Bindle (One of Them Days)

Not impressive enough in 1966 for this pilot to become a TV series and it's not surprising as the laughs were of the weak variety and not side splitting. It's a shame that Alfie Bass didn't get a TV series out of this as he's a great character actor and was great in "Are You Being Served" being one of the few replacement actors in this (AYBS) who turned out well.

Very nostalgic to see the markets that were very popular back then and even better in colour, which seems to have faded a bit.

One of the many films shown on TPTV that would not be seen elsewhere so thank you to them for being different, and better, than all the dross on just about every UK TV chanel these day.

BINDLE, aka ONE OF THEM DAYS, is an hour-long short movie originally conceived as the pilot episode of a TV series that never really got off the ground. Having just sat through this obscure effort, I can see why. The film is a starring vehicle for comedy actor Alfie Bass, playing an ordinary guy who finds himself harassed by his wife and preferring to spend all day down the pub instead of going out to work. I'd been led to believe that this was going to be a slapstick comedy along the line of THE PLANK or an early Benny Hill, but instead it's a tired and repetitive character comedy with soap opera touches. No thanks!

One of the more recherché items on Talking Pictures, I'm probably one of the few people who actually saw 'Bindle' at the cinema during its brief run as a second feature in 1973; its one concession to the fact that it was made in the sixties being that it was in colour.

Herbert Jenkins' comic stories about a slapdash removals man had already seen service in a series of silent shorts and a new version had been shot at Merton Park framed in flashback to the 1920s to showcase Alfie Bass - who had recently become a household name in 'Bootsie and Snudge' - in a rare leading role. (His wife usually addresses him simply as 'Bindle' and the film is nearly over before we finally learn his first name is 'Joseph'.)