Benny Hill: The Lost Years
Bennies From Heaven

Benny Hill

Benny Hill: The Lost Years

This is a collection of three programs from the years that Benny was with the British Broadcasting Corporation. They cover a ten-year period from 1958 - 1968. They are all in B&W and each program runs just over an hour. Benny was using many of the routines and gags he would later use in his color shows for Thames Television. There are only a couple of people who worked alongside Benny in these programs that would go on to work with him in his color shows, including Patricia Hayes and Hugh Paddick. I did ask for permission from Warner Online Marketing to take screen captures, but was told I could only use the photos they provided. Unfortunately, these captures are of sketches/programs that are not in the Lost Years collection. At any rate I am still providing this review because we do get a look at Benny's earliest years in Television. Enjoy!

Note: I have now added William Brown's notes for this program. You'll find William's notes in brackets sprinkled throughout the review below. Many thanks to William for his tireless research!

Bennies From Heaven

B&W

[65:20]

Opening Sequence
English Lesson
German TV Commercials
Audience Research
Bo-Peep Variations
Soap Commercial
TV Commercials
Knobbly Knees
Market Gardeners
Secret Agent Of Love
The Castle
End Credits

Cast: Benny Hill with (in order of appearance) Gwendolen Watts, Jeremy Hawk, Bridget Armstrong, Sue Donovan, Patricia Hayes, Felix Bowness, Rosemarie Dunham, John Derrick, Roger Avon, Peter Vernon, Gloria Paul, Judy Russell, Patsy Ann Noble & Miranda Hampton.

Written by: Benny Hill with additional material by Robert Gould.

Producer: Kenneth Carter
Program ©1964, 1965, 1966, 1967 BBC.

Highlights: Secret Agent of Love, The Castle, Knobbly Knees, Bo-Peep Variations.

This program starts with the Opening Sequence which features a Royal Parade of horses and a huge crowd. The British flag rises to an announcer introducing "The Benny Hill Show". In English Lesson Benny talks to the audience and introduces a program which features Benny as a German professor with a pretty girl giving an English Lesson for those who speak German. Needless to say Benny does get in trouble with the girl. (The girl was the late Gwendolyn Watts (1937-2000; whose first name was misspelled "Gwendolen" in the end credits of this and the "Benny and the Jests" set). This sketch originated from the April 10, 1965 program. As, for that matter, does the opening. - William Brown.)

In German TV Commercials Benny introduces three German TV Commercials. 1. A German Butter commercial with lots of women taking a taste challenge for cash. 2. Benny as a German man in traditional costume doing a razor blade commercial. 3. An ad for laundry detergent. (This group of commercials probably originated from April 10, 1965; the butter commercial (later remade on his March 24, 1971 series of international bloopers) featured Michael Malnick as the irate husband. - William Brown.)

In Audience Research Jeremy Hawk interviews Mr. Fred Scuttle who is the Chief TV Audience Researcher at the BBC. Scuttle also reveals why there is a such a sharp rise in TV viewing on their TV Audience graph! (This entire sketch, including the four examples that followed, came from Nov. 27, 1965. Listen for when Mr. Hawk asks Scuttle who makes the programming decisions at the BBC, and he says "Hugh and I." This was a double-reference, not only to then-BBC Director General Hugh Carleton Greene, but also to an early-to-mid '60's sitcom on the BBC called "Hugh and I" which starred Hugh Lloyd and Terry Scott. This all predated his periodic skewerings of Thames after he went there. - William Brown.) Scuttle also shows Jeremy and us some of those programs that never made it to TV, including:

1. "International Folk Singer" with Ivor Burles (Benny) singing the famous "African Click Song" which as usual goes wrong. (This "International Folk Singer" sequence was introduced by Sue Donovan; the "Click" concept was redone twice in the Thames years (including one of the B&W episodes - William Brown).

