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- In 1939 Gracie Fields, the 'Queen of Hearts', is at the height of her success as a singer and actress and the whole nation seems to wish her a speedy recovery from cervical cancer. When World War Two breaks out, Gracie sings for the troops despite poor health, to the dismay of her fussy husband, film director Monty Banks, an Italian, born Mario Bianchi. With Italy's entry into the war Monty is in danger of being interned so Gracie consents to his moving to America whilst she tours Canada, fund-raising for the war effort. She is accused of deserting the country which made her famous and booed offstage, though she later tours battlefields as a singer. With the war over she regains popularity, performing 'Take Me To Your Heart Again' at the London Palladium. Banks dies in 1950 and, though still a successful singer, Gracie never regains her pre-war iconic status.
- The presenter recalls his boyhood heroes from the Cricklewood film studios,assisted by Tim Dempsey,founder of the Cricklewood Appreciation Society. The studio was established by failed magician Arthur Sims,creator of silent comedy legend Harold the Hobo - alias the Little Drunk - before succumbing to a fatal gag involving a steam roller. In the 1930s chirpy Northern lass Florrie Fontaine became the country's highest paid home grown performer,starring in 'Clog Capers of 1932' and 'Florrie Drives a Lorry',as well as featuring in her own comic strip. In World War II she was the forces' sweetheart,the German forces,leading to a decline in popularity and exile to Benidorm to run a bier-keller.Post war Acton Films'series of horror movies with former Shakespearean lead Lionel Crisp revived studio fortunes whilst the 60s saw perky Cockney lass Jenny Driscoll decorate the cheeky 'Thumbs Up' series of farces (Thumbs Up,Marie Antoinette,Thumbs Up,Uranus) until scandal ended her career.Final interviewee Terry Gilliam unfortunately destroyed the studio,accidentally flooding it whilst making his little-seen flop 'Professor Hypochondria's Magical Odyssey' and the building was knocked down to make way for a DIY superstore. However thanks to Tim Dempsey,to lovingly preserved archive footage and television repeats we can be sure that the Cricklewood Greats will always be remembered.
- Francesca Stavrakopoulou, a scholar of the Hebrew bible, challenges commonly believed interpretations of the Bible. Including the belief that King David ruled a vast empire in the 10th century, the idea that the ancient Israelis were monotheistic, and Francesca theorizes that the garden of eden was a real place.
- The song "Summertime" was written by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward and although not thought to be directly involved, Ira Gershwin gets an official credit. The song soon developed a life of it's own beyond the original opera and has been recorded and adapted into many different styles of music from jazz to opera, rock to reggae, soul to samba. It has been recorded and performed in many different languages around the world and remains one of the most famous and best loved songs ever written. This documentary looks at its history, how it came to be created, and its subsequent history as it traveled through time and around the world. "Summertime" is the most covered song on the planet. At least 25,000 versions of it exist.
- Caroline Quentin narrates this heart-warming tale of a special group of baby animals born in some of the coldest and harshest places on Earth. We follow the ups and downs of impossibly cute yet plucky baby emperor penguins, snow monkeys, polar bears, arctic foxes, reindeer and otters and find out just what it takes to survive the first year of life in a world of snow and ice, with a little help from family and friends.
