Complete & Unadulterated
The Hill's Angels Years - Set 4

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1. Benny Quickie: Five Minutes!
2. Benny's Ballad: Maria
3. The Loser
4. Michael Caine: Not A Lot Of
   People Know That
5. Circus Clown
6. Benny Quickie: Bust Or Bus!
7. Meeting People With Henry McGee:
   Gaston Le Clerc
8. Runaway with Hill's Angels
9. Benny Quickies: Disappointments
10. Wondergran Meets Dr. Jackal & Mr. Hyde
11. Close: Wondergran Chase (not in the menu)

The Loser features Benny as a young man looking for a job. He starts out by looking for a job as an office clerk, but gets a job as a Postman. He delivers packages to the lovely Alison Bell and even peeks into Claire Smalley's window! Other jobs include a Sign Erector, a door-to-door salesman (with Lee Gibson), a bricklayer and as a boating attendant (with Louise English as an "oar"). He has plenty of luck. But it's all bad! (One of the gags, with Benny and Henry in an office and Benny copying Henry's moves, was a remake of the 02/24/71 opening quickie "Copy the Boss," albeit sans dialogue. - William Brown).

Then Benny steps out to do an excellent parody of British actor Michael Caine in Michael Caine: Not A Lot Of People Know That. (Mr. Caine had worked with Benny on the original 1969 movie version of The Italian Job. - William Brown). He has a charismatic way of saying "not A lot of people know that" and this is really an amusing monologue. You'll find yourself saying, "not a lot of people know that", which is probably something Caine is known for saying himself!

Benny takes on the circus, complete with the trademark clown outfit in Circus Clown. It all starts with Benny getting a tortoise to jump through a hoop. Louise comes out and Benny's tie rises to the occasion; Julie Kirk does the hip swivel and knocks off Benny's hat; Sue Upton takes a bath and Roger Finch and Samantha Spencer Lane do a dance. Then a girl in a ring-leader's costume and stockings wips Benny and barks out commands in German. Then its Louise English and Roger Finch who dance and then a girl in a leopard skin suit chases Benny. Then Benny is about to perform acupuncture surgery but something goes wrong. Finally, there is a chase around the circus ring. (The video compilation Home Video Drive-In called this routine "Circus Act." - William Brown). Benny Quickie: Bust Or Bus! features Henry McGee in drag and dropping a coin in a wishing well.

Meeting People With Henry McGee: Gaston Le Clerc features Benny as a young French boy visiting from France who has won a poetry competition. Benny is excellent as the outrageous french lad who tells plenty of stories and anecdotes. Henry McGee must try to interpret Benny's french accent and the usual misunderstandings result. At the end Benny recites his winning poem. Note the young boy they use as a stand-in for Benny at the beginning and the end of this sketch.

Next it's another classic Hill's Angels routine, Runaway with Hill's Angels. (Which had gotten its "TV Workout" name from Home Video Drive-In. (Off-the-record: The slo-mo moves appear to have been a cover for what producer Dennis Kirkland characterized as Benny being difficult during the shoot. It may have been that the girls were to be followed by Benny running towards the hobby-horse and landing on his crotch - as would follow in "Keep Young and Beautiful.") - William Brown). The setting this time is the gym with plenty of beautiful Angels dancing to the classic tune "Runaway" which was originally recorded by Del Shannon. George Chandler provides the vocals in this excellent uptempo version of the tune, which is actually superior to the original with a fantastic horn arrangement. It all starts with Benny and Abigail Higgins on their honeymoon and Benny turning on the TV to watch the Angels, rather than notice Abigail's sexy lingerie. This routine is probably inspired by the aerobics craze that began in the early 1980's and the girls hop, jump-rope, stretch, lift weights and use various types of exercise equipment. Look for Elfrida Ashworth adjusting her top as the camera pans towards her, almost being exposed. Samantha Spencer Lane is positively radiant and really enjoys herself. Sue Upton uses a hula hoop. There are also plenty of short gags inserted throughout with Benny and the guys in a restaurant and bar watching the Angels on TV. The girls display their feminine beauty and youth through exercise, taping into male fantasies about the perfect girl. Turn the music up and enjoy! For more details go to the Hill's Angels in TV Workout page.

