry and David Croft. 200 00:11:08,770 --> 00:11:11,570 David and Jimmy were always an interesting couple. 201 00:11:11,810 --> 00:11:14,810 Where David was quiet, Jimmy was the extrovert. 202 00:11:15,890 --> 00:11:17,450 Jimmy's the flamboyant one. 203 00:11:17,730 --> 00:11:19,170 He loved his clothes, his fancy clothes. 204 00:11:19,450 --> 00:11:21,050 We used to send him up sometimes about that. 205 00:11:21,290 --> 00:11:24,730 And David was more, you know, steady and serious. 206 00:11:24,970 --> 00:11:28,210 In 1916, when I was in France, I used to lob those bombs over 207 00:11:28,410 --> 00:11:29,530 one at a time. Pin out... 208 00:11:29,690 --> 00:11:30,730 Over... 209 00:11:30,890 --> 00:11:32,170 Bang! Over... 210 00:11:32,330 --> 00:11:33,410 Bang! 211 00:11:33,650 --> 00:11:36,770 They used to call me the mad bomber, you know? 212 00:11:36,970 --> 00:11:38,290 I'm not mad really, you know, sir. 213 00:11:38,490 --> 00:11:39,730 I'm as sane as you are. 214 00:11:39,890 --> 00:11:40,850 Oh, really? 215 00:11:42,690 --> 00:11:44,970 Comic mayhem, often on a grand scale, 216 00:11:45,170 --> 00:11:47,290 became a hallmark of 'Dad's Army.' 217 00:11:47,530 --> 00:11:51,450 but behind the on screen chaos lay the meticulous planning and 218 00:11:51,690 --> 00:11:55,770 even temperament of co-writer and producer David Croft. 219 00:11:56,010 --> 00:11:59,890 I don't think I ever saw him in a mood or angry. 220 00:12:01,170 --> 00:12:02,570 He took everything as it came. 221 00:12:03,690 --> 00:12:06,050 Just a minute. Just a moment. 222 00:12:06,250 --> 00:12:07,650 Wilson, Wilson. 223 00:12:07,850 --> 00:12:09,970 Yes, sir? Tell that boy to go away. 224 00:12:15,130 --> 00:12:17,250 If you have to do that, would you do it somewhere else? 225 00:12:20,010 --> 00:12:23,530 David knew the technicalities of television, 226 00:12:23,770 --> 00:12:26,610 even though there were complex problems with people up 227 00:12:26,850 --> 00:12:29,330 flagpoles, people in boats, people on trains. 228 00:12:29,610 --> 00:12:32,610 And if you read the scripts before going to see it, 229 00:12:32,770 --> 00:12:34,250 how on earth is that going to work? 230 00:12:34,490 --> 00:12:38,690 But David would always have sorted that in his mind. 231 00:12:38,970 --> 00:12:41,850 Though he appreciated the work of his team, the former army 232 00:12:42,090 --> 00:12:46,210 officer, David Croft, was not given to big displays of emotion. 233 00:12:46,450 --> 00:12:50,730 David would slap you on the back and say, "Well done", and that was it. 234 00:12:50,890 --> 00:12:52,210 I mean, I'd walk away. 235 00:12:53,410 --> 00:12:55,330 Well done, Godfrey. 236 00:12:55,570 --> 00:12:59,570 We did the first studio and David put his head in 237 00:12:59,810 --> 00:13:01,850 at the end of the day, into the sound control room, 238 00:13:02,090 --> 00:13:04,570 and just said, "Thank you", and "Goodnight." 239 00:13:06,210 --> 00:13:07,690 Oh, fine! 240 00:13:07,850 --> 00:13:08,970 I've bought that for you. 241 00:13:09,130 --> 00:13:10,330 What's this? 242 00:13:10,490 --> 00:13:12,090 Your favourite tobacco. 243 00:13:12,250 --> 00:13:13,890 Oh, thank you very much, madam. 244 00:13:14,050 --> 00:13:16,010 And I'll be in later in the week. 245 00:13:18,330 --> 00:13:22,370 And this happened after episode two, and after episode three and 246 00:13:22,530 --> 00:13:24,930 after episode four... 247 00:13:25,170 --> 00:13:29,370 And so I met the production manager in the corridor outside after 248 00:13:29,530 --> 00:13:30,450 episode four. 249 00:13:30,610 --> 00:13:32,050 I said, "Is David happy?" 250 00:13:32,290 --> 00:13:35,330 He said, "Well, you wouldn't be here if he wasn't." 251 00:13:35,610 --> 00:13:39,090 I mean, there was never any emotion shown in those terms, 252 00:13:39,370 --> 00:13:41,890 but it was only that, yes, he was happy, so I was still there. 253 00:13:42,050 --> 00:13:44,210 David Croft was very quiet. 254 00:13:44,450 --> 00:13:47,890 He was very kind, but you didn't want to be on your own at lunch 255 00:13:48,130 --> 00:13:52,730 with him, because even though we can all talk for England, David didn't. 256 00:13:53,010 --> 00:13:56,290 He was just such a wonderfully approachable man, 257 00:13:56,450 --> 00:13:58,690 and a very likeable man. 258 00:13:58,970 --> 00:14:02,850 I would like to have had David as my dad, let's put it that way. 259 00:14:04,090 --> 00:14:07,290 David Croft's steady disposition extended to handling the 260 00:14:07,530 --> 00:14:12,090 large cast, which he and Jimmy Perry had very deliberately created. 261 00:14:12,370 --> 00:14:16,010 We like this sort of interaction of a lot of characters. 262 00:14:16,210 --> 00:14:17,410 It works terribly well. 263 00:14:17,650 --> 00:14:20,810 The various scenes you have between various different 264 00:14:21,050 --> 00:14:23,570 characters, all bring a different dimension to whatever the 265 00:14:23,730 --> 00:14:25,290 situation is at the time. 266 00:14:25,530 --> 00:14:29,050 Yes, "The movement... The movement of the whiffling stick 267 00:14:29,290 --> 00:14:32,370 represents the frightening away of evil spirits". 268 00:14:32,610 --> 00:14:35,090 There you are. Away from what Mr Mainwaring? 269 00:14:35,290 --> 00:14:36,570 This is a fertility dance, Pike. 270 00:14:36,770 --> 00:14:37,930 Oh, dear. 271 00:14:39,530 --> 00:14:42,210 I don't think my sister Dolly would approve of that sort of thing. 272 00:14:42,370 --> 00:14:45,570 Oh, you silly old duffer. 273 00:14:45,810 --> 00:14:49,770 It's just to encourage the crops to grow. 274 00:14:50,010 --> 00:14:53,930 It's danced every spring by the young, fertile men of the village. 275 00:14:54,170 --> 00:14:57,450 Well, it's not much good us doing it, is it? 276 00:14:57,690 --> 00:15:02,610 Well, David had a very measured kind of way of running rehearsals. 