Memorable Props

Graham said:
Believe it or not the mangle was a foam prop, with heavy sound affects for when they were moving it.
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That explains the wobble when it goes down the stairs but ends up right side up at the end (though that is a separate shot so I assume it didn't happen quite that way). Never occurred to me it was made of foam.
 
Wesley's salad spinner. That must have been something to move around and operate. But of course since Gordon Wharmby was mechanically inclined, he probably enjoyed doing that episode.
 
captain clutterbuck said:
Imagine there were several copies of the mangle used in the filming to cover damage. It is quite possible that the one in the exhibition is a real version of the mangle and they used the foam one in certain shots and the real one in others.
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I thought about that the other night. The one the trio rode on behind the car that Frank and Eli were in couldn't have been a foam one.
 
San Francisco ????...late 60's????...summer of love ?????...flower power ????....NO !.......Holmfirth...1980's....
Howard...with his hippy hair and shades....trying to fool Cleggy,Seymour......and worst of all.....Pearl !!!.
Much later he persuades Marina to go the whole hog...and dress up like a pair of ageing hippies......one wonky barrow goes past and....whoooooosh...off comes Marina's flowing flowery skirt !!!!
x!
 
I’d love a lot of Seymours creations such as the submabicycle from treasure of the deep, the kite from getting Barry higher in the world, compos sail from wind power, the drilling machine and the self propelled wheelbarrow. I think the main prop I’d like though is one of wesleys Land Rovers or Ferrari in overalls as he once called it.
 
Let's not forget the armor that Smiler and Compo wore in "Bicycles at Dawn" And in fact, Stephen Lewis is to be commended as he ended up wearing many different costumes and get-ups, some of them must have been very uncomfortable.
 
Adanor said:
Let's not forget the armor that Smiler and Compo wore in "Bicycles at Dawn" And in fact, Stephen Lewis is to be commended as he ended up wearing many different costumes and get-ups, some of them must have been very uncomfortable.
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I always wondered about that. It always seemed that he and Tom didn't really work for Auntie Wainwright but indentured servants or working off some sort of life debt.
 
Onslow said:
I always wondered about that. It always seemed that he and Tom didn't really work for Auntie Wainwright but indentured servants or working off some sort of life debt.
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I was there when he was dressed as a Mountie, he walked down the street towards Auntie's after being dropped of in a car, as he got close I said you look dashing this morning Stephen, he just carried on with a typical Smiler face and moaning to himself, he was always entertaining on set
 
Given their age Terry and in certain cases their ailments [I know Stephen Lewis had documented health issues and his gait when walking in shot looks as if he is in a lot of pain ] were they effectively driven everywhere between takes and set down from the car as close to the location of the shot as possible . As you were at the filming when he was dressed as a Mountie were all the scenes done in a single take or where there occasions when they had to re-shoot the scene several times because of either the actor fluffing their lines or something impinged on the scene . I assume they all had director's style chairs for use during takes but having sat in similar chairs myself they aren't the most comfortable . Having been there I wondered if you'd be happy to share your experiences .
 
captain clutterbuck said:
Given their age Terry and in certain cases their ailments [I know Stephen Lewis had documented health issues and his gait when walking in shot looks as if he is in a lot of pain ] were they effectively driven everywhere between takes and set down from the car as close to the location of the shot as possible . As you were at the filming when he was dressed as a Mountie were all the scenes done in a single take or where there occasions when they had to re-shoot the scene several times because of either the actor fluffing their lines or something impinged on the scene . I assume they all had director's style chairs for use during takes but having sat in similar chairs myself they aren't the most comfortable . Having been there I wondered if you'd be happy to share your experiences .
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I think they tried to limit what actors were on set at anyone time, so they were called upon from the base camps as and when needed, there was still a lot of hanging around, setting up the shots, as it was all filmed with one camera, the weather changes, natural light and lighting requirements, actors fluffing their lines, background noises, barking dogs were always a problem in Aunties street.
When filming at Aunties there were times when Smiler had several costume changes in one day, so he would be back and forward to wardrobe at the base camp, I think the actor who caused the least amount of retakes was Auntie who always seemed word perfect, a simple thing like not being on the correct spot when going for a take could be a simple reason in having to do it again, all of a sudden a cloud would cover the sun and the lighting was wrong, there maybe a sound problem where one of the audio mikes had moved on the actors body, maybe a vehicle being used was to reflective and they had to sort that out
Yes there was always many chairs for cast to sit in, and always nearby tea,coffee and biscuits plus the dreaded portaloo, it was very long days for the age group of many of the cast and only the one day of each week which was a Saturday, though they did try and schedule it so not all the cast were required all of the time, so they may have two or three days away while other filming was going on.
How it all worked at the studio's I don't know, I expect it was calmer there with less travelling and they would have better control of their environment
 
So suddenly you're celebrating your birthday and you've reached that magic age of 65. And then the word "retire" is the operative word. Suddenly, you're given a gold watch or maybe a suitcase and you get paid for not working. Other than spending more time with the grandchildren, you're sitting around the house -- yes, maybe pursuing a hobby, maybe traveling, but not real active on a daily basis.

On the other hand, the cast of LOTSW were unique. Most of them were well north of being 50. The word "retire" was not in their vocabulary and they were active on a daily basis. True, their physical requirements were reduced and other accommodations were made as needed, but they were still on the set ready to go when the clapper clapped.
 
Most Actors cannot give it up they live for Theatre , TV and the other branches of entertainment many of them would love to "go" on stage Tommy Cooper and Sid James achieved it , Ken Dodd was probably furious he didn't. The joke that's always said is all actors when they open their Fridge do a quick five minutes of their act as soon as the light in the fridge comes on.
 
captain clutterbuck said:
Most Actors cannot give it up they live for Theatre , TV and the other branches of entertainment many of them would love to "go" on stage Tommy Cooper and Sid James achieved it , Ken Dodd was probably furious he didn't. The joke that's always said is all actors when they open their Fridge do a quick five minutes of their act as soon as the light in the fridge comes on.
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Count Arthur Strong springs to mind!:)
 
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