Mr Wainwright Chief Librarian

[Charlie]

Barrow in Furness born Blake Butler died Bedford Park, London on 15 April 1981 aged 56.

 

[MoodyBlue]

To be honest I feel that the "lecherous left winger" [to quote Cleggy] gets a bad time on our site...
I think he was repressed and sought sanctuary in his left wing ideals and literature.......and "other people's wives".....
I think he and Miss Moody would have made a lovely couple !!.....after all..to quote the lady with the "damn good legs" [to quote Mr .wainwright].."I think like you Mr.Wainwright".....
A great quote which sums up his [endless] quest for LOVE happened when Mrs .Partridge is in the grass fixing her hair...."The lovesick lech'" glances over to her and sighs "I THINK IT'S THE REAL THING THIS TIME MRS.PARTRIDGE"........AAAAHHHHH....you see......he's not as bad as a lot of my fellow Summerwine family members think !!!

 

[captain clutterbuck]

Don't disagree with you often Keith but the dislike of Mr Wainwright is warranted from my perspective because his behaviour betrays the subtle and clever comedy that is our shows success . In my eyes it places it alongside the likes of On the Buses with the lecherous behaviour of Stan and Jack [I did watch OTB ] . I just think Roy Clarke is such a wonderful writer he didn't need to sink to that level . The Female philanthropic Philanderer [eat your heart out Leonard Sachs] as you can gather is not my favourite character , his behaviour is totally reprehensible [and yes I know it is part of life] and should never have been in our show.

 

[MoodyBlue]

Captain.....I completely agree with your comments.....I was just trying to cause a bit of mischief,and thought my post may start a debate !!!.
To be honest, it is first and only time I think Roy got caught up in the times...and the morals of the times.
On The Buses was the number 1 show in the U.K. and Stan and Jack were really popular characters...and depicted the "lovable lecherous rogues" people loved [although the sight of 2 middle aged men chasing teenage/early 20's mini skirted girls seems creepy to us now it was acceptable humour and entertainment in the 70's].
I just think Roy wrote in a "toned down" version of the laddish/sexist/lecherous popular characters of the day......he is probably the only character Roy wrote a part for who would not be accepted if our show was first aired in 2020 and not 1973.
I still think he gets a bad time though Captain.....
X!

 

[captain clutterbuck]

I don't think we would ever agree about Mr W but so be it . Your summing up of OTB shows what is now considered totally unacceptable but seemed to appeal to viewers of the time, as were some of the shenanigans in the Carry On series which exploited the same scenarios of middle aged men chasing young ladies . The male actors in the Carry on films were predominantly far older than the ladies they were chasing or paired with .

 

[Stephen]

Not sure what the problem with Mr Wainwright's character is, to be honest. (Well, apart from the obvious, that is).

I was under the impression that the two lady librarians (Mrs Partridge and Miss Moody) were quite welcoming towards his advances. Mrs Partridge was clearly having an affair with him and Miss Moody was always complimenting him and went to lunch at the Café with him. Hardly basis for a lawsuit, is it?

 

[MoodyBlue]

I agree Stephen......when we talk about middle aged men in films and sitcoms chasing after ladies much younger than themselves it did not lead to a nationwide epidemic of middle aged men chasing after young girls when they had seen the films/sitcoms.
The girls in the films were actresses...and the men were actors....all just following a script.....
It is a question of how far these sitcoms and films went.......clearly...at that time they were very very popular....and Mary Whitehouse emerged to try and put a stop to all this......but at the end of the day....if people did not like it....just switch off...or do not go to the pictures....ALTHOUGH....what is quite surreal is that Barbara Windsor and Sid James did actually have a "fling".....
X!

 

[Stephen]

Absolutely, Keith. I just sometimes think we read too much into aspects of this and other shows. I believe it's a kind of faux morality. They, as you rightly say, were just actors and actresses playing a part , none of which has led to an epidemic of lecherous activity.

To be honest, I'm not the greatest fan of the idea that if you reach a certain age you can't find someone else much younger attractive. It flies, as Clegg would say, 'In the face of nature'. Especially when most of us -- well men anyway -- still think we are in our teens. Lol Or is that just me?

Besides, if we are talking unwanted advances, what about Miss Davenport and her advances towards Hobbo? He didn't seem too keen. Lol

 

[MoodyBlue]

EXCELLENT POINT !!!!....MOST ELEQUENTLY MADE MY FRIEND !!!!.
X!

 

[RickAns]

...when we talk about middle aged men in films and sitcoms chasing after ladies much younger than themselves it did not lead to a nationwide epidemic of middle aged men chasing after young girls when they had seen the films/sitcoms.

Now that I guess I am rapidly approaching middle age I was quite looking forward to chasing after younger ladies like they did onscreen. At least before I get too slow to catch one. <insert Benny Hill music chase scene>

 

[codfanglers]

I am reading the discussion here and I think people have to remember the earliest years of Summer Wine weren't always PG rates. Wasn't it Clegg looking through an adult magazine in the barbershop in Short Back and Palais Glide? It's been a while since I've seen it, so I might be getting things mixed up.

Also, as I mentioned recently in another thread, characters with low morals are often good for comedy. Not every character was meant to be liked. I enjoy how Mr. Wainwright has an air of superiority but was also quickly embarrassed to be caught in compromised situations. He wasn't my favorite character, but I wouldn't have minded seeing more of him.

 

[captain clutterbuck]

Its all down to Casting and writing particularly with the Carry On films , Talbot Rothwell's scripts were written in that tried and trusted style but Peter Rogers had put together a company of actors he used given it was a successful formula and so rarely did he change the cast regardless of what Talbot Rothwell wrote and so all of these middle age men chasing younger girls was inevitable . If you look at Carry on Loving you have Terry Scott chasing Imogen Hassall he was 43 at the time she was 28 yet they had Richard O'Callaghan and Jacki Piper cast as a potential couple he was 30 she was 24 . In the end it and shows like On the buses were extremely funny and loved by the British Public and beyond, but like so many shows we have discussed on here they are viewed by many now as unacceptable and would never me made in the same manner today .

 

[MoodyBlue]

What I find quite sad is that we talk about how many people would find such shows unacceptable now...but in reality.....nothing really happened in these shows....
There was no "smutty conclusion"......the specific scene just stopped and we moved onto another "funny scene".
As Stephen says......these actresses were having relationships with the male leads on the films/series....no none was getting hurt,and no one was being pushed against their will to engage in shenanigans.

 

[Stephen]

What I find quite sad is that we talk about how many people would find such shows unacceptable now...but in reality.....nothing really happened in these shows....
There was no "smutty conclusion"......the specific scene just stopped and we moved onto another "funny scene".
As Stephen says......these actresses were having relationships with the male leads on the films/series....no none was getting hurt,and no one was being pushed against their will to engage in shenanigans.

Sign of the times, Keith. Frankly this whole country/world is passing me by now. I'm just glad we still have the DVDs, in some semblance of intactness, to watch. I have a nasty feeling that in the future they will start getting their grubby little paws on them as well. Mind you, if they did that and employed their modern standards of PCness to them, most old programmes would be about five minutes long. Lol

 

[MoodyBlue]

Stephen......have you ever thought about a career in....POLITICS ??????......YOU WOULD GET MY VOTE !!!!!.
X!

 

[Barrychuckle]

I listened to one of the early radio episodes of Dads Army on Radio 4 Extra this morning and that had to have a 'offense warning' at the beginning.

 

[Stephen]

Stephen......have you ever thought about a career in....POLITICS ??????......YOU WOULD GET MY VOTE !!!!!.
X!

Now there's a thought! Maybe we could storm the despatch box together, Keith.

I wonder what our first policy would be if we ever got into power? Compulsory Last of the Summer Wine watching for all UK schoolchildren probably? Lol I'd certainly get rid of all the woke lessons they keep subjecting them to, that's for sure.

To be honest, though, I think I would probably be intolerable. I'd probably be kicked off every interview show on T.V. and Radio within a week. Lol Not that that's necessarily a bad thing these days, given the quality of some interviewers.

It was a nice thought though. Xxx

 

[Stephen]

I listened to one of the early radio episodes of Dads Army on Radio 4 Extra this morning and that had to have a 'offense warning' at the beginning.

Oh dear.

I have noticed that Talking Pictures normally put a disclaimer before most of their output, as well. I was expecting ITV3 to do the same with their broadcasts of the Carry On films, but I never saw any. Although I'm sure they cut the scene at the start from '...Girls' of the dog widdling up the stone column of the hotel.

 

[captain clutterbuck]

IF you see my post about watching the sandwich man on Talking Pictures that contains a warning about outdated racial imagery you would think ITV would do it for Khyber for Kenneth Williams and Bernard Bresslaw and for the latter in Jungle. So will we ever see It Ain't Half Mum or Benny Hill shown with warnings on TV I have to say probably not so it's DVD for anyone wanting to watch.

 

[wstol]

What I find quite sad is that we talk about how many people would find such shows unacceptable now...but in reality.....nothing really happened in these shows....
There was no "smutty conclusion"......the specific scene just stopped and we moved onto another "funny scene".
As Stephen says......these actresses were having relationships with the male leads on the films/series....no none was getting hurt,and no one was being pushed against their will to engage in shenanigans.

What gets me is that the old shows that are supposed to be vulgar and politically incorrect are in fact funnier, cleaner, better written, more likeable, more jolly and more suitable for the whole family than the dark, depressing, box ticking, swearing-laden crud they make today.