277 00:15:04,450 --> 00:15:06,970 The actors were quite difficult, 278 00:15:07,250 --> 00:15:13,170 but he knew what he wanted out of them and they liked him very much. 279 00:15:14,530 --> 00:15:17,170 Though, inevitably, problems with the actors would arise 280 00:15:17,290 --> 00:15:18,810 from time to time. 281 00:15:19,090 --> 00:15:22,290 Obviously, one person stood out as being difficult. 282 00:15:22,530 --> 00:15:26,010 It was John Laurie, in the fact that he shouted all his lines. 283 00:15:26,290 --> 00:15:29,690 And so, the only thing that David had to do was tell him to 284 00:15:29,890 --> 00:15:31,650 take it down a bit, 285 00:15:31,890 --> 00:15:36,890 then he got him to do the sotto voce ghost stories and things. 286 00:15:37,130 --> 00:15:42,490 There was a temple, a ruined temple covered with jungle creepers. 287 00:15:43,770 --> 00:15:45,410 The place was deserted. 288 00:15:47,130 --> 00:15:50,850 We crept inside and there it was. 289 00:15:52,050 --> 00:15:57,490 A huge idol with a great ruby in its forehead. 290 00:15:59,010 --> 00:16:02,330 And that was wonderful, because he was a great actor, John Laurie. 291 00:16:02,570 --> 00:16:07,610 After all these years I can, I can still hear that terrible curse. 292 00:16:09,130 --> 00:16:10,810 "Death!", he screamed. 293 00:16:11,850 --> 00:16:13,410 "Death! 294 00:16:13,610 --> 00:16:16,450 "The ruby will bring you death. 295 00:16:16,610 --> 00:16:18,810 "Death!" 296 00:16:23,370 --> 00:16:25,130 Did the curse come true Mr Frazer? 297 00:16:26,690 --> 00:16:28,290 Aye, son, it did. 298 00:16:28,450 --> 00:16:29,490 He died... 299 00:16:30,650 --> 00:16:31,810 ..last year. He was 86. 300 00:16:34,530 --> 00:16:37,770 When I first joined David, I'd only be there with David two days 301 00:16:38,010 --> 00:16:40,010 and people kept saying "Have you met Jimmy Perry yet?" 302 00:16:40,290 --> 00:16:42,370 And I said "But he's just the writer" you know? 303 00:16:42,650 --> 00:16:46,210 "Oh no, he'll be there all the time" and, of course, the door opens and 304 00:16:46,450 --> 00:16:51,330 in bounces this bubbly personality, and the two just clicked. 305 00:16:51,490 --> 00:16:53,810 Jimmy was a great enthusiast. 306 00:16:54,090 --> 00:16:59,010 He, everything the glass was always half full, never half empty, 307 00:16:59,290 --> 00:17:02,810 and he was also tremendously loyal to the people who'd worked 308 00:17:03,050 --> 00:17:07,650 with him when he was running a repertory theatre, struggling actors 309 00:17:07,810 --> 00:17:12,170 and he rewarded them all by, 310 00:17:12,410 --> 00:17:14,370 when he could, getting them into television. 311 00:17:14,610 --> 00:17:19,850 We had Colin Bean and so, whenever a line was needed from someone 312 00:17:20,090 --> 00:17:25,090 who wasn't one of the main seven, Colin did it as Private Sponge. 313 00:17:25,250 --> 00:17:26,530 Did you enjoy the picture, Sponge? 314 00:17:26,810 --> 00:17:28,810 Not really, Sarge. I couldn't see very well. Oh, Lord! 315 00:17:29,090 --> 00:17:31,410 You know, we should have sat in the nine pennies, Mr Mainwaring. 316 00:17:31,650 --> 00:17:33,810 Oh, no, no, no, no. I wouldn't sit in those cheap seats down 317 00:17:34,090 --> 00:17:36,970 at the front. You never who's been sitting in them. 318 00:17:37,250 --> 00:17:40,970 And he'd be a leading actor for Jimmy when he was at Watford. 319 00:17:41,250 --> 00:17:45,170 So, you know, he was very loyal to the people who worked with him. 320 00:17:45,410 --> 00:17:48,730 One of Jimmy's roles on 'Dad's Army' was to maintain harmony among 321 00:17:49,010 --> 00:17:53,250 the cast by keeping count of their lines and laughs in the script. 322 00:17:55,210 --> 00:17:56,890 Do you think this is the place, Wilson? Mm? 323 00:17:58,250 --> 00:18:00,210 I'm very careful. I'm very meticulous, cos I keep how 324 00:18:00,450 --> 00:18:02,290 many lines, cos you get complaints from actors. 325 00:18:02,570 --> 00:18:04,610 They don't realise the problem. We have, don't we David, 326 00:18:04,770 --> 00:18:06,250 we have 29 three quarters minutes. 327 00:18:06,490 --> 00:18:08,730 Now, during that time you've got to tell a story, it's got to be 328 00:18:08,970 --> 00:18:10,970 funny, you've got to go into the depth of the character. 329 00:18:11,210 --> 00:18:12,970 You can't just have jokes. You've got to do a lot. 330 00:18:13,250 --> 00:18:15,410 And, therefore, it's not always possible to give the actors 331 00:18:15,610 --> 00:18:17,090 the amount of lines they'd like. 332 00:18:18,370 --> 00:18:22,210 Brought together by chance, Jimmy Perry and David Croft had 333 00:18:22,490 --> 00:18:25,370 rapidly formed an award winning, ratings topping partnership. 334 00:18:25,650 --> 00:18:30,370 I think they were a terrific team, although they wrote, 335 00:18:30,570 --> 00:18:33,570 I believe, totally separately, 336 00:18:33,810 --> 00:18:36,170 and then just checked each other, and never changed anything 337 00:18:36,330 --> 00:18:37,970 the other one did. 338 00:18:38,210 --> 00:18:42,250 Speaking in 1975, David Croft confirmed that he and Jimmy 339 00:18:42,410 --> 00:18:44,850 didn't actually write together. 340 00:18:45,010 --> 00:18:47,730 We confer very closely on plots. 341 00:18:48,010 --> 00:18:50,090 We spend a couple of days on each episode and have enormous 342 00:18:50,370 --> 00:18:52,930 numbers of notes and then we go away and write a separate episode each. 343 00:18:53,130 --> 00:18:54,010 Present arms. 344 00:18:54,250 --> 00:18:56,730 While some cast members believed they could distinguish 345 00:18:56,970 --> 00:19:00,770 between David and Jimmy's work, Frank Williams isn't so sure. 346 00:19:01,010 --> 00:19:04,170 I can remember one particular thing where they were doing 347 00:19:04,450 --> 00:19:08,450 initiative tests, and one of the things was they had to get a 348 00:19:08,730 --> 00:19:10,810 whole barrel of feathers from one place to another. 