2. "European Questionairre" features Benny as a German Aristocrat being interviewed by Patricia Hayes via a TV hookup. The questions are numbered and of course things get mixed up right away. This was also remade in Benny's first show for Thames with Henry McGee as the interviewer in "Sound Delay Interview".

3. Round Britain Poetry features Ted Tingle (Benny) performing one of his classic routines, "The Old Fiddler", complete with the awful violin player at his side. (I detect a variation of the goalie designations - Goalie A, B, D and E - of the "Match of the Week" sketch of March 13, 1974.) In any case this segment was introduced by Felix Bowness. That routine was also remade at Thames, on Feb. 4, 1970. - William Brown.)

4. "Cross Channel Cabaret" features a Tyrolean Dancing Duo "Fritz & Chips" performing a routine with German dancing music with each of them slapping each other in the face. Again, an unknown actor with Benny as the dancers. (this segment was introduced by Rosemarie Dunham, who's probably most famous for her role as "Edna" in the 1971 movie "Get Carter." The face-slapping lederhosen-wearing dancers number was done at least twice (with a third variation, if you count the "Band in the Park" sketch) after he went to Thames. - William Brown.)

Bo-Peep Variations opens with Benny presenting the concept of modern versions of the classic nursery rhyme and Anita Harris singing the children's tune. (The entire "Bo-Peep Variations" sketch was originally shown on April 24, 1965. The opening singer was Anita Harris, now a well-established superstar in England (but not as well known in the States); two years after this appearance she had a monster hit in the U.K. with the ballad "Just Loving You" which elevated her to such status. I have given a link to her website: www.anitaharrisofficialsite.com - William Brown.) The first variation is called "Z Cars: The Bo-Peep Story". The setting is a police station with Benny playing "Officer Fancy" and "Inspector Barlow" opposite a hobo who has been stealing the sheep. ( "Z Cars" was a BBC cop show on the air from 1962 to 1978. On the show, Insp. Barlow was played by Stratford Johns, and P.C. 'Fancy' Smith was played by Brian Blessed. Both actors left the actual show later in 1965. This plot point was later reworked in Benny's 1973 "Ironside" parody - William Brown).

In "Tonight" we see a news program with Benny as an investigative reporter looking into the disappearance of a whole herd of sheep. (whom he would also play in the April 20, 1968 "24 Hours" parody and, more famously, on March 16, 1983 in the "Holiday" sketch), as well as field reporter Alan Whicker (whom he also impersonated on the aforesaid 1968 program, and also in the "Black Moor" opening of the Feb. 4, 1970 show - William Brown). "Romeo and Bo-Peep with Oliver Lawrence" features Benny performing a Shakespearean soliloquy based on the famous nursery Rhyme. Next is a send-up of the classic western series "Bonanza" simply called "Bo Peep" with Patricia Hayes as Bo Peep looking for help from Benny (as Pa Cartwright) in help getting her sheep back, which she insists his boys took. (The man seen at the end was Roger Avon. Also, on the VHS of this collection, they went from Benny's introduction directly to the "Bonanza" takeoff. - William Brown).

In Soap Commercial Benny performs a monologue describing and relating all of the events surrounding the making of a soap commercial, complete with a nude girl getting a bath in a commercial. We only see Benny, but this is one of Benny's great routines which showcases Benny's talent for only telling a story which makes us use our imagination. (This was from Nov. 6, 1964, not April 10, 1965; (both shows in question were shot on 35mm film, rather than the 16mm sources which mostly constituted this whole set). This was reconstituted as "Making a Commercial" on his Feb. 4, 1970 telecast. - William Brown).

In TV Commercials we are treated to some more of those short spoofs of commercials, starting with "Benny's", an antacid ad with Benny marrying Patricia Hayes, "Misto" Gravy, "Philovite", later remade as "Benovite" and "Slash" floor cleaner. (This is likely from the Nov. 6, 1965 show; the girl in the "Philovite" ad is Julie Rogers, who had a massive worldwide hit the previous year with "The Wedding." - William Brown). Next, Benny is a male model who wishes to remain anonymous in Knobbly Knees. Patricia Hayes interviews him about his embarrassment at being in the "knobbly Knees" contest and his downfall as a result. (Again, this was either from Nov. 6, 1964 or April 10, 1965. - William Brown).