Benny Quickies: Disappointments includes Benny getting a proposition from a fat lady and Benny and Abigail (still on their honeymoon) getting a call from room service. Then it's another classic installment of the famous Senior Citizen Superhero, Wondergran in Wondergran Meets Dr. Jackal and Mr. Hyde (Which was just called "Wondergran" in the Benny Hill's Video Spotlight compilation. - William Brown). Benny plays a respected Dr. who can't even get a good meal. Watch him try to make breakfast by lighting a match to start the stove and then hitting his head on the kitchen cupboard! He goes to the hospital and to find something to eat he goes into a lab and mixes up a strange concoction of pills and liquids and transforms into the evil Mr. Hyde. Whenever he drinks anything later, he changes back to the respectable Dr. Jekyll. Jackie Wright and Henry McGee also become his partners in crime. Henry McGee is "painting something in the sky" on an easel while Benny and Jackie steal wallets and stuff from those looking up. You can also spot Clare Smalley and Louise English in this sketch as well.

I love it when Sue takes off on her motor-powered bicycle! The high-speed photography adds to the frenzied pacing. The folley effects are also impressive. Wondergran looks for our villains in a nudist camp and it's a scream when she realizes that Bob Todd is actually naked when she talks to him. There's also a scene when two girls jump out of the bushes and I think it's Alison Bell and Clare Smalley. She finally catches Benny and takes him back to her place and tries to "civilize" him with music and a cup of tea. I love it when Benny starts to dance and breaks a whole bunch of stuff in her living room. This leads into the Close: Wondergran Chase (not in the menu). Look for Louise English dressed as a young girl rolling a hula-hoop. Benny actually steals it from her, closing this classic show.

1. Benny Quickie: Crow's Feet
2. Benny's Ballad: Down On The Farm
3. A Tribute To The Lower Tidmarsh
   Volunteer Fire Brigade
4. Channel Surfing
5. Benny's Monologue: Castaway
6. The Poster Girl
7. Benny Quickie: Camera Shy
8. Down The Road with Hill's Angels
   a. Keep Young & Beautiful
   b. An Occasional Man
   c. Ease On Down The Road
9. Undercover Sanitary Inspector
   Bus Stop She-Hulk (not in the menu)
10. Close: She-Hulk Chase (not in the menu)

A Tribute To The Lower Tidmarsh Volunteer Fire Brigade is a remake of a sketch Benny did before with Sue Upton taking Sue Bond's place this time. It all starts with the fire brigade getting a call in the morning. Benny takes the call and there are plenty of great gags, including a particularly funny one with the guys gargling! Sue Upton loses her undies thanks to Benny as they hop on the fire truck. Heading out to the fire they meet Lee Gibson and Louise English on the way. When they get there it is the lovely Alison Bell (in corset) and Alison Thomas (black stockings, wow!) leaning out the window crying for help. Ken Sedd is the other victim. They are a pretty incompetent bunch of fire fighters with Jackie Wright afraid to climb the ladder and Bob Todd and Henry McGee as the rest of the crew. A highlight in this episode! I don't recognise the reporter who takes their picture.

Channel Surfing begins with "Fred Marceu in The Statue" and Benny as a statue, with Louise English as a young girl and Julie Kirk (uncredited) as a girl who passes by and dances with Benny. Henry McGee is a cop. Jackie Wright complains right to the TV with Benny actually talking back about what viewers want. Jackie switches his TV and the next scene features the sexy Abigail Higgins undressing and walking around her apartment in her bra, undies and stockings with Benny watching her from inside the TV while he reads the news. It's almost as if we are "peeping toms". This is really an innovative sketch and is one of the finest in this program. Bob Todd runs into her wardrobe and Henry McGee and Roger Finch are on his tail. Watch Abigail adjust her stockings and eat a cake or Benny reach out of the TV and grab the cake when she puts it down! What happens in the TV becomes a part of the action. One of the finest sketches in this collection. Benny's Monologue: Castaway features Benny in a disheveled state talking about his trip to Sri Lanka but a gale left him and the crew shipwrecked. Let your imagination run wild.

The Poster Girl is the story of Benny who has fallen in love with Alison Bell, a girl in a billboard ad for hand cream that he meets at the bus stop. There are several other cast members in this, but I can't figure out who the blond is who must unbutton her skirt to get on the bus. Henry McGee is Alison's boyfriend. Benny meets Alison in the dept. store he works in but things don't go well. Look for Sue Upton doing a strip tease! A classic sketch! Benny Quickie: Camera Shy features Benny getting a quick photo and a quick gag with an unknown girl.