349 00:19:12,690 --> 00:19:15,010 You've had some damn silly ideas in your time sir, 350 00:19:15,170 --> 00:19:17,610 but this is the damned silliest. 351 00:19:17,850 --> 00:19:19,770 Frazer, that's no way to talk to an officer. 352 00:19:20,050 --> 00:19:23,250 I can remember, I'd say, "This is obviously Jimmy's hand. 353 00:19:23,530 --> 00:19:27,450 "This is ridiculous." This is Arthur, is it? Yes. 354 00:19:27,650 --> 00:19:29,410 And when we found out, it wasn't. 355 00:19:29,650 --> 00:19:31,730 It was, that was one of David's ideas. Isn't that funny? 356 00:19:32,010 --> 00:19:34,530 So, I think when people did make guesses as to which was which, 357 00:19:34,810 --> 00:19:36,490 they got it wrong. Take your trousers off. 358 00:19:36,770 --> 00:19:38,970 I will not take my trousers off. Take your trousers off. 359 00:19:39,210 --> 00:19:41,170 Why should I have to be the one to take my trousers off? 360 00:19:41,450 --> 00:19:43,850 Because you're to set an example. Right, trousers off everybody. 361 00:19:44,050 --> 00:19:45,050 Why can't you... 362 00:19:45,330 --> 00:19:48,370 When the scripts were complete and 'Dad's Army' went into production, 363 00:19:48,610 --> 00:19:50,890 there was a clear division of responsibility between 364 00:19:51,050 --> 00:19:52,570 David and Jimmy. 365 00:19:52,810 --> 00:19:57,450 Jimmy would advise on casting, but David had the overall 366 00:19:57,730 --> 00:20:00,610 responsibility, and Jimmy had nothing to do with the shots. 367 00:20:02,490 --> 00:20:05,530 Nothing whatsoever, either on filming or in the studio. 368 00:20:05,770 --> 00:20:10,770 David was very much making the show possible and happen 369 00:20:11,010 --> 00:20:15,490 and look good on television, whereas Jimmy seemed to be much more 370 00:20:15,730 --> 00:20:18,810 concerned with the words and the performances. 371 00:20:19,090 --> 00:20:22,010 They didn't argue or anything. If they were cross they'd just shut up 372 00:20:22,170 --> 00:20:23,330 and didn't talk to each other. 373 00:20:23,610 --> 00:20:25,370 We've never had, really had a cross word, have we? 374 00:20:25,610 --> 00:20:27,490 I think we go a bit quiet with each other sometimes. 375 00:20:27,770 --> 00:20:30,730 When you saw them together, you could see that there was a 376 00:20:30,970 --> 00:20:34,570 fairly natural balancing of their personalities. 377 00:20:34,810 --> 00:20:40,770 You know, Jimmy Perry, who wanted to be Walker initially, 378 00:20:42,890 --> 00:20:45,330 you know, was high, very social, very chatty, 379 00:20:45,610 --> 00:20:50,050 and David Croft had that lovely sort of elegant officer charm, 380 00:20:50,330 --> 00:20:53,970 and you could see that they were a very good pairing, you know? 381 00:20:54,210 --> 00:20:59,890 Jimmy said at David's funeral, he said, "I was the Sergeant Major 382 00:21:00,130 --> 00:21:04,210 "and David was the officer, and it remained that way". 383 00:21:04,450 --> 00:21:06,730 It was a good line, but I don't think it was true. 384 00:21:06,970 --> 00:21:10,010 They were equals, and they bounced off each other so well. 385 00:21:10,250 --> 00:21:13,850 Things will be very different after the war, you mark my words. 386 00:21:14,010 --> 00:21:15,770 Common man will come into his own. 387 00:21:16,050 --> 00:21:17,570 This country will be run by professionals. 388 00:21:17,770 --> 00:21:20,370 Doctors, lawyers, bank managers. 389 00:21:20,530 --> 00:21:22,930 LAUGHTER 390 00:21:23,170 --> 00:21:25,770 People like you? All right, yes, people like me. 391 00:21:25,970 --> 00:21:26,930 You mean common? 392 00:21:27,090 --> 00:21:30,170 LAUGHTER 393 00:21:30,370 --> 00:21:31,810 Now watch it, Wilson. 394 00:21:32,050 --> 00:21:33,810 I didn't know you were a socialist, sir? 395 00:21:34,010 --> 00:21:35,050 How dare you? 396 00:21:37,850 --> 00:21:39,330 Coming up in part three, 397 00:21:39,610 --> 00:21:42,330 out and about with 'Dad's Army' on location. 398 00:21:51,290 --> 00:21:52,250 Welcome back. 399 00:21:52,530 --> 00:21:56,170 And it's time to explore the world of 'Dad's Army' on location. 400 00:21:56,410 --> 00:21:59,410 Every summer the cast and crew would head to Norfolk to film some 401 00:21:59,690 --> 00:22:02,050 of the exciting and elaborate sequences that made 402 00:22:02,290 --> 00:22:06,690 'Dad's Army' what co-writer Jimmy Perry called "Adventure comedy." 403 00:22:06,970 --> 00:22:09,770 And there were certainly some adventures to be had. 404 00:22:12,570 --> 00:22:14,770 Come on, men. Follow me. 405 00:22:19,930 --> 00:22:21,050 Give me the rope, Wilson. 406 00:22:23,130 --> 00:22:26,570 I'll have this bomb down in two shakes of a lamb's tail. 407 00:22:29,530 --> 00:22:31,530 Stupid boy. It's supposed to be slack. 408 00:22:31,770 --> 00:22:33,250 You should have said, shouldn't you? 409 00:22:39,130 --> 00:22:40,130 Stop! 410 00:22:40,290 --> 00:22:41,530 Mr Mainwaring stop it! 411 00:22:42,850 --> 00:22:43,930 Will you stop it? 412 00:22:46,130 --> 00:22:47,930 Look what you've done. 413 00:22:48,130 --> 00:22:49,770 What are you playing at, Pike? 414 00:22:50,010 --> 00:22:53,810 Look at the mess you've made of your uniform. 415 00:22:54,050 --> 00:22:56,810 Do you hear that, sir? They're gonna use live ammunition. 416 00:22:57,050 --> 00:22:59,370 Oh, I shouldn't take too much notice of that, Wilson. Right. 417 00:22:59,570 --> 00:23:00,930 I can assure you they wouldn't dare. 418 00:23:02,010 --> 00:23:04,010 Wave the flag. Aye, sir. 419 00:23:04,170 --> 00:23:05,250 GUNSHOTS 420 00:23:12,850 --> 00:23:16,370 For all nine series of 'Dad's Army', the Norfolk town of Thetford 421 00:23:16,610 --> 00:23:19,610 and its surrounding area, stood in for Warmington-on-Sea. 422 00:23:21,610 --> 00:23:25,250 This Thetford lane saw the climax of 'The Deadly Attachment.' 