Here Come the Huggetts

I knew of "The Huggetts" as a Sunday lunchtime BBC radio comedy soap opera of the 1950s and was reminded of that in a reminiscent recollection in an Internet Forum.

This is the first of The Huggett films I have seen. It was made in the year of my birth; 1948 amidst post-war rationing as Britain began to turn wartime losses and gains into history.

I am no film technical buff, but this seemed competently done with clever editing to try and draw some interest from the tales of these folk who do not seem to matter enough to me to really hold my attention.

It is fascinating to see all those talented actors that I grew up with, who seemed to perform competently, though the real interest was the view of suburban Britain, before television was rampant. \it is fascinating to see the styles of the day and fitments in the home - like the old range and the heavy stratified life of this family.

I am sure it could be the basis of an informed investigation into Britain and black and white films for entertainment as they gradually replaced Music Hall, whilst radio was probably becoming the entertainment and information system that many turned to first.

I best see the first film that was made a year earlier and then perhaps the later two films, as well as tracking down some of the half-hour radio scripts to clarify my appreciation & understanding.

I suggest it is a film for those interested in understanding the mid 20th century in Britain as well as those who just want to remember it and some of the old stars, who have now left us - though Petula Clark lives on in glory.

This was the age the sadly departed (yesterday) Victoria Wood depicted with her housewife 49 film - though that was from a northern English perspective. I felt the age depicted here is reflected in some other of Victoria Wood's fine writing - such as the early years of her biographical drama about Morecambe and Wise and also the TV programme about the couple who recalled singing on the gramophone record as part of the Manchester Children's choir.

I am a Londoner - who moved away - and whilst in Merseyside I came to appreciate a sense of how many in the provinces have a view of us Londoners as "soft" and inconsequential, in the grand scheme of things, rather like The Huggetts!

I presume the film is now out of copyright, I found it freely available on You Tube.

Another nice little entry in this short series (2/4), this one starts with the installation in the Huggetts' semi of that new-fangled contraption, the telephone. Then "little" cousin Di comes to stay for a while, bringing all manner of problems with her.

Various stories unfold concerning the family and friends, the plottiest threads being about Dad and his job as foreman at Campbell's and Jane's vacillating romances. But centre-stage for most of the time was young Diana Dors, well made use of here as decoration, but also showing she had some promising talents ... as a actress too. Mum felt sorry for her but Dad only wanted to give her a helping hand in the right place (or was that foot?). Pet got to sing Walking Backwards, in fact pity there wasn't some more as it was a decent choral arrangement too, whilst even the Royal Wedding got a humorous look-in.

Lovely harmless fluff and pleasant time-filling stuff.

OK, so it's maybe a bit on the long side this film, but I always enjoyed the on-screen dynamic between Jack Warner and Kathleen Harrison as "Joe" and "Ethel" as they take us through some fairly monumental family moments in the lives of their family. Though it wasn't in 1948, I do remember when we first got a telephone and yes - it was quite an event and equally, yes, my dad could never get near the thing. All "Joe" wants is to arrange a peaceful pint and a game of snooker! The UK is recovering from the travails of WWII and with HRH The Princess Elizabeth about to marry her dashing naval officer, the family quickly move on from the excitement of their new gadget to planning how and where they are going to see the procession. Their invitations to the abbey clearly lost in the post. Then there's a fire at the adjacent factory - poor old "Joe" can't even get a decent night's sleep... Oh yes, and underpinning this whole series of minor catastrophes is "Diana" (Diana Dors) who is the niece of "Ethel" and who has come to stay for a few days whilst her mother "Edie" (Dandy Nichols) is under the knife. Turns out she's a bit of a selfish lass who does nobody any favours, least of all her uncle when he rather foolishly gets her a job at his factory. Daughters "Jane" (Jane Hylton), "Susan" (Susan Shaw) and "Pet" (Petula Clark) are all having, to varying degrees, man trouble and by the end of this engaging story of ordinary Brits, their trauma around the telephone proves the least of their worries. It does run out of steam a bit towards the end, but there's still plenty of light-heartedness, grumbling, panic and entertaining dialogue to keep this observation of a lifestyle long since passed well worth a gander.

We were first introduced to the Huggett family in the wonderful movie Holiday Camp, and now, with a little recasting, they're back. This installment is pretty fair as movies go, but still quite interesting. Some lovely singing from Petula Clark, some hilarious moments from Kathleen Harrison when the family gets a telephone, but the standout performance is from Diana Dors (before she was bleached) as the Huggetts "little" cousin Diana - who certainly has grown up a LOT since she last visited! A nice sign of the times, including a trip out to see the royal wedding.

Jack Warner and Kathleen Harrison Mr.&Mrs.Great Britain as the Huggetts were known are back from Holiday Camp where they made their big screen debuts with a whole lot of cast changes. Only Warner and Harrison and Jimmy Hanley are playing the roles that they played in Holiday Camp. In fact the Huggetts came home with two extra daughters and minus the son they had. Oh well, the Hardy family underwent several casting changes after their series debut at MGM.

Jane Hylton, Susan Shaw, and Petula Clark are the daughters and it was a nice change to see Petula in her younger days before she became an international star with Downtown in the Sixties. Hanley and Hylton fell in love at Holiday Camp and here they get married, but not without a few bumps along the way, one of them being David Tomlinson.

The Huggetts also get a distant cousin dumped on them as a border and while young Diana Dors is lovely to look at she's one spoiled brat who is quite aware of her attraction to the opposite sex. Most reluctantly Jack Warner gets her a job at his place of employment and she causes no end of trouble.

Funniest bit though was at the parade for the Royal Wedding where Warner gets into a scrape and the Huggetts miss the parade. How often do those things happen and Petula Clark is most disappointed of all.

Here Come The Huggetts continued in the tradition of Holiday Camp and this is a nice introduction to a family a lot of people in the UK identified with in those post war years.