By the Sea

One of The Two Ronnies "silent movies", shot on location and taking its cues from saucy seaside postcards and end of the pier shows. Self-consciously old fashioned at the time it was made, including using undercranking to speed up movement, it now seems positively ancient. Ronnie Corbett has a few funny moments with his boyish routine, but the rest of it is more amusing for how silly it is rather than genuinely humorous. Really quite weak and predictable material, and more in the vein of Benny Hill than The Two Ronnies' regular TV shows. I'm sure the cast and crew had a nice summer week or two making it.

This is true classic British comedy of the 80's By the Sea is an hour long TV special, which combined with The Picnic (1975), featured as a double bill on the BBC Video Laserdisc release. Although there were several years apart in the making of both of these, the cast remains the same.

By the Sea was made in Dorset, England along the coast between Bournemouth and Swanage. Ronnie Barker plays the part of a saucy old Gentleman who always game for a bit of slap and tickle, and Ronnie Corbitt the young man bringing his girl friend along on the family holiday.

Family is the word for this, the whole plot is set around their holiday. The opening scene is Swanage bay, or as we get to know it "Tiddly Cove".

The most fantastic thing about this short film is the script. There are no words! Music, sound effects, and murmurs and noises like "ah!" are all that exist. It works so well, and a truly international language anybody can understand.

Typical Two Ronnies humor throughout this, made even more special by the family, notably Madge Hindle playing the shy and slightly geeky companion. Barbara New plays the Aunt, and adds her touch of magic as well.

If you can find a copy, get it !

Aug 21

Here we have the follow up to "The Picnic" with Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett.

Both are great 30 min comedy shorts that are pretty much silent except for the odd sounds, the same as "The Plank" had done.

Its got some great comedy scenes in it, but it is hard to get hold of on dvd.

If you enjoy these, also check out "Futtocks End" which is another of these with Ronnie Barker again playing the crusty old Major part, but no Ronnie Corbett this time.

8.5 out of 10.