Down The Road with Hill's Angels is actually a segment made up of three routines that were always thought of as seperate, including Keep Young & Beautiful, An Occasional Man and Ease On Down The Road. (Only the first of which was in the VHS-only compilation Benny Hill's Video Sideshow (originally The Best of The Benny Hill Show - Vol. 3) from HBO Home Video. - William Brown). "Keep Young & Beautiful" features several beauties dancing and exercising in the gym to the classic tune to maintain their youth. Benny plays hairdresser to Abigail Higgins. There is an unknown girl under the hair dryer. Watch Penny Kendall get into the tub and play snake charmer, Jackie Wright dry his face on an unknown Angel's skirt or Bob Todd lift his weights. Then it's "An Occasional Man" with the Angels and Benny on a deserted island. The girls wear sexy skirts and flowers on their breasts with Benny as their man who is the comic foil. (I also noticed that the "Keep Young and Beautiful" routine contained some gags repeated from the 03/13/74 "Hallo Hair Studio" series of quickies. - William Brown). Finally, "Ease On Down The Road" features the Angels in a street scene with a photographer catching them modeling in mink coats. These come off to reveal their lingerie! As with previous routines, the girls are dancing on the scaffolding. Benny dressed as a bishop takes several people of the church into a "Tea Bar", but the joke is on them. What these routines lack in length they make up for with uptempo tunes, glamourous girls and good sight gags.

Undercover Sanitary Inspector is a spoof of spy movies with the theme of toilet humor. (And another remake of a sketch from one of his B&W shows (in this case, 02/24/71). - William Brown). There is also a cute bathroom joke at the beginning with Louise English and Roger Finch. Benny is "Dan Dan, The Laboratory Man" with Henry McGee as his boss, "Skipper". (The latter of whom had been played in the original by Nicholas Parsons. - William Brown). Benny's mission is to travel to the Tivoli Bar in Istanbul and meet his contact. He travels to Turkey and meets Bob Todd and an unknown girl. Look for several Angels in the Sauna room Benny wonders into, including Louise English, Sue Upton, Penny Kendall, Alison Bell and Claire Smalley amongst others. He even gets locked in jail. Plenty of great gags in this excellent send-up. (Only the way he looks while in jail is different. One other thing: In the 1971 B&W original, the actor name ostensibly playing "Dan Dan the Laboratory Man" was "Mervyn Durt"; here it is changed to "Durt Reynolds," a play on the name of actor Burt Reynolds who would later proclaim himself one of Benny's big fans. Plus the abundance of location shooting, whereas in the B&W version there was only one (in the opening titles, when Bob entered and left an outdoor men's room). - William Brown).

Finally, in what is probably one of the most eagerly awaited sketches comes Bus Stop She-Hulk (not in the menu) with several Angels and the guys at the bus stop. They give Claire Smalley a hassle and as she grows angrier her chest grows bigger! Finally, she explodes and becomes She-Hulk! She tears off her clothes and hauls out her wip, giving all of the men at the bus stop a real thrill wearing her dominatrix leather outfit. She roars and grabs the guys and they finally chase her. The She-Hulk is actually Alison Bell. An ingenious sketch that probably had the censors upset. Somehow it made it to television. Thankfully it is here on DVD. It leads straight into the Close: She-Hulk Chase (not in the menu) ending this memorable program.

1. Benny Quickie: Religious Football
2. Benny's Ballad: The Lovely Girls From Crete
3. Benny Quickies: Whatever The Weather!
4. The Georgian Dancers
5. Friends To Tea with Henry McGee
6. Big Poppa
7. News At Ten
8. Remote Control Hill's Angels
9. Man Wanted
10. Close: Man Wanted Chase (not in the menu)

In Benny Quickies: Whatever The Weather!, we start off with Bob Todd coming home to Sue Upton (in sexy lingerie) and closing the window because of a coming storm. Benny also plays a weather man and a man on a deserted island discovered by the sexy Abigail Higgins in explorer's clothing. (The quickies were indexed individually in Home Video Drive-In as, respectively, "On the Ledge," "The Weather Man" and "Desert Island I." - William Brown). Then Henry McGee and Helen Horton decided to "feed the animals" at a zoo with unexpected results! Benny and Helen Horton are watching TV and decide to "look at the other side". Bob Todd and Benny share some stew on a deserted island, (Called "Desert Island II" in Home Video Drive-In. - William Brown) and Henry McGee tells Denise Gyngell not to throw cigarettes out of the window. There is another zoo scene and Benny robs a safe behind a painting, as well as Henry McGee announcing the Prime Minister talking about the future of Great Britain. Finally, Benny is stranded on a deserted island calling to a passing plane for help. (Which Home Video Drive-In characterized as "Desert Island III." - William Brown). All fun quickies.