423 00:23:25,410 --> 00:23:26,730 The game's up. 424 00:23:26,930 --> 00:23:28,370 What are you going to do now? 425 00:23:28,570 --> 00:23:30,330 I am not going to do anything. 426 00:23:31,690 --> 00:23:35,290 While in 'The Lion Has Phones' this quiet corner hosted some 427 00:23:35,490 --> 00:23:36,930 memorable camouflage training. 428 00:23:40,570 --> 00:23:41,610 For the production team, 429 00:23:41,890 --> 00:23:44,850 their filming trips to Norfolk were very social affairs. 430 00:23:45,930 --> 00:23:47,410 We used to go out every evening. 431 00:23:47,570 --> 00:23:48,530 We were all dressed up. 432 00:23:48,770 --> 00:23:52,290 Everybody bought new clothes to go out in and it was just, 433 00:23:52,450 --> 00:23:54,530 it was just wonderful, really. 434 00:23:54,770 --> 00:23:58,290 Jimmy Perry and Bill Pertwee used to do a double act, 435 00:23:58,490 --> 00:24:00,530 and they kept us entertained. 436 00:24:01,890 --> 00:24:02,810 For their part, 437 00:24:03,050 --> 00:24:06,010 the amateur theatricals of Thetford came to know the cast both on 438 00:24:06,250 --> 00:24:10,690 and off duty, as three veterans of those days vividly recall. 439 00:24:10,970 --> 00:24:13,290 So Keith, how did your connection with 'Dad's Army' come about? 440 00:24:13,530 --> 00:24:16,170 I was chairman of the Thetford Music and Drama Society, 441 00:24:16,410 --> 00:24:19,730 of which we all were, and David Croft got in touch with me and he 442 00:24:19,970 --> 00:24:23,530 just said, "Keith, do you think you can find extras for 'Dad's Army?'" 443 00:24:23,770 --> 00:24:26,370 Well, of course, I said yes, because I instantly became one of the most 444 00:24:26,530 --> 00:24:28,450 popular people in Thetford. 445 00:24:28,690 --> 00:24:31,890 To start with, we were not paid, but we didn't mind at all. 446 00:24:32,170 --> 00:24:35,370 And then Equity said that it was wrong that there shouldn't be 447 00:24:35,610 --> 00:24:38,610 extras in 'Dad's Army' that were not being paid, and so we were 448 00:24:38,850 --> 00:24:41,090 paid, and I became even more popular. 449 00:24:41,330 --> 00:24:43,050 So, what did you do? Did you get in your entire, 450 00:24:43,210 --> 00:24:44,450 you brought in the entire cast? 451 00:24:46,210 --> 00:24:47,810 No, no, no, no. I was very selective. 452 00:24:48,090 --> 00:24:50,690 David said "Right, Well, I need two firemen", 453 00:24:50,850 --> 00:24:52,410 so I got my mother and father. 454 00:24:52,690 --> 00:24:54,330 They came and put a fire out somewhere. 455 00:24:54,610 --> 00:24:56,370 And then I wanted a tramp so, of course, 456 00:24:56,530 --> 00:24:57,970 I looked at Derek straight away. 457 00:24:59,650 --> 00:25:01,250 When I was made a tramp, 458 00:25:01,530 --> 00:25:05,290 I maintained that role for two or three different shows. 459 00:25:05,530 --> 00:25:08,010 And you were the tramp who looked up in 'Time On Their Hands?" 460 00:25:08,210 --> 00:25:09,330 'Time On Their Hands,' yes. 461 00:25:09,490 --> 00:25:10,810 Hilfe! 462 00:25:11,010 --> 00:25:12,090 Come on, men. 463 00:25:12,290 --> 00:25:13,930 When you were filming that, 464 00:25:14,170 --> 00:25:17,050 it was filmed out of sequence wasn't it, those two shots? 465 00:25:17,290 --> 00:25:22,090 When the pilot gets caught in the rigging of his parachute in 466 00:25:22,330 --> 00:25:26,450 the town hall, well, that was a mock up of the town hall. 467 00:25:26,690 --> 00:25:32,570 But the real filming took place, and what you see when you see the 468 00:25:32,850 --> 00:25:35,410 bottles coming down from the town hall, 469 00:25:35,650 --> 00:25:39,930 they're actually coming down from a high rig, from a hydraulic platform. 470 00:25:40,090 --> 00:25:40,970 Mad man! 471 00:25:41,250 --> 00:25:43,010 What message was in that, Pike? None at all. 472 00:25:43,250 --> 00:25:44,850 I was just trying to hit the warden. Good. 473 00:25:45,130 --> 00:25:47,090 Keith, presumably you got to know the cast pretty well? 474 00:25:47,330 --> 00:25:51,010 Oh indeed, yes. In fact, the Drama Society one day invited the 475 00:25:51,250 --> 00:25:54,930 'Dad's Army' to a party at my house and so we all came along and, 476 00:25:55,210 --> 00:25:57,610 of course they, I think they drank us dry. 477 00:25:57,890 --> 00:25:59,450 I think we ran out of all the liquid, 478 00:25:59,730 --> 00:26:01,890 but I think one of the things I remember most of all was that 479 00:26:02,090 --> 00:26:04,210 John Le Mesurier looked at my piano, 480 00:26:04,450 --> 00:26:07,690 started playing it and complained bitterly that it was not in tune. 481 00:26:07,850 --> 00:26:09,210 So I thought well... 482 00:26:09,490 --> 00:26:11,850 You know, I gave him a gin and tonic. 483 00:26:12,010 --> 00:26:12,930 Oh, how lovely. 484 00:26:14,450 --> 00:26:16,690 Pam, what was the atmosphere like on set? 485 00:26:16,930 --> 00:26:19,410 Some of the things that did go wrong, which caused a lot of 486 00:26:19,650 --> 00:26:22,330 laughter was when they were filming, something would happen that would 487 00:26:22,570 --> 00:26:25,410 tickle one's fancy and then they'd dissolve into laughter, which I 488 00:26:25,690 --> 00:26:29,850 liked, because the rest of the time they all seemed fairly miserable. 489 00:26:30,050 --> 00:26:31,250 Oh, dear, I'm sorry to hear that. 490 00:26:31,530 --> 00:26:34,970 Yes, they did keep themselves very much to themselves, actually, 491 00:26:35,210 --> 00:26:36,730 but that sort of lightened it all up. 492 00:26:36,930 --> 00:26:39,210 I used to be amused to see that. 493 00:26:39,450 --> 00:26:42,010 The one I enjoyed talking to most was Godfrey. 