John Eric Bartholomew (later Eric Morecambe) and Ernest Wiseman (Ernie Wise) first met during 1939 when both were employed by bandleader and showman Jack Hylton. Initially only Eric was a performer, but some months later Ernie would also take to the stage. Both had parts in a variety show called Youth Take a Bow and later began to work together as a comedy duo. Their double act was interrupted by World War II, but the pair were reunited, on the stage, in 1947 as a part of the Lord George Sanger's Variety Service. They continued to struggle along as comedy and variety performers until a chance to work on television was presented to them in the form of a BBC talent show called Parade of Youth. Their performance was well received and the pair were soon making guest appearances on radio shows.
The two were offered television work in 1954. Unfortunately that show was not particularly successful and two lean years followed. Luckily an offer to perform on ITV's The Winifred Atwell Show was received and they became the resident comedians. Their time on this show broadened their audience and between 1956 and 1957 they made regular appearances on variety shows for both ITV and the BBC. They were finally offered their own show by ITV in 1961. The first series of The Morecambe and Wise Show was a success and another three series' soon followed. After the initial series, comedy writers Sid Green and Dick Hills were hired and they provided Eric and Ernie with a steady stream of fresh material with which to work.
| "All men are fools and what makes them so is having beauty like what I have got..." |
The lads moved to the BBC in 1968 where their show was now broadcast in colour. The move to the BBC was a good one and their popularity grew further. A new writer, Eddie Braben, joined the show in 1969 and he continued to produce the "right" material for the pair. Their 1977 Christmas special was viewed by approximately 28 million people in the United Kingdom, reported to be close to half of that nation's population at the time.
A move back to ITV occurred in 1978 but the magic had gone and the show dropped down the ratings list. The final Morecambe and Wise Show was broadcast on the 26th of December 1983.
On this DVD there are 27 sketches taken from the "golden" BBC era which can be viewed in one continuous feature or one at a time. My favourites include meeting Glenda Jackson to discuss Ernie's play Anthony and Cleopatra, the play itself and Byron meets Keats.
While not brilliant, this full-frame video transfer is perfectly acceptable, especially when you acknowledge that the footage used was originally recorded from live television broadcasts that aired during the late 1960s and 1970s. Overall the image is a bit on the soft side and suffers from quite a lot of cross-colouration. There are also a couple of instances where strong stage lighting causes some white clothing to "blow out" and lose detail. Finally, the image contains a lot of minor aliasing, although the lack of long camera movements makes it reasonably easy to ignore.
Easy to listen to, clear and in synch throughout, this transfer is fine but basically monaural. I only noticed the surrounds during short periods of applause.
This disc certainly features some eye wateringly funny moments and I think my father best summed up Morecambe and Wise when he said to me once that they "were a couple of fools". Anyone who is serious about comedy (is that possible?) will add this disc to their collections as Morecambe and Wise are a great example of British variety comedy at its best.
