The Frost Report on Britain - 1966

The Frost Report was a UK 60s satirical news type programme that provided a third of the launchpad for Monty Python & The Goodies [along with 'Do Not Adjust Your Set' & 'The 1948 Show']. This Superb 1966 UK 13-track album was co-written by John Cleese but also features contributions from Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graham Chapman, BarryCryer, Terry Jones & Bill Oddie.

A lesson in perfection - Classic Bond - Goldfinger

Goldfinger has the reputation as the best of the Bond movies, and it is easy to see why. It combines scenes of riveting tension with superbly choreographed action set-pieces and adds a layer of sophisticated dry wit which the previous films lacked. It moves the series further into the realms of the overblown comic strip and, in this respect, was hugely influential in the development of the action genre, where 'bigger' rapidly became equated with better.

In his third Bond film, Sean Connery successfully defined a toned-down, more sympathetic version of the character. His treatment of women is less perfunctory and his violence is generally in self-defence. Connery is convincing in action but seems most comfortable with the snappy delivery of numerous one-liners. He receives impressive competition from Gert Frobe who, despite being dubbed to hide his poor English, plays Goldfinger with a fine combination of strutting vanity and thuggish menace. Honor Blackman's Pussy Galore is a thoroughly liberated woman who is more than a match for Bond, even if she is eventually, and disappointingly, removed from the action. The regular cast of MI6 staff are also defined here, with Bernard Lee's M, Lois Maxwell's Moneypenny and especially Desmond Llewelyn's Q delivering memorable cameos.

The action in Goldfinger is confidently handled through a combination of fast editing by Peter Hunt, committed stunt work from Bond veteran Bob Simmons and Guy Hamilton's willingness as director to combine comic strip antics with a certain realism. However, Hamilton also handles the quieter moments with style and charm, notably the golf game, one of the most enjoyable scenes in the series. The intelligent and often witty script by Richard Maibaum and Paul Dehn punctuates the car chases and fights with some highly quotable dialogue exchanges. Equally notable is Ken Adam's art direction , as luxuriantly baroque as John Barry's music score and Shirley Bassey's performance of the theme song.

Goldfinger is light and superficial but it is a confection produced with great skill and care, showcasing the talents of some of Britain's finest technicians. Most significantly, it strikes a balance between action, spectacle and humour which the Bond series never quite got right again.

THE

MONTHLY FILM BULLETIN

Published by

THE BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE

Volume 31, No.370, October 1964, page 149

GOLDFINGER (1964)

En route to London after a successful Caribbean operation, James Bond stops off at Miami. Here he is asked to keep an eye on the very rich and very mysterious Auric Goldfinger, whose current pastime is the systematic cheating of a wealthy American at cards. Bond calls a halt to this by suborning Goldfinger's secretary and accomplice, Jill Masterson. In revenge, Goldfinger has Jill murdered - suffocated under a thin coating of gold paint. Back in London, Bond learns that the Bank of England wants to find out just how Goldfinger is contriving to smuggle bullion out of the country. He tracks Goldfinger's Rolls Royce across Europe to his Alpine headquarters, encountering on the way Tilly Masterson, sister of the murdered Jill, who is hunting Goldfinger with a shot-gun. But Tilly is killed by a lethal blow from the stiffened bowler which Odd job, Goldfinger's Korean henchman, hurls like a discus; and Bond himself, having identified the smuggling technique (a solid gold Rolls), is captured. He is flown out by Pussy Galore, Goldfinger's private pilot, to the Kentucky ranch where the master criminal is assembling the cast for his greatest coup - operation Grand Slam, a raid on Fort Knox. His plan : to paralyse the defences by a lethal nerve gas sprayed from the planes of Pussy's flying circus; then to blow the place up with an atomic device borrowed from Red China, so making the entire American gold reserve radio-active. Under Bond's influence Pussy changes sides and puts through a call to Washington. Bond is rescued from the vaults of Fort Knox, where he has been left handcuffed to the bomb, survives a final encounter with Goldfinger, who has boarded a U.S. airforce jet in general's uniform, and finally parachutes to safety with Pussy.

