Swipe me! (Hancock's Half Hour)

Member Name: mqueen

Product:	Hancock's Half Hour
Date:	18/10/01 (160 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superb comic genius

Disadvantages: Died far too early

I have been a fan of Tony Hancock since I first listened to the Reunion Party on my Dad's old cassette. My admiration of Hancock has just grown and grown. He was a comic genius. Born in 1924, he became an amateur commedian and broke into radio around 1950.

His own half hour radio shows were so popular, that the country would virtually shut down while he was on air. Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, (who also wrote 'Steptoe and Son') wrote the scripts for Hancock's half hour and made Hancock a major star.

The radio shows were transmitted from the early 50's through to the early 60's and had a superb cast, namely Sid James, Bill Kerr, Hattie Jaques and Kenneth Williams. The basic premise, is that Tony Hancock, usually a struggling radio personality, lives in a very un-inspiring house, 23 Railway Cuttings, in East Cheam, with lodgers, Bill Kerr and Sid James, and Hattie Jaques as his secretary.

Hancock's attitude was one of snobbery, and general resentment of the establishment and it's lack of recognition for his great talent, so he thought! The situations he found himself in, where he sought to rise above his lowly position only to be humiliated even further were hilarious then, and still are now.

Bill Kerr was the slightly simple Australian, with Sid James always on the lookout for a quick buck and a scam, Hancock usually being the recipient. Hattie Jaques (look at the size of her!) was often the butt of fat jokes! Kenneth William's made the already great show even better. He supplied the comic voices and cameo roles of vicars, wimps, judges and so on.

The television series of the show, had to take a different approach, namely sight gags. Some were absolutely superb, one of the best being the 'New Nose'. Tony Hancock had a great selection of catch phrases like 'swipe me!', and 'stone me!', amongst others. His comic timing was spot on and never waned. The tragedy of
Tony Hancock, was that he tried to make it on his own without Galton and Simpson.

They wrote the film 'The Rebel' for Hancock in 1960 which is a fantastic expose of the modern art world and it's one of my favourite films of all time. You must see it!

Hancock's film, 'The Punch and Judy man', filmed in 1962, although funny in places was clearly not up to his usual standard, as Galton and Simpson had by now parted company with Hancock.

Hancock's previous successes were now not to be repeated, and he sank into depression. He moved to Australia where he filmed some comedy shows, but they were not a patch on his BBC radio and television shows. Hancock had personal problems, too, along with a flagging career, and he took his own life in 1968, at only 44 years old. What his career could have become, we'll never know, but England lost a real genius.

It's a shame that there are only 80 hours of recorded material from Tony Hancock, but, what there is, is truly exceptional. His style is often copied, but never bettered. Paul Merton, I feel, has always lived in the shadow of Hancock, and has filmed replica shows of Hancock's Half Hour. A sincere compliment, yes, but, a poor substitute for the real thing. Hancock's shows just don't date. They are packed full with outstanding comedy moments all the way through and I can't even think of one show I didn't like.

He was my hero as I grew up and I'm still very fond of him now, more so than any other comedian. I even belonged to the appreciation society, where every bit of recorded material is available. It's a real travesty that his shows aren't aired more often, only every five or six years. I think I may complain to the BBC.

Two of my favourite shows were 'The Lift', and 'The Poetry society'. Outstanding comedy. That reminds me, where have I put that cassette.......

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