''Casanova '73'' is a British

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

broadcast on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

in September and October 1973. Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, the series starred

Leslie Phillips Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor, director, producer and author. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. ...

as wealthy womaniser Henry Newhouse (the English translation of "casa nova").

Background and plot

''Casanova '73'' followed an episode of ''Galton and Simpson Comedy'' ("The Suit", 1969) for

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 unt ...

in which Phillips played Howard Butler, a philandering businessman whose clothes are stolen whilst he is in bed at his secretary's home. As with this series, it also featured

Jan Holden Valerie Jeanne Wilkinson (9 May 1931 – 11 October 2005) was an English actress known as Jan Holden, using her mother's maiden name as a stage name. In theatre she was known for her performances in light comedy and appeared in several telev ...

as his wife. ''Casanova '73'' was specially written for Phillips. Henry Newhouse has a successful career in

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...

. Although happily married to Carol, he is a compulsive

philanderer Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as promiscuous by man ...

and leads a

double life An alter ego (Latin for "other I", " doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differen ...

. His relationships invariably backfire and lead to farcical situations.

Cast

– Henry Newhouse *

– Carol Newhouse *

Yolande Turner Yolande Turner, also known as Yolande Finch (12 December 1935 – 6 November 2003), was a British actress and screenwriter. Born in South Africa as Yolande Eileen Turnbull, she was the second wife of actor Peter Finch, by whom she had two child ...

– Connie Langham *

Elvi Hale Patricia Elvira Hake (born 29 January 1931), known as Elvi Hale, is a retired British actress. She played Anne of Cleves in '' The Six Wives of Henry VIII'', broadcast in 1970. Career Raised in Romford, Essex and educated at Reed's School. S ...

– Muriel *

Cyd Hayman Cyd Hayman (born 1 May 1944, in Chippenham, Wiltshire) is an English actress. She appeared in the films: ''Percy'' (1971), '' Rogue Male'' (1976), '' The Human Factor'' (1979), ''The Godsend'' (1980) and ''Mask of Murder'' (1985). Her televisio ...

– Miss Dropmore *

Madeline Smith Madeline Smith (born 2 August 1949) is an English actress. After working as a model in the late 1960s, she went on to appear in many television series and stage productions, plus comedy and horror films, in the 1970s and 1980s. She is perhaps ...

– Tessa Finlay *

Josephine Tewson Josephine Ann Tewson (26 February 1931 – 18 August 2022) was an English actress, best known for her roles in British television sitcoms, such as Edna Hawkins ("Mrs H") in '' Shelley'', Elizabeth "Liz" Warden in ''Keeping Up Appearances'' (1 ...

– Mrs Kershaw *

Ronald Adam General Sir Ronald Forbes Adam, 2nd Baronet, (30 October 1885 – 26 December 1982) was a senior British Army officer. He had an important influence on the conduct of the British Army during the Second World War as a result of his long tenure ...

– Dr Spartforth *

Astrid Frank Astrid Frank (born 1945) is a retired German film and television actress.Fenton & Flint p.317 She starred in number of sex comedies during the 1970s. Selected filmography * '' The True Jacob'' (1960) * ''A Woman for Life'' (1960) * ''Charley's ...

– Miss West Germany *

Maureen Lipman Dame Maureen Diane Lipman (born 10 May 1946) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and her stage work has included appearances with the National Theatre and the Royal Shakesp ...

– Gloria * Michael Knowles – Judge * Janet Davies – Wife *Directed and Produced by

Harold Snoad Harold Edward Snoad (born 28 August 1935) is a British television producer, writer and director. He is best known for the television sitcom ''Keeping Up Appearances'', starring Patricia Routledge and Clive Swift. He is also well known for having d ...

Reception

''Casanova '73'' was poorly received by the critics.

Stanley Reynolds Stanley Ambrose Harrington Reynolds (1934–2016) was an American journalist, author, and critic who spent most of his life in the UK. Reynolds was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts on 27 November 1934, to Ambrose Harrington Reynolds, a sales manager ...

in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' wrote that Phillips character "gets caught in the wrong beds in all the right comic places but it still does not seem to work. The script is either too laborious and slow or the jokes are too old and feeble."

Mary Whitehouse Constance Mary Whitehouse (; 13 June 1910 – 23 November 2001) was a British teacher and conservative activist. She campaigned against social liberalism and the mainstream British media, both of which she accused of encouraging a more permiss ...

, of the

National Viewers' and Listeners' Association Mediawatch-UK, formerly known as the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association (National VALA or NVLA), was a pressure group in the United Kingdom, which campaigned against the publication and broadcast of Mass media, media content that it vi ...

and others objected to its risque contents. The complaints led to the programme being moved to a later time slot. The first three episodes aired at 8.00pm on Thursdays and the final four on Mondays at 9.25pm. The quiz show ''

Mastermind Mastermind, Master Mind or The Mastermind may refer to: Fictional characters * Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), a fictional supervillain in Marvel Comics, a title also held by his daughters: ** Martinique Jason, the first daughter and successor of th ...

'' replaced it in the slot, helping it to become a hit.

Episodes

DVD releases

All seven episodes of ''Casanova '73'' were released on DVD by

Acorn Media UK RLJE International Ltd, d/b/a Acorn DVD, a British company that publishes and distributes DVDs, as well as selling home-video products and streaming videos with a particular focus on British television. History Launched in 1997, Acorn Media U. ...

on 8 October 2012.

References

;General * ;Specific {{Galton and Simpson 1973 British television series debuts 1973 British television series endings 1970s British sitcoms Adultery in television BBC television sitcoms Beauty pageants in fiction English-language television shows Television series created by Ray Galton Television series created by Alan Simpson