A seagull bobs on a night sea; slowly it rises from the waves, and from under it emerges 007 in frogman's kit. He scales a wall, throttles a guard, plants a dynamite charge, hops back over the wall; the frogman's suit is stripped off to reveal a white dinner jacket, with carnation for adjusting in buttonhole ... So Bond is off again; and, as with From Russia with Love, a pre-credits sequence of breathless speed and impudence tips a colossal wink at the audience. After these first five minutes of outrageous violence, callous fun and bland self-mockery, the tone is so firmly set that the film could get away with almost anything. Having hit on a gold-plated formula, the Broccoli-Saltzman team have had the wit to keep on developing it: their only worry now must be how far they can keep it up, in ensuring that each adventure is more enjoyably extravagant (or extravagantly enjoyable) than the last one.

Here, they have gone all out for sets and gadgetry. A laconic secret service man introduces Bond to the Aston Martin special, fitted out with radar, smoke-screen, flamethrowers, machine-gun headlamps, and an ejector seat for unwanted passengers. Later, all this equipment is of course put to good use. When Goldfinger wants to dispose of a recalcitrant ally, he has the man shot by Odd-job, who then drives the corpse to a yard in which cars are pulped for scrap metal. Into the works goes a gleaming Thunderbird; from it emerges a neat little cube of scrap. Sympathy, it goes without saying, is all for the car, with none to spare for the corpse. Ken Adam's sets, notably the operations room at the Kentucky ranch and the glittering vaults of Fort Knox, are masterpieces of technological fantasy.

Only characters as extreme as Gert Frobe's bloated, tweedy Goldfinger, and Harold Sakata's entirely imperturbable Odd-job could live up to them, and even Honor Blackman's Pussy, in spite of the judo and the wardrobe, seems a trifle diminished. Characters, in Goldfinger, have to make an immediate impact: they will probably be dead before they get a second chance. But the real trick of the formula - not, incidentally, Ian Fleming's formula at all, but the films' invention - is the way it uses humour. In all his adventures, sexual and lethal, Bond is a kind of joke superman, as preposterously resilient as one of those cartoon cats. It may be Paul Dehn's collaboration on the script which here gives a new finesse to the jokes; or it may simply be a growing confidence on the part of everyone concerned, and most notably of Sean Connery himself. Goldfinger really is a dazzling object lesson in the principle that nothing succeeds like excess.

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The Monthly Film Bulletin was published by the British Film Institute between 1934 and 1991. Initially aimed at distributors and exhibitors as well as filmgoers, it carried reviews and details of all UK film releases. In 1991, the Bulletin was absorbed by Sight and Sound magazine.

John Lennon - A Man Who Cared.

This magazine entitled - John Lennon A Man Who Cared, printed in the United States in 1980 is an 82-page A4-sized magazine dedicated to the life and times of one of Music's biggest icons. Detailing The Mersey Sound, The Beatles' US Tour of 1967, their breakup and subsequent future of John Lennon on this fascinating journey illustrated with superb photographs).

The Beatles for sale - 1968

Japanese vinyl releases are premium quality pressings, much sought after by audiophiles and collectors alike. In the 1960s Toshiba pioneered top quality red vinyl pressings using their trademark ‘Ever-Clean’ process this utilised a special ingredient intended to prevent the build-up of static electricity on the vinyl. Japanese pressings are synonymous with quality - the vinyl shines like no other vinyl - everything about their releases feels special. When US audiophile label Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab first released their series of high quality pressings the records were manufactured in Japan. The sonic quality of Japanese pressings is considered to be among the best in the world and, in addition, they are beautifully presented, their covers usually printed on better quality heavy stock paper and often including a bonus lyric insert with dual language Japanese & English text. Nearly all Japanese LPs were issued with an ‘obi’ - literally translated this means ‘sash’ and is derived from the obi (sash) worn around the traditional kimono dress.

This delicate paper strip, usually wrapped around the left side of the album cover, often contains marketing information and album content details, all printed in Japanese kanji and ~kana script. Obi designs can be as varied as the LPs they adorn, and some series of obi designs can be as collectable as the artists’ albums they decorate. ‘Hankake’ (3/4 length obis) are nearly impossible to find, and the ‘Rock Age’ series of obis are especially rare and valuable. Obis make a unique, attractive addition to the overall package and are becoming increasingly rare, especially on LPs from the 1960s and 70s. Their delicate and disposable nature meant that very early obis were routinely discarded, so that now they can often be worth several times more than the record they accompany.