The Georgian Dancers is an unusual sketch, which features Benny as part of a group of Russian dancers doing a traditional circle dance, but you'll see that things get out of hand. Some interesting camerawork in this one. Friends To Tea with Henry McGee is actually a continuation of the previous interview Benny did with Gaston Leclerc. This time Gaston brings along his sister "Louise". Louise is excellent sucking her lollipop and being every inch the little girl. As with the previous sketch, the chairs are oversized to make Benny and Louise look small. Benny and Louise then do a song and dance routine which is absolutely hysterical with the both of them competing and some clever special effects. (The song they perform prior to the outrageous dance routine is of the same melody as the song Benny and Jackie Wright performed as "Luke and Tinker" on 02/18/76. - William Brown). The whole thing ends with them going through the studio roof and into space! A highlight in this program.

Big Poppa is another brilliant Benny tour de force with Benny playing several different characters. Benny plays an ailing war veteran who has three sons (all played by Benny). Benny and his wife (Helen Horton) get a visit from Louise and Roger Finch. Benny is "Big Poppa" and he's an old timer with a war wound. His first son Jake is a farmer and we see him collecting eggs with a goose in his coat. (The bit with Benny stealing eggs was cut from Home Video Drive-In, as was the bit between the establishing shot of Jed at the front porch and Bob Todd coming to confront him. - William Brown). Wait till you see Sue's reaction as she lunches on a park bench. I also like the part where Bob Todd comes up and makes a huge complaint to Benny about picket fencing. The other son is Sheriff Jardine and his partner is Jackie Wright. Watch Benny's reaction when Jackie Wright says he looks pregnant. (Also featuring an uncredited Bella Emberg as the waitress, in a remake of the 12/27/73 "No Milk!" quickie. The full name of the Sheriff character was Bill Jardine. - William Brown). His third son is a Doctor named Albert who gets a call to look in on his father. Jackie Wright plays Benny's fourth son "Filbert". A brilliant sketch and another one of my favorites. (If you look closely at the end of "Big Poppa," the credits running extremely fast were from the Jan. 7, 1981 end credits, with a few alterations at the top. - William Brown).

News At Ten features Benny in drag doing the evening news with an on the scene clip of Benny in a "backwards" country. After several news stories, Roger Finch is shown standing outside of a TV store window trying out the remote control which sets up some great gags. This leads straight into Remote Control Hill's Angels and takes place in an alley way. The girls dance to the popular tune "I Will Survive" which was a big hit in the late 70's. (The anchor Benny played in drag, "Ann Afford," was a pun on the name of British TV newsreader Anna Ford. The "News At Ten" part did not make it onto the Home Video Drive-In compilation, which started right out with what they called "Street Dance." Benny reprised his David Bellamy impersonation from the 04/21/76 "Biology with Bellamy" sketch, and insofar as "Fanny and Johnny Craddock," while Bob played Johnny as always, Fanny was impersonated this time out by Jackie Wright. - William Brown). The girls all wear different costumes including Sam Lane and Elfrida Ashworth in Kung Fu Suits and Abigail Higgins in a chauffeur costume. Other angels include Sue Upton in green army fatigues, Denise Gyngell in a red dress, an unknown angel in a biker outfit (Jane Paris?), as well as Louise English, many of them wearing black fishnets. The tune eventually changes to "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)" (Thanks to William Brown for ID'ing this tune) with Benny and Bob Todd offering Sue Upton and the girls to have a party with them. She doesn't agree to it until he says they have plenty of booze. It's almost as if we're invited along. Much of the action takes place from one TV Screen to the next. The girls are then sprawled all over a sports car pumping their legs and writhing. The songs in this routine reflect the feminist movement at the time and the lyrics as well as the costumes represent how women wanted to be freed of many of the constraints put on them by men. This is an excellent routine with the Angels looking as sexy as ever. For more details check out the Hill's Angels in Street Dance Page.

Man Wanted features Benny getting a job as the Handyman to Jackie Wright and courting his daughter Sue Upton. Things don't go so well and Benny must take other jobs and finally lands his fortune. Look for Louise English as his limo driver. He returns to get Sue's hand with his money, until he sees their new maid. He chases her to the closing credit roll in Close: Man Wanted Chase (not in the menu). (This was also Roger Finch's last show. - William Brown).