494 00:26:42,250 --> 00:26:45,170 Oh, really? Godfrey was a splendid fellow. He'd chat about anything. 495 00:26:45,370 --> 00:26:46,570 No, we enjoyed it. 496 00:26:46,770 --> 00:26:48,890 It was a very happy time. 497 00:26:49,170 --> 00:26:51,450 Well now, we've got to get this machine going. Would you know 498 00:26:51,690 --> 00:26:54,370 anything about that Wilson? Well, no not really, sir. No. I'm afraid not. 499 00:26:54,610 --> 00:26:58,330 Mum says you can't even use a tin opener, doesn't she Uncle Arthur? 500 00:26:58,610 --> 00:27:00,850 I don't think that's awfully funny, Frank. 501 00:27:01,010 --> 00:27:01,930 Probably true, though. 502 00:27:03,610 --> 00:27:05,370 In the summer of 1972, 503 00:27:05,610 --> 00:27:09,210 local man Brian Woods captured the cast and crew on location. 504 00:27:10,850 --> 00:27:14,170 Here, in the episode 'Brain Versus Brawn', the men of the platoon 505 00:27:14,410 --> 00:27:17,810 are disguised as firemen, to carry off an initiative test, 506 00:27:18,050 --> 00:27:20,130 but are called on to put out a real fire. 507 00:27:21,530 --> 00:27:24,330 There's nothing coming through! Tell them to hurry up! 508 00:27:24,570 --> 00:27:28,490 Let me see. There's probably some obstruction in the pipe. 509 00:27:28,650 --> 00:27:29,970 There we are. That's it. 510 00:27:30,170 --> 00:27:31,930 Let's go and help. 511 00:27:32,090 --> 00:27:34,450 No sign of any foreign body there. 512 00:27:34,610 --> 00:27:36,170 Turn the valve on, Frazer. 513 00:27:41,010 --> 00:27:42,730 Maniac! 514 00:27:42,930 --> 00:27:44,170 What are you doing, maniac? 515 00:27:45,850 --> 00:27:50,250 The 'Dad's Army' filming inevitably drew a lot of local interest, but 516 00:27:50,490 --> 00:27:54,130 not all the residents of Thetford were happy to see the crew at work. 517 00:27:54,370 --> 00:27:57,490 There was a time when we were actually filming in the street, 518 00:27:57,770 --> 00:28:00,490 which we obviously did very often, and we got police permission 519 00:28:00,650 --> 00:28:01,530 and everything, 520 00:28:01,770 --> 00:28:05,290 but this little elderly lady kept walking in front of the camera. 521 00:28:05,570 --> 00:28:06,930 There was nothing we could do about it, 522 00:28:07,210 --> 00:28:10,690 because it was a pubic highway, and she said the reason she was 523 00:28:10,970 --> 00:28:13,730 doing this was because she'd seen us filming the last time we were 524 00:28:13,970 --> 00:28:17,810 there, she'd watched it on air and it was on for about two seconds, 525 00:28:18,050 --> 00:28:21,530 and were wasting licence payers' money and she wouldn't stop and they 526 00:28:21,770 --> 00:28:24,010 had to rewrite it, and we had to do it on Forest Commission 527 00:28:24,170 --> 00:28:25,210 land in the end. 528 00:28:25,370 --> 00:28:27,010 Pike, we've got him. 529 00:28:27,170 --> 00:28:28,050 Jones? Yes, sir. 530 00:28:28,290 --> 00:28:30,050 Tell him to come out with his hands up. 531 00:28:30,210 --> 00:28:33,290 Oy, come ze out with handy hoch! 532 00:28:42,770 --> 00:28:45,650 Likewise, at least one of the show's stars didn't always welcome 533 00:28:45,810 --> 00:28:48,010 attention from bystanders, 534 00:28:48,250 --> 00:28:50,890 as 'Dad's Army' vicar Frank Williams remembers. 535 00:28:51,130 --> 00:28:53,290 A whole lot of people from the village came out and asked for 536 00:28:53,570 --> 00:28:56,210 autographs. We were all signing them, you see, and Arthur said, 537 00:28:56,490 --> 00:28:59,890 "Oh no, no, I don't do that. Not when I'm working, no." 538 00:29:00,090 --> 00:29:03,770 And in the afternoon a whole lot of other people came out, 539 00:29:04,050 --> 00:29:08,370 and Bill Pertwee overheard one of the afternoon people say 540 00:29:08,610 --> 00:29:11,410 "Oh, there's Arthur Lowe over there. I think I'll go and ask him". 541 00:29:11,690 --> 00:29:14,210 And the man who'd been here that morning said, "No good asking him. 542 00:29:14,370 --> 00:29:16,610 "He's a miserable old toad, he is." 543 00:29:16,890 --> 00:29:20,010 Well, Bill, of course, told this story at dinner that night 544 00:29:20,250 --> 00:29:22,970 and Arthur's wife Joan said "There you are, Arthur. 545 00:29:23,210 --> 00:29:25,730 "That's the image you give. A miserable old toad." 546 00:29:25,970 --> 00:29:28,250 And he did have the grace to laugh at himself. 547 00:29:28,490 --> 00:29:30,890 Company, onto the next test. That's the lot. 548 00:29:31,130 --> 00:29:33,970 Oh, no, it's not. What about that one? 549 00:29:35,250 --> 00:29:37,130 I'll get it, sir. I'll get it, sir. 550 00:29:38,370 --> 00:29:41,090 Hurry up, Mainwaring. Square's lot have finished. 551 00:29:41,290 --> 00:29:42,890 He's gonna win. I knew he would. 552 00:29:43,130 --> 00:29:44,930 And you're not leaving until you've got that one. 553 00:29:45,210 --> 00:29:47,210 I'll get him, sir. Leave it to me, Jones. 554 00:29:49,330 --> 00:29:52,450 Good heavens! What do you mean "Good heavens?" 555 00:29:52,650 --> 00:29:53,690 Good heavens. 556 00:29:56,050 --> 00:29:57,010 Wait a minute. 557 00:29:57,290 --> 00:29:58,970 You were supposed to do that with your bayonet. 558 00:29:59,250 --> 00:30:01,370 Another word out of you and I'll do you with a bayonet. 559 00:30:04,930 --> 00:30:07,530 Large scale battle training sequences were staged on the 560 00:30:07,770 --> 00:30:11,970 military site north of Thetford, and on one occasion, RAF planes 561 00:30:12,250 --> 00:30:15,650 practising an attack came perilously close to the 'Dad's Army' crew. 562 00:30:17,650 --> 00:30:19,810 As producer David Croft told reporters... 563 00:30:26,290 --> 00:30:28,210 They're over there. They're over there. Over there. 564 00:30:28,370 --> 00:30:29,570 They're over there. 