Web Page No 2738

 

6^th December 2020

 

1^st Picture: Eric Sykes and Tommy Cooper

2^nd Picture: Jimmy Edwards as a policeman

3^rd Picture: Roy Castle in a dust cart

4^th Picture:  The destination for The Plank

 

The Plank

 

Do you remember the film called The Plank?  It was fifty minute  classic British slapstick comedy film made for television in 1967 by Associated London Films. It follows the misadventures of two builders who require a single floorboard to complete a job after one of the characters uses the last floorboard for heating in a brazier, so  the two hapless carpenters, played by Eric Sykes and Tommy Cooper  have to buy a replacement. They return to the house with the plank on top of a Morris Eight, but the journey is fraught with unexpected difficulties.

The film is a series of "plank jokes" elaborating on the "man with a plank" slapstick routine seen for many years on the Music Halls and silent films, and adding a few new visual jokes. For instance, at one point the plank is tied to the top of the car and projects backward into the open back of a large van. A man (played by Roy Castle) enters the back of the van and sits down. The van drives away, leaving him suspended in mid-air sitting on the end of the plank.

The story was based on an episode of Eric Sykes' BBC comedy series Sykes and a... from 1964, called "Sykes and A Plank". Although not strictly a silent film, it is unusual in having little dialogue; instead, the film is punctuated by grunts, other vocal noises and sound effects.

The cast features many of the top comedians and comic actors of the time.

·         Eric Sykes as the Smaller Workman

·         Tommy Cooper as the Larger Workman

·         Jimmy Edwards as Policeman

·         Roy Castle as the Delivery Man

·         Jimmy Tarbuck as the Barman

·         John Junkin as the Van Driver with the Eye Patch

·         Bill Oddie as the Window Cleaner

·         Stratford Johns as the Station Sergeant

·         Graham Stark as the Amorous Van Driver

·         Jim Dale as the House Painter

·         Hattie Jacques as the Woman with the Rose

·         Libby Morris as the Tourist's wife

·         Johnny Speight the Pipe Smoker in Bus Queue

·         Kenny Lynch as the Dustbin Lorry Driver

·         Dermot Kelly as the Milkman

·         Joanna Lumley as Hitchhiker

·         Derek Guyler

·         Arthur Lowe

·         Diana Dors

·           Harry H. Corbett

·           Charles Hawtrey

·           James Hunt

·           Kate O'Mara

·           Ann Sidney

·           Frank Windsor

A real whose who in the entertainment world. The timber yard entrance scenes were filmed in Delamere Road Hayes, the yard itself was in Ashburnham Road on the corner with Willow Bank, Ham near Richmond and the internal scenes filmed inside number 13 Elstow Avenue in Reading.

However the real star of the show was The Plank and this sold at auction after filming was complete for £1600.

The film was remade in 1979 in a truncated version lasting only thirty minutes This version won the prize at the 1980 Festival Rose d'Or, held in Montreux, Switzerland.

Stay in touch

 

Peter

 

gsseditor@gmail.com

 

Griff Writes:

 

Reading Peter's article on washing lines got me thinking. My Mum never owned a washing machine in her lifetime. Not ever.  Come to think about it even more I have absolutely no idea why she didn't have one.

I do know that my Sister use to take her bed sheets etc. and wash and iron those for her in her later life.

Rotary lines for me rather than the straight washing line ones with the obligatory large support pole.

I wonder who came up with the idea for rotary washing lines in the first place?

 

 

Peter writes; Neither did my mum

 

 

News and Views:

 

On this day 6^th December 1960-1965

On 06/12/1960 the number one single was It's Now Or Never - Elvis Presley and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Armchair Theatre (ABC) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

 

06/12/1961 the number one single was Tower of Strength - Frankie Vaughan The top rated TV show was "Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmatians. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was Sunday Night at the London Palladium.

 

06/12/1962 the number one single was Lovesick Blues - Frank Ifield and the number one album was On Stage with the Black & White Minstrels - George Mitchell Minstrels. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

 

On 06/12/1963 the number one single was She Loves You - The Beatles and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

 

On 06/12/1964 the number one single was Little Red Rooster - Rolling Stones and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was Poet Edith Sitwell dies

 

On 06/12/1965 the number one single was The Carnival is Over - Seekers and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.