|
''It's That Man Again'' (or, commonly, ''ITMA'') was a BBC radio comedy programme which ran from 1939 to 1949. The title refers to a contemporary phrase concerning the ever more frequent news-stories about Hitler in the lead-up to World War II, and specifically a headline in the ''Daily Express'' written by Bert Gunn.〔Charles Wintour, "Gunn, Herbert Smith", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''〕 This was humorously transferred to Tommy Handley, the popular comedian around whom the programme was developed. The scripts were written by the prolific Ted Kavanagh. ''ITMA'' is believed to have played a major role in sustaining morale on the UK's "home front" during World War II. As King George VI said, "We always listen." ==History== The headline which inspired the name of the show appeared in the ''Daily Express'' of 2 May 1939, on the bottom of the front page, above a story about Adolf Hitler leaving his Chancellery on a mystery journey. The first show was broadcast on 12 July 1939, part of an initial run of four shows which were fortnightly.〔Roger Wilmut, "Kindly leave the stage!: The story of variety, 1919-1960", Methuen, 1985, p. 132.〕 The show was broadcast for much of the war from the BBC Wales studios in Bangor, Caernarfonshire in Wales, where the BBC's Light Entertainment Department was based during World War II after an initial brief relocation to Bristol. ITMA followed the adventures of Tommy Handley as he undertook a series of (fictional) bizarre jobs that involved working with strange characters. The first series began with Handley working on a private radio station, but he later moved on to work as Minister of Aggravation and Mysteries at the Office of Twerps; the Mayor of seedy seaside resort Foaming at the Mouth; and Governor of the South Sea island Tomtopia. Other performers in the show included Jack Train, a master of voices; Clarence Wright, who played the commercial traveller; the man from the ministry, Deryck Guyler; and Joan Harben (sister of Philip Harben) as Mona Lott. Hattie Jacques, who played Sophie Tuckshop (the earliest of Jacques' roles dependent upon her physical size) joined the cast towards the end of the run. The programme featured dozens of other characters, such as Mrs Mopp and Colonel Chinstrap. The speed at which the performances were delivered is still considered remarkable, even given later technical developments. Many gags were dependent on breaking news – Ted Kavanagh once admitted to being unable to understand some jokes in earlier scripts. Some years later, Train reprised the role of Colonel Chinstrap for a couple of guest appearances on ''The Goon Show'' including the episode "Shifting Sands". Train would recount how the character was created. Shortly before the show started he was in the office of senior announcer John Snagge having a chat when the door opened and a slightly bleary-eyed gentleman entered. They were introduced, the man being a retired Indian army officer. He then turned to Snagge and said, "John. I have just done the most marvellous piece of business. I’ve bought a water-heater on ten years hire-purchase and what the gas company doesn’t know is I am drinking myself to death". Train, along with scriptwriter Kavanagh, developed this into Colonel Chinstrap. The officer on whom Chinstrap was based heard the programme and reputedly totally failed to connect the character with himself but commented: "Wonderful character. I knew silly buggers like that in India". Then, nine years and five months after the first meeting, Train received a telegram saying: THE COLONEL BEAT THE GAS COMPANY BY SEVEN MONTHS - SNAGGE. ''ITMA'' ran for over 300 episodes between 1939 and 1949. When Handley died from a sudden stroke, announced immediately after the usual second repeat, it was cancelled because he was considered irreplaceable as its star. Mrs Mopp is referenced in the Kinks song "The Village Green Preservation Society" from their 1968 album ''The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「It's That Man Again」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|