565 00:30:31,530 --> 00:30:32,490 He can't miss. 566 00:30:32,690 --> 00:30:34,730 He can't miss. Oh! 567 00:30:39,290 --> 00:30:41,890 It was a case of expecting the unexpected when the 568 00:30:42,130 --> 00:30:44,210 'Dad's Army' platoon headed out on location. 569 00:30:46,570 --> 00:30:48,290 With one important exception. 570 00:30:49,890 --> 00:30:52,930 Mr Hodges's devious plans to put one over Captain Mainwaring and 571 00:30:53,210 --> 00:30:56,090 his men would always, always go wrong. 572 00:31:00,610 --> 00:31:02,090 Put that cigarette out, Walker. 573 00:31:03,410 --> 00:31:06,930 Blimey, a few minutes ago you were only too glad of it. 574 00:31:09,370 --> 00:31:11,250 This one's for you, Napoleon. 575 00:31:23,850 --> 00:31:25,890 I hate you, Mainwaring. 576 00:31:28,210 --> 00:31:31,370 Still to come, explosive tales from behind the scenes. 577 00:31:33,130 --> 00:31:35,090 Well, of course, the bomb was a real bomb. 578 00:31:44,110 --> 00:31:45,190 Hello again. 579 00:31:45,390 --> 00:31:47,510 Across nine years and 80 episodes, 580 00:31:47,790 --> 00:31:51,630 'Dad's Army' gave us a host of memorable plots and ideas 581 00:31:51,910 --> 00:31:55,790 from the fertile minds of writers Jimmy Perry and David Croft. 582 00:31:56,030 --> 00:31:59,070 Taking those ideas from the page to the screen could be a real 583 00:31:59,350 --> 00:32:02,910 challenge, even for the hugely talented raft of experts 584 00:32:03,070 --> 00:32:04,510 behind the scenes. 585 00:32:04,750 --> 00:32:07,430 But it was a challenge they relished. 586 00:32:07,670 --> 00:32:10,430 Coming to 'Dad's Army' you really had this feeling you were 587 00:32:10,670 --> 00:32:13,590 joining a family of people who were there to provide 588 00:32:13,750 --> 00:32:15,230 the very best in entertainment. 589 00:32:15,470 --> 00:32:18,990 Now, I want you to imagine that the Germans have landed, 590 00:32:19,150 --> 00:32:21,110 and all our supplies are cut off. 591 00:32:22,870 --> 00:32:26,550 We're starving and we have to comb the land for food. 592 00:32:29,030 --> 00:32:30,710 With a hairbrush. With a hair... 593 00:32:32,670 --> 00:32:34,390 Tell them what that is, Wilson. 594 00:32:34,590 --> 00:32:35,630 A hedgehog. 595 00:32:39,390 --> 00:32:40,750 It was great fun. 596 00:32:40,950 --> 00:32:41,950 Honestly, it really was. 597 00:32:42,110 --> 00:32:44,190 Mr Mainwaring? Yes. 598 00:32:44,430 --> 00:32:46,830 Why do you want Sergeant Wilson to comb his hair with a hedgehog? 599 00:32:48,270 --> 00:32:50,430 We're going to eat the hedgehog. 600 00:32:50,710 --> 00:32:54,430 Oh, sir, I don't think I could ever bring myself to eat a poor 601 00:32:54,590 --> 00:32:55,710 little hedgehog. 602 00:32:55,910 --> 00:32:57,830 This is war, Godfrey. 603 00:32:58,030 --> 00:33:00,390 It's either the hedgehogs or us. 604 00:33:00,590 --> 00:33:02,150 It was just like a family. 605 00:33:02,310 --> 00:33:03,350 It was just like... 606 00:33:05,430 --> 00:33:07,270 ..going around with your friends, really. 607 00:33:07,470 --> 00:33:09,670 Pay attention, men. 608 00:33:10,870 --> 00:33:12,990 It will be light soon. Steady. 609 00:33:13,150 --> 00:33:15,030 We shall be spotted by a boat. 610 00:33:15,230 --> 00:33:17,030 Yeah. 611 00:33:17,230 --> 00:33:18,750 What happens if we're not spotted? 612 00:33:18,990 --> 00:33:21,750 We're only in the English Channel, you know, Walker. There are plenty 613 00:33:21,990 --> 00:33:24,070 of boats about. Well, suppose it's a German boat, sir? 614 00:33:24,350 --> 00:33:27,230 Not any of that sort of talk here, Wilson. 615 00:33:27,510 --> 00:33:29,710 There are no German boats in the English Channel. 616 00:33:31,990 --> 00:33:35,070 Bringing Jimmy Perry and David Croft's ambitious ideas to 617 00:33:35,350 --> 00:33:39,030 the screen, ensured that life was never dull for key members of 618 00:33:39,230 --> 00:33:40,710 the 'Dad's Army' production team. 619 00:33:42,070 --> 00:33:45,470 Whether that meant flooding the set with water... 620 00:33:45,710 --> 00:33:49,830 ..bringing huge railway carriages into the studio... 621 00:33:50,070 --> 00:33:53,470 ..building spectacular secret weapons... 622 00:33:53,710 --> 00:33:57,590 ..getting one of comedy's most famous vehicles on the road... 623 00:33:57,830 --> 00:34:00,390 ..or putting Mainwaring and Wilson in a tricky position 624 00:34:00,590 --> 00:34:02,790 with an unexploded bomb. 625 00:34:02,990 --> 00:34:07,030 Well, of course, the bomb was a real bomb, or it had been. 626 00:34:07,230 --> 00:34:08,670 It fell out of the plane. 627 00:34:09,950 --> 00:34:14,470 We rescued it, and put fins on it, 628 00:34:14,710 --> 00:34:20,070 and completed it, so it was a real bomb actually, in fact. 629 00:34:20,350 --> 00:34:22,230 In this behind the scenes footage from 630 00:34:22,510 --> 00:34:25,910 'Round and Round Went the Great Big Wheel', Peter was controlling 631 00:34:26,150 --> 00:34:29,310 the secret weapon which threatened to blow up Warmington. 632 00:34:29,550 --> 00:34:31,350 But not all his 'Dad's Army' assignments 633 00:34:31,510 --> 00:34:32,790 had an explosive flavour. 634 00:34:34,830 --> 00:34:38,030 In 'Getting the Bird', Private Walker hatches a plan to sell 635 00:34:38,310 --> 00:34:40,790 pigeons to customers desperate for meat. 636 00:34:41,030 --> 00:34:44,830 But the scheme goes awry when some of the birds escape. 637 00:34:45,030 --> 00:34:45,910 Mr Mainwaring? 638 00:34:47,870 --> 00:34:49,550 There's a pigeon in your pigeon hole. 639 00:34:51,030 --> 00:34:55,670 I think we used a real pigeon one time, and then we made one that 640 00:34:55,950 --> 00:34:59,990 was, you know, you could put your hand in and fiddle around with it. 641 00:35:00,230 --> 00:35:02,550 It's all a misunderstanding, you see, sir. 642 00:35:02,710 --> 00:35:04,630 She thought I'd been, she thought... 