Goon Pod

"... Sellers is very funny. Unfortunately, the movie’s general approach to hippiedom is what we’ve come to

Despite the misgivings of the exalted Mr Ebert, I Love You Alice B. Toklas is a pretty good film generally. This week's guest, the writer John Williams, and Tyler both had fun watching it and talking about it, and were particularly impressed by Peter Sellers' winning turn as lawyer Harold Fine who undergoes a mid-life crisis and embraces the

With solid support from the likes of Joyce Van Patten and Leigh Taylor-Young, the film is a fine showcase for Sellers' talents and despite dated fashions more or less holds up. So turn on, tune in, drop out and enjoy Goon Pod this week!

In 1966, at the height of World Cup fever, an unassuming little British comedy film came out and caused nary a ripple despite a stellar cast of well-known faces.

Michael Bentine stars as Horace Quilby, the titular Sandwich Man, who walks the streets of London and seems to know everyone he passes.

Without anything so distracting as a plot the film meanders somewhat and is essentially a series of sketches loosely linked together, an indication perhaps of Bentine's lack of experience in long-form storytelling, having come off the back of his hugely successful television series It's A Square World.

The film features a host of well-known figures from the world of comedy including Norman Wisdom, Terry-Thomas, Bernard Cribbins, John Le Mesurier, Fred Emney, Harry H Corbett, Stanley Holloway and Ron Moody and has possibly the most incongruous ending to a film ever!

Joining Tyler this week are Rob & Guy of the podcast Britcom Goes To The Movies, a show in which they examine big-screen spin-offs of small-screen comedy series and characters - ko-fi.com/britcomgoes

This week a slight departure as Chris Diamond returns to take a leisurely meander through the world of British comedy, randomly choosing from a selection of topics (such as Who Was The Fifth Goon?) and pondering upon the genius (or otherwise) of such performers as Kenneth Williams, Michael Bentine, Bob Monkhouse, Arthur English, Hinge & Bracket, Bernard Manning and Spike Milligan, plus shows such as 15 Stories High, The Good Life, One Foot In The Grave, Blackadder, Nearest & Dearest, French & Saunders and Rising Damp.

Sixty years ago the Beatles smashed onto the silver screen in living black & white! With the coming-together of so many perfect elements - a Goonish director, a writer with an intuitive ear for dialogue, a superb supporting cast and of course a willing and capable quartet as yet unburdened by cynicism - A Hard Day's Night remains the greatest musical comedy ever committed to celluloid!

Writer Eddie Robson is this month's guest on Goon Pod Film Club - head over to patreon.com/GoonPod to sign up and listen instantly - in the meantime, here's a preview of some highlights from this month's show!

Seven years after the publication of Vladimir Nabokov's scandalous novel Lolita Stanley Kubrick brought it to the big screen, having adapted the author's screenplay sufficiently, assembled a fine cast and applied the directorial flourishes that would come to mark his films out as unique.

As Humbert Humbert Kubrick cast James Mason, who portrayed the predatory intellectual with just the right amount of creepiness, while allowing his character enough vulnerability and weakness that audiences, while not rooting for him by any means, weren't wholly repulsed.

His antagonist, and the shadow that hangs over the entire film, is Clare Quilty, played with aplomb by Peter Sellers in his first collaboration with Kubrick. Although his actual screen-time is limited, Quilty is a ubiquitous presence, a quietly menacing threat to Humbert's happiness and ultimately the agent of his downfall.

Most people know the story and it wasn't for nothing that the tagline for the film was 'How did they make a movie of Lolita?' Through masterful direction, insinuation and nuance Kubrick managed to do it, and did it well, and while we can feel disgust towards some of its themes there's no denying that it's a powerful film.

Joining Tyler to talk about it is actor Patrick Strain, who puts up a spirited argument that it is one of Kubrick's best.

Sean Gaffney returns to talk about a favourite Goon Show episode from 1956 - Six Charlies In Search Of An Author, loosely based on a play by Fred Pirandello.

Was it a cry for help from Spike? A thinly-veiled portrait of a man whose life was beset by the weekly demand for a funny script, pouring scorn and contempt upon the very characters he created? Or was it just a neat idea for a particularly shambolic (and funny) episode?

We shall see.

Plus: an AI-generated 80,000-word examination of Series 7 of The Goon Show which leaves a LOT to be desired!

Fred Nurke is missing!

An over-ripe banana in a deserted Cannon Street shipping office is the only clue to his whereabouts. Inspector Ned Seagoon follows the trail to a British Embassy in South America.

Why are Senor Gonzales Mess and his gang trying to cut down the only banana tree in the Embassy gardens, and what is the connection between Fred Nurke and the over-ripe banana? 

Find out (maybe) by listening to this week's edition of Goon Pod, in which Tyler is joined by Jonathan Roberts!

They also examine the wider usage of the word 'nurk' (in its various spellings), wonder at a major US news anchor referencing this particular show and discuss the Guatemala revolution of 1954. Larry Stephens gets some well-deserved props too and they even manage to squeeze in Ed Wood's Bride Of The Monster!

Best known to audiences around the world as Lt Gruber from 'Allo 'Allo! Guy Siner joins Tyler this week to talk about the show, his career and his brand new podcast - Listen Very Carefully - in which he and friends & colleagues Kim Hartmann (Helga) and Richard Gibson (Herr Flick) look back fondly and drink gin.

Before landing the role of Gruber Guy had appeared in Genesis of the Daleks up against Tom Baker and had a brief role in Secret Army - ironically the very programme which inspired 'Allo 'Allo!

Post-'Allo 'Allo! his career has flourished and as well as films (such as Pirates of the Caribbean) and television (including Seinfeld) Guy is (possibly) the only person to have appeared in all four major sci-fi franchises: Dr Who; Star Trek; Babylon 5 and Star Wars (he did voice work on the game Star Wars: TIE Fighter)

We talk briefly about the Goons and the Kenneth Connor connection but this episode is very much given over to focusing on Guy and 'Allo 'Allo! in particular - both shows share a silliness and sense of the absurd so there should be a big crossover of fans.

Listen Very Carefully (Guy's new podcast): https://podqp.podbean.com/

A chaotic naval lieutenant, who cannot be discharged due to his connections, is transferred from the Admiralty to a mothballed destroyer whose crew is running dodgy Bilko-esque money-making schemes.

David Tomlinson stars as Lt Fairweather and Peter Sellers, with a whiskery Irish brogue, plays Chief Petty Officer Doherty.

Returning guest Graham Rinaldi discusses Val Guest's 1958 comic romp - does it still hold water after all these years?

A quick preview of this month's edition of Goon Pod Film Club - Billy Liar (1963) with special guest Tim Worthington.

More: patreon.com/GoonPod