'70s Nostalgia For This '60s Child (George & Mildred)

Member Name: karenuk

Product:	George & Mildred
Date:	31/07/01 (2683 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Still funny today, Great cast, Good family comedy

Disadvantages: A bit dated these days

INTRO

Growing up in the 1970s, I have a lot of affection for the sitcoms from this decade. Thankfully, Granada Plus often show episodes of George and Mildred, Terry and June, Man About The House and other gems - so keep an eye out.

Man About The House was shown from 1973 to 1976, featuring George and Mildred Roper as the landlords of a house which has been made into flats.

The series ended in April 1976, but the spin-off sitcom George and Mildred began that September, just five months later. This continued to follow the lives of the couple, who had now moved to Middlesex and lived next door to the Fourmiles.

SERIES / EPISODES / FACTUAL DATA

There were five series of George and Mildred, a total of 38 episodes and the programme finished on Christmas Day 1979, although there was also a film version released in 1980, which is still available on video.

The series were originally televised on ITV and it was written by Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke.

CREDITS

The title sequence for Series One was rather dull, with black and white photos of George and Mildred. The music was appalling and the titles were gaudy.

By Series Two, this was replaced by a film sequence of George and Mildred coming out of their house and sitting in their motorbike and sidecar. The music was much improved too, the font used was softer and it looked much classier than the first series.

CHARACTERS and ACTORS

GEORGE ROPER – Slim, balding, with a small moustache and expressive, twinkling eyes. Inclined to be rather lazy, a working class Labour Party supporter, bossed around by his wife, guaranteed to make many social faux-pas – much to the annoyance of his wife, who aspires to be comfortably middle class, like her neighbours.

George was played by BRIAN MURPHY – With regular acting work from the 1960s onwards, Brian Murphy will be 69 in September. Last year, he toured with Ro
n Moody in a play called ‘The Sunshine Boys’ and in the last few years, has made appearances in Sunburn, Casualty, The Bill, Jonathan Creek and The Famous Five.

MILDRED ROPER – Slim, well-spoken, blonde, large teeth. Very strong character, usually gets her own way, but is also very sweet and liked by everyone. She often gets embarrassed by her husband’s behaviour and their relationship can sometimes seem rather like that of mother and son. They also acquire a Yorkshire Terrier dog, Truffles, in episode four of the first series.

Mildred was played by YOOTHA JOYCE, who sadly died of hepatitis in 1980, just four days after her 53rd birthday. Her most famous work are her performances as Mildred, but her CV stretches back to the 1960s, including parts in Steptoe and Son, The Avengers and On The Buses.

JEFFREY FOURMILE – The Ropers’ next door neighbour is completely the opposite to George – he’s a paid-up member of the Conservative Party, middle class, straight-laced, well-spoken, smart and intelligent man. But George is much more interesting and endearing. Jeffrey is married, has dark hair and a moustache, wears glasses and is an estate agent.

Jeffrey was played by NORMAN ESHLEY, who is now 57 years old. He previously played two characters in Man About The House, so was no stranger to Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy! He also appeared in programmes including The Sweeney in 1976, The Professionals in 1980. His credits in the 1990s included Cadfael, Dangerfield, Murder Most Horrid, Goodnight Sweetheart and The Bill.

ANN FOURMILE – Jeffrey’s long-suffering wife is petite, blonde and pretty. She humours him, but often seems more aware of the whole picture, whereas her husband can be rather blinkered. Both of them like Mildred, but Ann is more tolerant of George too.

Ann was played by SHEILA FEARN, who will be 62 in October. Her CV is much shorter than her co-stars
, featuring parts in The Avengers in 1967, playing Audrey in The Likely Lads (on TV and film) and Kevin’s Mum in the 1981 film The Time Bandits.

TRISTRAM FOURMILE – Tristram is the schoolboy son of Jeffrey and Ann. With glasses and a bad haircut, he was the sort of kid I would have hated to have been my boyfriend at the time.

Tristram was played by NICHOLAS BOND-OWEN (credited as Nicholas Owen sometimes). He was only eight years old in the first series, which shows how well he coped as a child actor, as he gave a very creditable performance. He has since appeared in Confessions From A Holiday Camp, Lassiter and Oliver Twist. He will be 34 in November.

Guest stars in the series included Gretchen Franklin (EastEnders’ Ethel) and Reginald Marsh (stalwart of many sitcoms, including Terry and June, who sadly died a couple of years ago).

SAMPLE EPISODES

BABY TALK – After babysitting for Tristram, Mildred becomes broody and persuades George to apply to adopt a child. When the man from the adoption agency comes round, she has to hope George will be on his best behaviour and explain why she lied about her age on the application form.

One funny scene in this episode is where Ann and Mildred are talking in the kitchen. George walks in and as the agency man is due to arrive soon, she says :

(MILDRED) For Heaven’s sake, get those old trousers off!
<George starts to!>
(MILDRED) Not here!
(ANN) Oh, don’t worry about me, I’m not easily shocked!
(MILDRED) <laughing> It’s not shock I’m afraid of, dear. It’s pity!

… AND WOMEN MUST WEEP – George has been unemployed for a long time, so Mildred tries to get him a job. He goes for an interview working for Jeffrey Fourmile, but Mildred ends up getting it instead.

George initially thinks this is a good idea and says to Mildred…

(GEORGE) Now look here!
I’m not having any wife of mine going out to work, while I sit here doing nothing – reading the ‘paper – drinking cups of tea while you go out … <laughs> When do you start?

But his attempts at being a house-husband aren’t all they should be…

MEMORABILIA

You can buy the 1980 film for £5.99 and a video of some TV episodes (non-specific) for £8.99 from www.amazon.co.uk and a video of the complete first series is available for £9.29 from www.blackstar.co.uk.

OVERALL / CONCLUSION

Although maybe not surviving the transition to the ‘noughties’ as well as some of its counterparts, George and Mildred is still funny, entertaining and good family fun. My children watch it with me – just like I did with my Dad - and enjoy it, but they do prefer Man About The House.

It is interesting to notice the social changes highlighted by the programme too – Anthony Wedgwood Benn has become simply Tony, there were only one and a half million unemployed, wives usually stayed at home and references to ‘The War’ were plentiful.

Fashion is often a talking point of these programmes too. One particularly grotesque outfit is worn by Mildred in the episode Baby Talk – a bright yellow blouse, with blue trousers (tight at the top, flared at the bottom) with a design of big yellow peeling bananas on them! One that needs to be seen to be believed!

The cast’s acting is consistently good throughout, with great comic timing. There are occasionally stumbles over words or moments where they’re trying not to laugh, but these just add to the charm.

WEBSITES

Check out www.imdb.com and www.phill.co.uk for more information.

YAHOOGROUP

I have recently set up a yahoogroup for fans of the Carry On films and 1970s classic TV, including George and Mildred. If you are interested, check out
http://groups.yaho
o.com/group/CarryOn1970s/

Summary: