"The Movies" is an episode of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

television series ''

The Goodies The Goodies were a trio of British comedians: Tim Brooke-Taylor (17 July 1940–12 April 2020), Graeme Garden (b. 18 February 1943) and Bill Oddie (b. 7 July 1941). The trio created, wrote for and performed in their eponymous television com ...

''. This episode is also known as "The British Film Industry" and "The Black & White, Western, Epic Movie" as well as "BBC" and "The Choices of Film Creation". As with other episodes in the series, this episode was written by members of

, with songs and music by Bill Oddie.

Award

won the Silver Rose in 1975 for this episode at the

Festival Rose d'Or The Rose d'Or ('Golden Rose') is an international awards festival in entertainment broadcasting and programming. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) first acquired the Rose d’Or in 1961, when it was created by Swiss Television in the lakes ...

, held in

Montreux Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approxima ...

, Switzerland.

Plot

After complaining about the decline of the British film industry, the trio purchase Pinetree Studios (for £25) in the hope of making some good films. They then fire all the directors, whom they consider to be making films which are either "very boring or extremely pretentious in many cases both" and decide to make a film themselves. Their attempt to remake Macbeth with less violence and more family interest is a complete failure, and leads to the three Goodies falling out with each other and attempting to make their own films, separately. Tim wants to make a Biblical epic — while Graeme wants to make a violent Western, and Bill wants to make a silent black and white comedy (believing that to do this he has to paint everything monochrome, and not talk). Bill comments: "Buster Keaton must have spent three weeks painting the whole town black and white. And then a ruddy great building falls on him, and he doesn't make a sound." Arguing over which type of film should be made, Graeme comments to Tim: "At least I can act which is more than I can say for some people present." Feeling hurt, Tim asks: "And what's that supposed to mean?" to which Graeme replies: "Well lets face it darling, you're no

Glenda Jackson Glenda May Jackson (born 9 May 1936) is an English actress and former Member of Parliament (MP). She has won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice: for her role as Gudrun Brangwen in the romantic drama ''Women in Love'' (1970); and again for ...

are you?" Later, they start filming in an overcrowded studio outside, but wherever Tim, Bill and the other casts and film crews go, they keep running into Graeme's film set which is bigger than the others, as well as running into each other's sets. Bill joins up with his favourite legendary comedians Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Laurel and Hardy. Then the battle of the Goodies begins when Tim's film crew bump into Graeme's film crew and all three extras fight alongside the Goodies. But the fight doesn't go well as the Goodies get hurt by their own extras. So they flee around the studios arguing and running about in the theatre. When the Goodies reunite, on stage, they are still arguing - until the huge word "The End" appears to drag the Goodies up in the air as they call for help.

Cultural references

Elstree Studios Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...

and Pinewood Studios *

Silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

s *

Western movies The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

Samson and Delilah Samson and Delilah are Biblical figures. Samson and Delilah may also refer to: In music * ''Samson and Delilah'' (opera), an opera by Camille Saint-Saëns * ''Samson & Delilah'' (album), released in 2013 by V V Brown * "Samson and Delilah" (t ...

* Epic films *

Keystone Kops The Keystone Cops (often spelled "Keystone Kops") are fictional, humorously incompetent policemen featured in silent film slapstick comedies produced by Mack Sennett for his Keystone Film Company between 1912 and 1917. History The idea for the ...

* Buster Keaton * Charlie Chaplin * Laurel and Hardy * ''The Sound of Music'' * '' Macbeth'' *

Mae West Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...

Frankenstein's Monster Frankenstein's monster or Frankenstein's creature, often referred to as simply "Frankenstein", is a fictional character who first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. Shelley's title thus compares ...

* ''Death In Venice''

Notes

*This is the first episode where Tim wears his iconic Union Jack waistcoat. This look would remain his staple signature costume throughout the series until its cancellation. * The Spanish town seen in the episode was a standing exterior set at Pinewood Studios. It can also be seen in the film ''

Carry On Abroad ''Carry On Abroad'' is a 1972 British comedy film, the 24th release in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). The film features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims, Bernard Bresslaw, Barbara Windsor, Kenneth Con ...

''. * Among the directors sacked by Tim are

Franco Zeffirelli Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli (12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019), was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post-World War II era, ...

, Stanley Kubrick, Ken Russell,

Sam Peckinpah David Samuel Peckinpah (; February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director and screenwriter. His 1969 Western epic '' The Wild Bunch'' received an Academy Award nomination and was ranked No. 80 on the American Film Institut ...

, Federico Fellini and

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

. *

Bill Oddie William Edgar Oddie (born 7 July 1941) is an English writer, comedian, songwriter, musician, artist, birder, conservationist, television presenter and actor. He was a member of comedy trio The Goodies. A birder since his childhood in Quinto ...

has compared the middle sequence in which

the Goodies The Goodies were a trio of British comedians: Tim Brooke-Taylor (17 July 1940–12 April 2020), Graeme Garden (b. 18 February 1943) and Bill Oddie (b. 7 July 1941). The trio created, wrote for and performed in their eponymous television com ...

view a rough edit of their film-making efforts to "funny movies you make with your family on Boxing Day".

DVD and VHS releases

This episode has been released on DVD.

References

* ''The Complete Goodies'' — Robert Ross, B T Batsford, London, 2000 * ''The Goodies Rule OK'' — Robert Ross, Carlton Books Ltd, Sydney, 2006 * ''From Fringe to Flying Circus'' — 'Celebrating a Unique Generation of Comedy 1960-1980' — Roger Wilmut, Eyre Methuen Ltd, 1980 * ''The Goodies Episode Summaries'' — Brett Allender * ''The Goodies — Fact File'' — Matthew K. Sharp

External links

''The Goodies'' — "The Movies"
- at IMDb (the episode is listed under the title of "Movies" on IMDb) {{DEFAULTSORT:Movies, The The Goodies (series 5) episodes 1975 British television episodes