Summary

This marks the fourth collection of The Benny Hill Show from A&E and NewVideo. This is easily the most eagerly awaited DVD release up to this point in the series. The fact that there is a great deal of Hill's Angels material is going to be a strong selling point to many fans. This is also the birth of Hill's Angels and includes many of the finest routines that the Angels ever did. Benny continued to create some of the very finest comedy moments in television and with all of these points in mind, it will be very hard for many fans to turn this collection down. Add to that, that this collection contains the first of what I hope will be more features on Hill's Angels and the cast of the series and you have a winning combination. Some of the finest Hill's Angels routines are here, including "New York, New York", "Runaway" (also known as "Street Dance"), "Hill's Angels Grand Gala" (also known as "Chez Ben Grand Gala") and many others. Great comedy moments include sketches like "Big Poppa", the "Wondergran" sketches with Sue Upton, "The Fudpuckers", "Yield To The Dawn" and songs like "Down On The Farm" and "Coconut Milk" are standouts among so many gems.

Picture

This collection is pretty much like the other sets in the series with most of the material shot on videotape for work done in the studio and shot on film for outdoor material. Overall, the quality seems to have improved over previous sets with less noise and a sharper picture most of the time. Colors are usually well saturated and skin tones are very good. Again, it's the outdoor scenes that suffer most, since they were shot on what appears to be lower grade film. Many of the outdoor scenes lack clarity and can run very soft at times. Shadows also seem to suffer from a lack of detail and definition. Still, this is overall a very good presentation and the picture is almost never distracting. The Hill's Angels segments have never looked better. Unfortunately, this collection contains no subtitles or closed captions for the hearing impaired.

Audio

Here is an area where there seems to be some significant improvement. Although the sound is certainly not up to the grade of contemporary material, we do have a much wider range than in previous years. This is particularly noticeable in the Hill's Angels segments where the music is such an integral part of the presentation. Never too distorted or thin, you can turn up the Hill's Angels segments on your amplifier and get a great deal more detail and clarity than before. Listening to the Runaway routine with the amp turned up is very impressive. However, I do notice there is a distinct lack of weight in the bass that one could wish for. Overall though, dialogue is distinct and clear throughout.

Bonus Features

I wish I could say a great deal more about the bonus features contained in this collection. NewVideo and A&E must be commended for finding some of the Hill's Angels and getting them involved in the featurette. I think it must be stated that finding many of these women would obviously be very difficult after all of this time. We as fans can be thankful that girls in this featurette did make an appearance. I hope that this is only the beginning of more features with Hill's Angels and cast members of the Benny Hill Show. I would really love to see some of the Hill's Angels and cast members involved in some audio commentaries. Dennis Kirkland, I believe would also make an excellent addition to some bonuses, as well as some of the choreographers of Hill's Angels, as this would give us a first hand glimpse into the creation of many of those classic routines.

"I Was A Hill's Angel" Featurette (16min.)

This is what I hope will be the first of many bonus features including members of Hill's Angels in this series of DVD's from A&E and NewVideo. The girls all recall their first meeting with Benny and talk about his personality and what it was like working in the studio with him. There is of course the usual "fond memories" talk, but there are some interesting bits about Benny that I am sure many fans do not know, in particular that he had lost one kidney and Alison Thomas recalls him being on the set during Hill's Angels rehearsals. Carla De Wansey recalls that Benny was always there to make sure things were done right. Perhaps the most insightful comments however, come from Sue Upton who gives us info about Benny on a more personal level, in particular that he was a nervous person. I think Sue would be an obvious candidate for a commentary as she seems to recall Benny and the show most clearly. Alison Thomas is also very good at recalling some of the work she did and the costumes she wore on the show. While this is definitely not the very best documentary one could wish for, it does give us a small glimpse behind the scenes of The Benny Hill Show.

We can hope that A&E are creating more bonuses for this series and that they will find more cast members and Hill's Angels girls to get involved. It would really be nice to see Louise English in a future release as she is definitely one of the most famous members of Hill's Angels. On behalf of the fans of Hill's Angels, a special thanks to Sue Upton, Alison Bell, Alison Thomas, Jo Thomas and Carla De Wansey for appearing in this collection.

Packaging

As with the previous sets in this collection, A&E are doing a super job with the packaging. Discs are in individual cases in a box set which takes up only a small amount of space on your shelf. The discs are well protected and easily removed from their individual cases. I should also mention the accompanying booklet which contains some interesting notes and trivia. There is also a section called "Benny's Babes - Installment One" with notes on Sue Bond, Louise English, Penny Irving, Jenny Lee-Wright, Jane Leeves and Sue Upton. Obviously there will be more notes like this in the remaining sets, which is a nice bonus, too.

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© April 06, 2002.