In addition to Japanese pressings of regular albums there are numerous Japanese-only releases. Labels and artists often issued exclusive records timed to coincide with their Far East tour, or they re-released back catalogue albums with a re-designed obi, displaying revised graphics and other consumer information. Regardless of your musical taste, Japanese records make a stunning addition to any collection. Audibly and visually they present the collector with a feast of delights. Genuine mint condition records, complete with inserts and obi, are becoming rarer every day. Whatever the digital age throws at you there is still a valid opinion that says vinyl sounds best; with Japanese records you get top quality pressings, a tactile picture sleeve that looks stunning and you can sing along from the lyric insert. This is the real alternative to a download!

1. No Reply
2. I'm A Loser
3. Baby's In Black
4. Rock & Roll Music
5. I'll Follow The Sun
6. Mr. Moonlight
7. Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!
8. Eight Days A Week
9. Words Of Love
10. Honey Don't
11. Every Little Thing
12. I Don't Want To Spoil The Party
13. What You're Doing
14. Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby

Green Shield Stamps; 1958 - 1991

Green Shield Stamps were a sales promotion or incentive loyalty scheme using trading stamps, designed and deployed in the United Kingdom and Ireland to encourage or reward shopping, by being able to buy gifts. Green Shield Trading Stamp Company was founded in 1958 by entrepreneur Richard Tompkins, and the stamps were withdrawn in 1991.

Green Shield Stamps were almost everywhere in the Britain of the 60s and 70s. If you bought your groceries at certain shops the retailer gave you stamps to stick in a book. Once you had collected enough you exchanged the books for gifts. Most people can remember Green Shield Stamps, but there were other schemes. Does anyone remember Blue Star, Gift Coupon, Happy Clubs, Thrift Stamp, Uneedus Bonus, Universal Sales Promotions or Yellow Stamps?

Trading Stamps first became popular in the United States. Sperry and Hutchinson began offering stamps to United States retailers in 1896. They bought stamps from S&H and gave them as bonuses with every purchase based on the amount purchased. The stamps were given away at filling stations, corner shops and supermarkets. When the customer had collected sufficient stamps in collectors' books, the shopper claimed merchandise from a catalogue or S&H Green Stamps shop.

Richard Tompkins purchased the name Green Shield from a luggage manufacturer and founded Green Shield Trading Stamp Co in 1958, along similar lines to S&H Green Stamps. They were popular during the 1960s and 1970s. Competing trading stamp schemes included Pink Stamps (a UK operation of S & H Green Stamps), British Consumer Co-operatives dividend stamps, Blue Chip and the short-lived UK operation of King Korn.

Tesco founder Jack Cohen was an advocate of stamps; he signed up in 1963, shortly after his competitor Fine Fare adopted S&H Pink stamps and Tesco became one of the company’s largest clients. But Cohen was a fan of pile it high and sell it cheap, and in the mid-1970s faced cost problems associated with not integrating its stores. In 1977 Tesco launched Operation Checkout, price-cutting aimed at countering the new discounters such as Kwik Save. A decision was made to abandon Green Shield stamps, saving £20m a year and helping to finance price reductions.

In light of a price war, and higher prices where the stamps were sold, consumers prices were rising to cover costs - and as inflation was high, the value of the stamps was going down. As sales slowed and other retailers abandoned the scheme, Green Shield Stamp catalogue shops were rebranded Argos in July 1973. The company suspended sale of stamps in 1983, then had a short revival in 1987 involving 2,500 shops, finally ceasing in 1991

The Radio Times - Monty Python

Over the years the classic Monty Python and its stars have played more than their part when it comes to featuring on the front covers of the Radio Times. Below is a selection of some of those covers.

You forget that Monty Python wasn't an immediate hit. While it started in 1969, it took until the original series's final run in 1974 for it to earn a Radio Times cover.

Marking the tenth anniversary of the first-ever Monty Python episode was this 1979 Radio Times cover.

