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A collection of the surviving episodes from seasons 2 and 3 of the 1950s comedy series. In 'The Alpine Holiday', Hancock heads off for a peaceful break in the Alps, only to end up sharing a room with a yodelling champion. 'Air Steward Hancock: The Last of the Many' sees Hancock up for the high jump when his attempts to become an air steward backfire. In 'The Lawyer: The Crown vs Sidney James', Hancock defends Sid James on a charge of robbing a jewel shop. In 'Competitions: How to Win Money and Influence People', Hancock embarks on a bout of newspaper competition entries. Also included are 'There's an Airfield at the Bottom of My Garden' and the 1957 Christmas Special, 'Hancock's 43 Minutes: The East Cheam Repertory Company'.
Synopsis
Thirty-five years after his premature death in 1968 Tony Hancock was voted Britain's best-ever comedy performer. Here's a chance to see what made him so special - the surviving episodes from Series 2 and Series 3 of Hancock's Half Hour, plus a Christmas special. Episodes include: "The Alpine Holiday", "Air Steward Hancock", "The Last Of The Many", "The Lawyer: The Crown vs Sidney James", "Competitions: How To Win Money And Influence People" and "There's An Airfield At The Bottom Of My Garden". The Christmas special is "Hancock's Forty-Three Minutes: The East Cheam Repertory Company".
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
32 of 33 people found the following review helpful
By N. lomax
The impact that tony hancock has had on british comedy can never be understated , his bbc radio shows alone , attracting some of the largest listening figures during the mid to late fifties before hancock made the transition to televison in 1956 .
Here at last on dvd , are some of the first HANCOCK'S HALF HOUR television programms originally transmitted in 1957 including a
' hancock's forty-three minutes 1957 christmas special ' this vol.1 captures hancock's genius right at the very beginning of his telivison career , his comic acting complimenting Ray galton and alan simpson's superb scripts , the dvd highlights tony hancock's unique comic talent for which he should be best rememberd ( his personal turmoil late in his career already well documented ) and the bbc should hold there head in shame that it has taken them so long to release this follow up dvd to ' the best of hancock ' released a few years previously.
Fantastic archive comedy from the east cheam maestro ... roll on vol.2
Here at last on dvd , are some of the first HANCOCK'S HALF HOUR television programms originally transmitted in 1957 including a
' hancock's forty-three minutes 1957 christmas special ' this vol.1 captures hancock's genius right at the very beginning of his telivison career , his comic acting complimenting Ray galton and alan simpson's superb scripts , the dvd highlights tony hancock's unique comic talent for which he should be best rememberd ( his personal turmoil late in his career already well documented ) and the bbc should hold there head in shame that it has taken them so long to release this follow up dvd to ' the best of hancock ' released a few years previously.
Fantastic archive comedy from the east cheam maestro ... roll on vol.2
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
By James Hayes
Amazon Verified Purchase
At last! After the complete radio 'Hancock's Half-Hour's on CD, the DVD equivalent of the television series was a logical progression. These shows are important, not only because they provide the earliest extant examples of Hancock's genius gracing the small screen (and in those days it *was* a small screen), but also as a record of the kind of presentation TV viewers experienced in the late 1950s. Given the technical limitations of the times, and the BBC's habit of junking old material, it's something of a miracle that so many telly 'Half-Hour's exist.
'Hancock's Half-Hour Volume One' from BBC Worldwide contains the earliest surviving shows: one from the 2nd Series, five from the 3rd Series - all transmitted in 1957. The high quality of the Galton and Simpson scripts, and the lead performances, goes without saying. Hancock and sidekick Sid James already have the partnership basics established, although at this stage James' character is framed as genial crook-cum-con man, and the more matey tempo of later shows has yet to evolve.
Superb support comes from Hancock's 'repertory company' - Dick Emery, John Le Mesurier, Johnny Vyvyan, and the wonderfully indignant John Vere. Hancock's radio co-star Kenneth Williams also appears in one show - the only surviving TV incarnation of his famous 'Snide' character.
The quality of the recordings is, unsurprisingly, iffy by modern standards, but we are lucky to see anything at all. All these shows were originally performed as broadcast live; there are a few fluffs, but these only add to the charm of the proceedings.
Included on this DVD is a 'Special' - 'Hancock's Forty-Three Minutes' - a Christmas variety programme hosted by Hancock and Sid James, and guest-starring John Gregson. This is sneakily billed as a DVD extra, but it is actually the last outing of the 3rd Series. Indeed, the main carp about this DVD is the dearth of genuine extras. For instance, BBC-TV produced a profile of Hancock in 1985 that would have served as a perfect introduction here.
The episode 'There's An Airfield at the Bottom of My Garden' is notorious because of prop failures that left Hancock struggling to hold the plot and action together. This is explained in Roger Wilmut's 'Hancock Companion' book, so many Hancock fans will know about it; but to anyone unaware of what's happening, it just looks like rather erratic acting. So background information to this episode would have been welcomed by Hancock anoraks - or should that be 'astrakhans'? Nonetheless, this DVD is a must for students of classic British comedy - buy, buy, buy!
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By justthebook
At last we can see the surviving Hancock's Half Hour TV episodes in the original broadcast order.
Galton & Simpson along with Hancock and the rest of the cast produced the mould for many other series to come and possibly still influences comedy today (Beryl Virtue, Exec Producer of Coupling & many others, worked with G & S in the 50s & 60s).
The original radio series got away from the compulsory music/variety mix that comedy had to fit in with until HHH came along - this show concentrated on characters, plots and intelligent scripts and when this was transferred to TV, there was no looking back.
I find this the only comedy TV or radio show produced in the 50s that is still genuinely funny and not just from a nostalgic ot historical view (like the Goons or Take it From Here). The comedy has not dated in the least.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disapionted
Although good I was disapionted, just not as funny as I had thought it would be. Maybe Hancock fans would love it.
Published 1 month ago by knittingNanna
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hancock clean humour
worth every penny spent Hancock was a true comic ! Ok maybe the humour is slightly dated now but at least you can be sure if there are children around you wont need to turn down... Read more
Published 4 months ago by tried it
4.0 out of 5 stars
A laugh a minute!
These are early Hancock and show him starting out and gaining confidence, though with a disarming tendency to giggle when he shouldn't. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Doc Barbara
5.0 out of 5 stars
What more can be said?
Back in 1985, here in Australia, 6 video cassettes each with 3 episodes of Hancock's Half Hour were released. For many years I thought those 18 episodes were all that survived. Read more
Published on 29 Nov 2004 by Robert Morris
5.0 out of 5 stars
At last the REAL best of Hancock...
Rather like the way in which "The Deadly Attachment" episode of DAD'S ARMY is elevated to classic status purely for the "don't tell him, Pike" line (when it is in fact one of the... Read more
Published on 10 Sep 2004 by "paulsnew1"
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