Show Notes
Harry Secombe could have had reasonable grounds for claiming to be the hardest working man in showbusiness in January 1958: panto (Puss In Boots), TV (Sunday Night At The London Palladium), the Goons, a movie (Davy) and goodness knows what else.
Likewise, his colleague Peter Sellers was feeling the pressure of work and his doctor advised a rest on what would have been a scheduled Goon Show recording day. As a result – and much to the chagrin of Spike Milligan – on Sunday 19th January two Goon Shows were recorded, including the one we’re discussing this week, freeing up the following Sunday for Sellers to spend some time with his cameras.
The Curse of Frankenstein, as the title suggests, concerns a dying Laird intending to leave his entire fortune to the first Scotsman to play the bagpipes at the South Pole.
Joining Tyler this week is returning guest Chas Early and as well as breaking down the episode they chat Morecambe & Wise, Aussie politicians, a waxwork Welshman, the Quarrymen and Spike the balladeer!
More from Goon Pod
The Queen in America, Eurovision, Elvis, knitting a Spon, a Russian Love Song, Harry Rocking the Town! - it's all here this week! Plus: how much do we love Moriarty, a glaring goof and Watch That Tiger!
Jet Storm, also known as Jet Stream or Killing Urge, is a British thriller directed and co-written by Cy Endfield and starring Richard Attenborough, Stanley Baker, Patrick Allen and Virginia Maskell. It is an early example of what would become the aviation disaster-film genre, preceding films such as Airport by more than a decade. Released in October 1959, it centres almost entirely on a transatlantic flight from London to New York and the psychological and moral crisis that develops among its passengers when one of them threatens to destroy the aircraft.
Broadcast on Channel 4 on 2nd December 1985, The Last Laugh Before TV-am was Spike Milligan’s attempt to bring his particular vein of humour to a new generation... although very little about it suggested that Milligan had changed his approach since the early Q series.