Isn't this a gem? John Cleese starred with Sarah Badel in a 1980 production of The Taming of the Shrew, staged by the great Jonathan Miller.

By 1992, Michael Palin was well on his way to becoming as known for epic travels as he was for Monty Python. This was Pole to Pole, a highlight of the autumn/winter season.

Alongside Monty Python star Michael Palin's travel series there were always his bestselling books. For 1997's Full Circle, in which he travelled around the Pacific Rim, his diary was serialised in Radio Times.

Monty Python star John Cleese talked to Radio Times about one of his other long-lasting ventures, The Secret Policeman's Ball, as it reached its quarter-century anniversary in 2004.

Tiger Bay (1959)

Tiger Bay (d. J. Lee Thompson, 1959) is more romantic and dramatic than realistic, more traditional than the uncompromising, radical departure of the films of the British New Wave. It is in some ways a transition: both traditional and modern, but not exactly social realism. It was ahead of its time in showing aspects of life not usually displayed in film in the 1950s, but limits these insights to brief glimpses.

Nonetheless, the film is occasionally powerful in dealing with contemporary issues, notably sexual equality. In the brief time before she is murdered, Anya (Yvonne Mitchell) is inspiringly feminist; with some surprisingly modern lines: "Just because you helped me once, is that a life sentence? I'm not an animal for a little boy to keep in a cage; I'm a woman, a woman with a heart and a body which is my own to give how I like, when I like."

Tiger Bay is also unusual in its treatment of kids, taking them seriously - their culture, the way they play, the way they think, what they take seriously. Child star Hayley Mills made her screen debut - aged twelve - as the young girl who befriends troubled drifter Bronik (Horst Bucholz).

The film is beautifully observed in its depictions of life on its decaying, Dickensian stairways; other locations are equally well chosen. It also offers a tantalising, but again frustratingly brief, glimpse of the rich multiracial culture of Cardiff's docklands. Like A Taste of Honey (d. Tony Richardson, 1961), it has a fascination with what would soon become industrial archaeology: the crumbling but ingenious cranes, mobile bridges and industrial landscapes of Britain's merchant maritime past.

Tiger Bay is representative of the pinnacle of traditional black and white cinematography, with every scene and shot beautifully lit and composed. Sumptuous in its appearance, it does not yet show the kind of experimental black and white photography (fast film stocks, greater use of natural light) found in A Taste of Honey

THE

MONTHLY FILM BULLETIN

Published by

THE BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE

Volume 26, No.304, May 1959, page 57

TIGER BAY (1959)

A young Polish seaman, Korchinsky, returns to Tiger Bay to find that his girl, Anya, is no longer interested in him. Their violent quarrel, ending in Anya's death, is watched by Gillie, a lonely little girl. She steals Korchinsky's gun, lies to Police Superintendent Graham about the murder, and shows off her new gun to an impressed choirboy. By the time Graham has heard the choir-boy's story, Gillie has disappeared. Although Korchinsky's motive in kidnapping the child is one of self-preservation, a warm rapport springs up between the two, and when Korchinsky leaves Gillie in hiding, she promises to stay there until evening, by which time he will be aboard his ship. Gillie is found, however, and trapped by Graham into incriminating Korchinsky, and the police take her aboard his ship while it is still within the three-mile limit. Gillie steadfastly refuses to identify Korchinsky, and it seems as though he will go free when Gillie suddenly falls overboard. Korchinsky dives in and saves her at the cost of his own liberty.

Modelled on Hunted (by The Yellow Balloon out of The Window), this cut to pattern thriller has an unusually good script and the sense to give it its head. The plot hinges on the touching relationship between the loyal, tomboyish child and the kidnapper who begins by thinking of killing her and ends up saving her life; and its principal merit is a steadily mounting suspense, carrying complete involvement without once becoming dishonest, either in character or construction. No attempt is made to elaborate the characters beyond the demands of the story, and they are appealingly presented. Apart from a jarring scene of overcalculation when she throws herself bodily into a description of the murder, Hayley Mills is splendid as the child; Horst Buchholz, assured and extrovert as the young Pole, gives promise of exceptional sensitivity into the bargain, and in a brief and thankless part John Mills plays the hunter with just the right discretion and suggestion of sympathy. Lee-Thompson's direction, less happy in the early scenes of murder and first encounter, is otherwise craftsmanlike, with a good use of locations and above all a firm feeling for outcasts and foreigners, their solidity and their background. All in all, this is the most entertaining Rank release in quite a while.