643 00:35:09,670 --> 00:35:12,870 As the platoon gathers for a church service, the episode makes 644 00:35:13,150 --> 00:35:16,630 another unusual demand on the visual effects department. 645 00:35:16,830 --> 00:35:18,870 Oy, where's Jonesy going? 646 00:35:19,110 --> 00:35:20,790 He's gonna play the organ for the last hymn 647 00:35:20,950 --> 00:35:23,230 'Onward Christian Soldiers.' There. 648 00:35:23,510 --> 00:35:25,550 What's the matter, Joe? You've gone pale. 649 00:35:25,710 --> 00:35:27,110 He can't do that. Why not? 650 00:35:29,630 --> 00:35:31,350 150 pigeons in the pipes. 651 00:35:33,310 --> 00:35:36,350 If I remember rightly, we had a compressed air bottle, so we were 652 00:35:36,630 --> 00:35:38,790 able to put it in the container then... 653 00:35:40,390 --> 00:35:41,790 ..blow it up in the air, you know? 654 00:35:45,670 --> 00:35:47,790 Firing pigeons out of a church organ, 655 00:35:47,950 --> 00:35:49,910 all in a day's work on 'Dad's Army'. 656 00:35:51,510 --> 00:35:56,150 Other tasks faced by the production team were less bizarre, 657 00:35:56,310 --> 00:35:57,790 but just as challenging. 658 00:35:58,030 --> 00:36:01,990 Well, Jones' wan was difficult to achieve. 659 00:36:03,590 --> 00:36:08,590 It wasn't roadworthy, so we had to persuade the supplier to make 660 00:36:08,830 --> 00:36:11,670 it roadworthy which they just about did, 661 00:36:11,950 --> 00:36:16,670 and I took it over and designed all of the graphics on it to reflect 662 00:36:16,950 --> 00:36:20,510 Jones' character, the old-fashioned, florid, 663 00:36:20,670 --> 00:36:22,950 Victorian old chap that he was. 664 00:36:24,590 --> 00:36:27,190 Look at that. That's real gold leaf, that is. 665 00:36:27,350 --> 00:36:29,830 Vanity, sheer vanity. 666 00:36:30,070 --> 00:36:33,030 He just wants to bandy his name all over the town as if it was a 667 00:36:33,230 --> 00:36:35,110 tin of baked beans. 668 00:36:35,350 --> 00:36:36,950 I think it looks rather jolly, you know? 669 00:36:37,190 --> 00:36:39,550 It'll cheer people up a lot as it runs along, 670 00:36:39,750 --> 00:36:41,070 even if there isn't any meat in it. 671 00:36:42,870 --> 00:36:47,230 I really enjoyed designing that van, and I think it's much-loved 672 00:36:47,390 --> 00:36:48,790 and I'm so pleased. 673 00:36:50,350 --> 00:36:53,830 Jones' van frequently carries the platoon into action, 674 00:36:54,070 --> 00:36:57,310 and benefits from some wartime optional extras. 675 00:36:57,590 --> 00:36:59,630 It became an armoured vehicle, didn't it? 676 00:36:59,790 --> 00:37:00,990 Enemy dive-bomber up ahead. 677 00:37:01,190 --> 00:37:02,670 Five rounds, rapid fire. 678 00:37:03,870 --> 00:37:05,550 GROUP: Up two, three. One, two, three. 679 00:37:05,710 --> 00:37:07,110 One, two, three. 680 00:37:07,310 --> 00:37:08,390 One, two, three. 681 00:37:08,630 --> 00:37:10,630 One, two, three. One two three. 682 00:37:10,830 --> 00:37:12,270 Down. All right, well done. 683 00:37:12,470 --> 00:37:13,950 Quite ridiculous, really. 684 00:37:14,230 --> 00:37:16,350 This was straight out of Jimmy and David's brain. 685 00:37:16,550 --> 00:37:17,590 Oh! 686 00:37:17,870 --> 00:37:21,510 In 'The Day the Balloon Went Up', Jones' van leads the chase 687 00:37:21,790 --> 00:37:24,590 when Captain Mainwaring is carried off by a barrage balloon. 688 00:37:27,670 --> 00:37:29,550 Keep her steady, Jonesy. 689 00:37:29,750 --> 00:37:30,790 Have a go, Pike. 690 00:37:32,030 --> 00:37:33,390 What are you doing you idiot? 691 00:37:36,350 --> 00:37:39,590 Combining film footage shot on location with scenes recorded 692 00:37:39,830 --> 00:37:43,670 on tape in the studio, was a frequent challenge on 'Dad's Army.' 693 00:37:43,910 --> 00:37:47,910 It was the Royal Train where the latter part of the show is 694 00:37:48,150 --> 00:37:52,390 inter cut between the cast in the cab of the train, climbing over the 695 00:37:52,670 --> 00:37:57,430 train, they get done in the studio, which was then inter cut with film. 696 00:37:57,710 --> 00:38:00,110 Moving people about the studio, covering them, 697 00:38:00,350 --> 00:38:02,830 getting the cameras in the right place, getting our sound effects 698 00:38:03,070 --> 00:38:05,830 to match it all, was a very complex job, 699 00:38:06,070 --> 00:38:09,070 but it didn't appear so because we knew it was going to work, 700 00:38:09,350 --> 00:38:11,710 and everybody was so determined to make it work 701 00:38:11,870 --> 00:38:13,550 that it just was a pleasure to do. 702 00:38:13,790 --> 00:38:16,350 Stay there. Don't you move. We'll get you out of it. 703 00:38:16,590 --> 00:38:20,070 For set designer Paul Joel, the most testing assignment of all was 704 00:38:20,310 --> 00:38:23,310 what's become one of the most famous 'Dad's Army' episodes 705 00:38:23,470 --> 00:38:24,430 'Time on My Hands.' 706 00:38:24,630 --> 00:38:25,630 Now, what are we gonna do? 707 00:38:25,910 --> 00:38:30,590 I don't know how I let it go through, because I read it 708 00:38:30,870 --> 00:38:35,030 and I thought this needs to be filmed over maybe one week. 709 00:38:35,270 --> 00:38:38,710 Instead, in order to capture the reaction from a live audience, 710 00:38:38,950 --> 00:38:42,310 the action was recorded in one night in the studio. 711 00:38:42,510 --> 00:38:44,750 It was a large set and it had moving objects. 712 00:38:45,030 --> 00:38:49,950 It was mobile and it was tremendously complicated. 713 00:38:51,150 --> 00:38:53,950 Oh, don't panic! I'm going out! 714 00:38:54,110 --> 00:38:54,990 I'm going out! 715 00:38:55,190 --> 00:38:57,230 SHOUTING 716 00:38:57,390 --> 00:38:58,870 I'm going out! I'm going out! 717 00:38:59,030 --> 00:39:00,550 Careful, sir. Your hand, Jonesy! 718 00:39:00,830 --> 00:39:03,510 Don't look down! It's stopped! 