Market Gardeners features Ted Tingle (Benny) leading the Market Gardeners choir in "The Egg Marketing Board Tango". (This was from the May 8, 1965 edition; the person being coached in his introduction is Peter Vernon, Benny's straight man from 1958 to 1961, making one last TV appearance (he was also Mr. Hill's straight man in the 1964-1966 BBC Radio series "Benny Hill Time"). Roger Avon and Gloria Paul are also seen amongst the choir. - William Brown). Benny then introduces a film made by the fastest film director in the world, Mr. J. Arthur Clinker, Secret Agent Of Love a send-up of all of those British Spy Films. In the film, Benny goes to see Patricia Hayes who is leaving for Australia. Since the director works so quickly, the film is full of bizarre camera angles, continuity errors, jump cuts and the like. This scene was later remade with Pat Ashton during the Thames years. (This was aired on both the Nov. 6, 1964 and (by popular demand) April 10, 1965 specials. I thought the basic idea had also been recycled for his April 25, 1979 "Cheapo Films Presents: The Police Raid In Waterloo Station" sketch, to be featured in Set 4 of A&E's "Complete & Unadulterated" series. - William Brown).

The Castle (from Jan. 8, 1966 - William Brown), features Benny as a young King about to marry a foreign princess (Miranda Hampton) he has never even seen. His mother is Patricia Hayes. His Royal lackies (Jeremy Hawk and Felix Bowness), find out that there is a plot to kill the king. The messenger who delivered news of the plot was Joe Gibbons (who died a year after this show first aired - William Brown). This was later remade as "The Great Pretender" in 1971 (Episode #11). Benny also plays the substitute they train to speak and act like the king so that the real king may be saved from being assassinated. Judy Russell is the storyteller. Patsy Ann Noble (later Trisha Noble), played Benny's cousin who tries to kill him. The End Credits features a simple still image from "The Castle" sketch and the credits and music rolling to long applause.

Screen Captures

The Following images were provided by Warner Online Marketing. Unfortunately, these images are not taken from the "Lost Years" DVD, but from other programs that Benny did over the years with the BBC. For a larger version of each image, click on the thumbnails below and each image will open in a new window. Thanks to William Brown for the info on each image!

From left: Priscilla Morgan (as Maid) and Benny, from the "Benny Hill" episode "The Mystery of Black Bog Manor" (first aired Nov. 30, 1962)

From left: Joan Ingram (as Princess von Puffenberg) and Benny, from the "Benny Hill" episode "Cry of Innocence" (first aired Dec. 7, 1962).

From left: Moyra Fraser (as Lady Fenella Twinge) and Benny, from the "Benny Hill" episode "Mervyn's Christmas Pudding" (first aired Dec. 21, 1962).

From the "Benny Hill" episode "The Constant Viewer" (first aired March 9, 1962).

From left: Jennifer Browne(?) and Benny, from the "Benny Hill" episode "The Constant Viewer" (first aired March 9, 1962).

From Nov. 20, 1968; "Fire Brigade Choir" from left: unknown, Sue (of The Kaye Sisters), June Whitfield, Carol (of The Kaye Sisters), Henry McGee, Shan (of The Kaye Sisters), Benny & unknown.

From Nov. 20, 1968; from left: Henry McGee and Benny.

From Nov. 20, 1968; Benny as an executive script editor on the phone with a certain William Shakespeare.

From Nov. 20, 1968; "Fire Brigade Choir" from left: Benny, unknown, Sue (of The Kaye Sisters, a singing group who were among the musical guests of that show), June Whitfield (at the microphone), Carol (of The Kaye Sisters), Henry McGee, Shan (of The Kaye Sisters) & unknown.

From Nov. 20, 1968; from left: Benny and Henry McGee.

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