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The Monthly Film Bulletin was published by the British Film Institute between 1934 and 1991. Initially aimed at distributors and exhibitors as well as filmgoers, it carried reviews and details of all UK film releases. In 1991, the Bulletin was absorbed by Sight and Sound magazine..

Video Killed The Radio Star: The Buggles - 1979

The Buggles
Geoff Downes (left) and Trevor Horn (right)
Background information
Origin	England, United Kingdom
Genres	New Wave Synthpop
Years active	1977–1981, 2010
Labels	Island, Carrere
Associated acts	Yes, Asia, The Producers
Past members
Trevor Horn Geoff Downes Bruce Woolley

"Video Killed the Radio Star" is a song by the British synthpop/New Wave group The Buggles, released as their debut single on 7 September 1979, on Island Records. It celebrates the Golden days of radio, describing a singer whose career is cut short by television. The song topped the music chart in several countries and has been covered by many recording artists. It was the first music video shown on MTV in the U.S. at 12:01am on 1 August 1981. The song was number 40 on VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the 80's according to Paula Wolford.

Group member Trevor Horn has said that his lyrics were inspired by the J.G. Ballard short story "The Sound-Sweep", in which the title character—a mute boy vacuuming up stray music in a world without it—comes upon an opera singer hiding in a sewer. He also felt "an era was about to pass." The theme of the song is thus nostalgia, which is also echoed in the tone of the music. (The vocals are initially limited in bandwith, giving a "telephone" effect typical of early broadcasts.) The lyrics refer to a period of technological change in the 1960s, the desire to remember the past and the disappointment that children of the current generation would not appreciate the past. In the 1950s and early 1960s, radio was an important medium for many, through which "stars" were created.

The song was written by Horn, Geoff Downes and Bruce Woolley Horn has claimed that Woolley was primarily responsible for the musical content, while Horn wrote most of the words. Woolley was responsible for the addition of the words 'put the blame on VTR'. The first version was recorded by Woolley & the Camera Club (with Thomas Dolby on keyboards) for his albumEnglish Garden, which was a hit in Canada. The Buggles later recorded the song and it reached number one in the UK Charts the week of 20 October 1979, the first-ever number one for the island records label. It also would top the Australian charts, and made the Billboard hot 100 in the United States, debuting on 10 November 1979, and peaking at number 40.

It appears on the album The Angel of Plastic, where it has an additional piano coda. The complicated arrangement and production of the song, which includes a chorus sung by a group of very high-pitched backup singers, foreshadows Horn's later career as a producer. It appears on the soundtrack for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and in the game itself.

"Video Killed the Radio Star"
Single by The Buggles
from the album The Age of Plastic
B-Side	"Kid Dynamo"
Released	7 September 1979
Format	7"
Recorded	1979
Genre	New Wave, Synthpop
Length	4:13 (album version) 3:25 (2010 Japanese re-issue single version)
Label	Island
Writer(s)	Geoff Downes, Trevor Horne, and Bruce Woolley
Producer	The Buggles
Certification	Gold (UK)
The Buggles singles chronology
"Video Killed the Radio Star" (1979) "Living in the Plastic Age" (1980)

Blessing Sid's Gaffe!

On the 2nd of February 1971 one of TV's most popular sitcoms was born, Bless This House made by Thames Television. The series was created by the well established comedy writing duo Vince Powell & Harry Driver. There were various writers for the show including the aforementioned creators plus Carla Lane, Myra Taylor, Dave Freeman and others. The producer and director for the whole of the series was William G Stewart, perhaps now more famous in the UK for the Channel 4 quiz show 15-to-1.In total there were 65 episodes produced spread over 6 series broadcast between 1971 and 1976. The show centres around the life of the Abbott family, husband and wife Sid & Jean, and their two children Mike and Sally who live in Birch Avenue in Putney, but this was changed to 2 Howard Road in later episodes. The various writers used just about every typical sitcom plot you can think of which meant the usual misunderstandings, arguments, comic situations etc, you know the type of thing!