719 00:39:03,790 --> 00:39:08,030 The actors had never seen this set and it was such a mobile thing, 720 00:39:08,270 --> 00:39:12,390 they needed a lot of rehearsal, but they didn't get it. 721 00:39:12,550 --> 00:39:15,070 They only had that part of a day. 722 00:39:23,070 --> 00:39:26,710 Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! 723 00:39:26,910 --> 00:39:27,870 It's attacking me! 724 00:39:28,070 --> 00:39:29,030 It's attacking me! 725 00:39:29,190 --> 00:39:30,270 Ouch! 726 00:39:30,510 --> 00:39:34,430 It still was extremely amusing, but if only we could have done it 727 00:39:34,670 --> 00:39:37,110 properly, it could have been a tremendous success and 728 00:39:37,390 --> 00:39:40,350 possibly the best one that they would ever produced. 729 00:39:42,710 --> 00:39:44,950 One particular demand on the production team on 730 00:39:45,230 --> 00:39:48,350 'Dad's Army' was producer David Croft's ambition to record 731 00:39:48,590 --> 00:39:50,470 the show without stopping for retakes. 732 00:39:52,550 --> 00:39:55,870 David didn't like retakes at all. 733 00:39:56,150 --> 00:40:00,110 Mainly because he had come from the theatre, and he believed that 734 00:40:00,350 --> 00:40:04,110 you gave a performance to an audience there and then. 735 00:40:04,270 --> 00:40:05,710 That was your performance. 736 00:40:05,870 --> 00:40:06,910 Oh, get on with it. 737 00:40:07,150 --> 00:40:10,630 David was producing something for the audience in the studio 738 00:40:10,870 --> 00:40:14,750 and it was for the enjoyment of that audience, and for the audience 739 00:40:14,910 --> 00:40:16,110 at home, ultimately. 740 00:40:16,350 --> 00:40:19,150 Now, there's no substitute for the cold steel. 741 00:40:19,310 --> 00:40:20,430 They do not like it up 'em. 742 00:40:20,550 --> 00:40:22,870 They don't like it up 'em! 743 00:40:23,110 --> 00:40:24,990 I might have mentioned that to you before. 744 00:40:25,150 --> 00:40:26,430 Many times. 745 00:40:26,630 --> 00:40:28,390 Many, many times. 746 00:40:28,670 --> 00:40:32,630 I'd just been looking through a few 'Dad's Armys' 747 00:40:32,870 --> 00:40:36,190 and from a sound point of view there were plenty of places where I 748 00:40:36,390 --> 00:40:38,350 would have loved to have redone it. 749 00:40:38,550 --> 00:40:39,790 Pike. Yes? 750 00:40:41,670 --> 00:40:43,070 Well, get on with it. 751 00:40:43,270 --> 00:40:44,670 I'm waiting for the bomb to explode, 752 00:40:44,950 --> 00:40:46,310 so I shan't be blown to smithereens. 753 00:40:48,230 --> 00:40:52,790 To my mind, they are very rough at the edges from all points of view. 754 00:40:53,030 --> 00:40:56,870 But the entertainment value in them is enormous. 755 00:40:57,110 --> 00:41:00,470 Right. Now then, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. 756 00:41:00,670 --> 00:41:02,350 Right, eight cod and chips. 757 00:41:05,150 --> 00:41:06,270 I want plaice. 758 00:41:06,430 --> 00:41:08,310 LAUGHTER 759 00:41:08,590 --> 00:41:10,950 Mrs Fox is the finest cook what I've ever come across. 760 00:41:11,230 --> 00:41:13,430 Haven't I always said you were the finest cook, Mrs Fox? 761 00:41:13,710 --> 00:41:17,150 Well, you've always been very nice about my dumplings. 762 00:41:17,350 --> 00:41:20,390 LAUGHTER 763 00:41:20,550 --> 00:41:22,790 Here's your head bonker. 764 00:41:23,030 --> 00:41:25,630 That looks a vicious weapon. No, it's quite harmless, sir. 765 00:41:25,790 --> 00:41:26,950 It's only an old tennis ball. 766 00:41:27,190 --> 00:41:29,110 Yeah, it wouldn't hurt a fly that. Look. 767 00:41:29,310 --> 00:41:35,230 LAUGHTER 768 00:41:39,950 --> 00:41:42,870 You stupid boy. LAUGHTER 769 00:41:43,190 --> 00:41:46,310 So even though they would occasionally have liked another take, 770 00:41:46,590 --> 00:41:49,070 for those involved in bringing Dad's Army to the screen, 771 00:41:49,310 --> 00:41:52,910 their association with the programme is definitely something to cherish. 772 00:41:53,150 --> 00:41:56,030 I have to say it was the happiest days of my life working on 773 00:41:56,230 --> 00:41:58,950 Dad's Army, working with Jimmy Perry and David Croft. 774 00:41:59,190 --> 00:42:02,070 It was hard work at times. Very hard work sometimes. 775 00:42:02,310 --> 00:42:06,950 But it was always worth doing and it was always fun to do it. 776 00:42:07,150 --> 00:42:11,110 The working atmosphere for all of us, it was just marvellous. 777 00:42:11,350 --> 00:42:15,910 And what a joy and honour it was to work with David and Jimmy 778 00:42:16,150 --> 00:42:20,710 and everybody else involved, to produce such a good show. 779 00:42:20,870 --> 00:42:22,750 Mr Mainwaring, it's Lady Godiva. 780 00:42:22,910 --> 00:42:24,710 Good Lord, it's not Mavis, is it? 781 00:42:24,950 --> 00:42:27,550 I do wish you'd keep that woman in control. 782 00:42:27,750 --> 00:42:28,590 LAUGHTER 783 00:42:30,070 --> 00:42:31,550 Don't look, don't look, Mr Mainwaring. 784 00:42:31,710 --> 00:42:33,270 Whatever you do, don't look, sir. 785 00:42:33,470 --> 00:42:36,270 LAUGHTER 786 00:42:38,790 --> 00:42:40,310 Oh, oh, oh, oh! 787 00:42:40,470 --> 00:42:42,590 LAUGHTER 788 00:42:42,750 --> 00:42:47,550 LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE 789 00:42:47,750 --> 00:42:48,630 It is Mrs Mainwaring. 790 00:42:48,790 --> 00:42:50,950 LAUGHTER 791 00:42:51,230 --> 00:42:53,270 Oh, Mr Mainwaring! Speak to me, speak to me. 792 00:42:53,470 --> 00:42:55,550 Oh, come round, come round. 793 00:42:55,790 --> 00:42:58,510 Oh, poor Mr Mainwaring! He'll never get over the shock. 794 00:42:58,750 --> 00:43:01,750 No. And neither will the horse. LAUGHTER 795 00:43:01,910 --> 00:43:03,470 Next time... 796 00:43:03,710 --> 00:43:08,190 Dad's Army comes to an end, but love of the show marches on. 797 00:43:08,470 --> 00:43:11,030 A show that I hope will go on forever.