Sidney Abbott is played with all the brilliant comic talent you would expect from Sid James. He is a sales representative for a local stationary company and is very successful at his job. Outside of work, he likes to relax (or try to!) at home smoking his pipe listening to his favourite classical piece of music, at weekends he would sometimes go fishing with his next-door neighbour who is also his best mate Trevor (played by Anthony Jackson). Sid's most popular activity is going to his local boozer The Hare and Hounds with Trevor to sink a few pints and discuss the burning issues of the day eg. would Chelsea win the cup this year, or the length (or lack of it) of the barmaid's skirt! The main cause of frustration in Sid's life is trying to understand his children. The generation gap seems to him to be not so much a gap as (perhaps he might say) a great big bloody hole! He holds very traditional views on many things especially sex, and while he encourages his son Mike to enjoy himself (as quoted on the show Here a bit, there a bit, everywhere a bit bit!) he is very protective about his daughter Sally whom he still thinks of as his little girl.

Jean Abbott, played by Diana Coupland, is a devoted wife and mother, she is the 'real' head of the house, but dont tell Sid! She seems to understand her children more than Sid ever could, usually seeing their side of any argument. Her best friend is next-door neighbour Betty (played by Patsy Rowlands) who is married to Trevor. Sid is not too keen on her as she always seems to be coming round to borrow things which usually is food!

Mike Abbott, played by Robin Stewart, is the oldest of the two children and the most gifted but Sid would disagree with you on that one! He is unemployed but occasionally sells pieces of art which he has made. Art is his passion and he is always working on his next masterpiece which unfortunately for Sid usually means a lot of banging and clattering from the garage which never seems to have the space for the car! Sid also struggles to hold a decent conversation with his son as he uses phrases such as Dig it and I'm gonna split which sounds very painful! Sally Abbott, played by Sally Geeson, is the youngest member of the family but she is rapidly growing up. Her attitude to sex leaves her father in turmoil, and she seems to go through boyfriends like there is no tomorrow. Mike and her have very strong opinions and they often go on various demonstrations together in support of the latest cause, this usually ends up with them in trouble with the police which means a trip to the station for Sid!

As with any successful sitcom of the 1970's there was a good chance that a spin-off feature film would be made and Bless This House was no exception. Made in 1972 by Rank, the screenplay was written by Dave Freeman who had also penned scripts for the TV series, producer was Peter Rogers and director was Gerald Thomas who of course had both worked on the immensely successful Carry On films. The film retained most of the regular cast from the TV series with the exceptions of Robin Stewart as Mike who was replaced by Robin Askwith, and Anthony Jackson as next-door neighbour Trevor who was replaced by carry on stalwart Peter Butterworth. There was a good supporting cast of many familiar faces from the British comedy scene of the time including Terry Scott and June Whitfield as the new next-door neighbours Mr & Mrs Baines, George A Cooper as the propietor of a local cafe and Bill Maynard as the owner of an antiques market.

Cloppa Castle - Episode Two: It's A Gift!

The Queen is awoken by a terrible smell coming from the castle dungeons. She goes off to investigate and finds Cue-ee-dee and albrite busy in the basement. She tells them to get rid of the foul odorous chemical (dandelion wine gone bad). They try several places but then Cue-ee-dee thinks of sending it into space using a rocket. The next day, the Hasbeenes are at it again, this time a cunning plan to get into the castle and steal the oil is only thwarted by a quick thinking albrite. The Queen receives an unusual gift - a large wooden elephant.

She believes it to be a peace offering from her enemies and allows it inside the castle. What she does not know is that the enemy is inside the gift and are intending to steal the oil reserves. Later that night the Beosweyne produces a huge drill out of the elephant and into the ground. It goes right through the earth and ends up very near albrite. albrite realises what is happening and ensures the nasty wine is sucked up from the barrel. albrite the saves the day by attaching a rocket to the wooden elephant as it tries to make a getaway. He then gets the guards to open the castle gates as the elephant containing the Hasbeenes blasts through it. Poor Beosweyne and his men crash into a tree and end up covered in stinking Dandelion wine.