Film Fun Facts

[Kashgar]

One interesting thing demonstrated by that first issue advert is the fact that most of Film Fun's original stars tended to be American (though Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel admittedly started out on this side of the Atlantic), whereas they were almost all British by the end. I'd have to check to be sure but it may be that in the early days Radio Fun was seen as the natural venue for homegrown celebrities.

- Phil Rushton

The only British born star of Film Fun in the very early days was the now forgotten Charlie Chaplin impersonator Jimmy Aubrey. Charlie Chaplin himself never appeared in Film Fun as he had already been snapped up as the regular cover star of Funny Wonder in Aug 1915 by editor G H Cantle with artwork for the most part by Bertie Brown.
And, in fact, although they became legendary mainstays of Film Fun, neither Stan Laurel or Oliver Hardy, actually began their comic strip careers in the paper. Oliver Hardy appearing in his own solo strip in the early issues of Kinema Comic in 1920-1921 with artwork by Reg Carter ( emphasising the considerable film career he had prior to his partnering with Stan Laurel which included an appearance as the Tin Man in the silent version of The Wizard of Oz) and the Laurel and Hardy partnership itself first being given the comic strip treatment in the pages of The Realm of Fun and Fiction in Dec 1929 with artwork again by Reg Carter.
They eventually arrived in the pages of Film Fun in issue No 534 in Nov 1930 where they initally occupied the centre-spread and where they remained until March 1934 when they wrested the front and rear cover spot from Joe E Brown, a spot they would then retain until their final Film Fun appearance in No 1974 in Nov 1957. Their removal being as a consequence of Oliver Hardy's death the previous August. The artists responsible for their Film Fun strips being Billy Wakefield up until his death in 1942 and who was then followed by Fred Crompton, Norman Ward and Billy Wakefield's son Terry.

[Phoenix]

He even mentioned Film Fun in the classic episode of his TV show 'The Economy Drive' in which he relates to Sid the items on their Railway Cuttings paper bill, thus displaying to the audience, who would have for the most part known that he appeared in the comic, the vanity of him being a regular subscriber.

I think we must be very careful not to confuse real life with fiction. There is absolutely no way we are entitled to assume, just from watching The Economy Drive, that Tony Hancock even bought newspapers, nor that he had his papers delivered if he did buy any, let alone that he bought Film Fun on a regular basis. There is obviously no doubt that a Tony Hancock and a Sid James existed in the real world, but the characters in The Economy Drive are not they. They are fictional creations born in the fertile imaginations of Ray Galton and Alan Simpson for the purpose of exploring a relationship between two characters who have opposing natures and views, and then presenting this to the general public in a half-hour situation comedy on TV. The fact that the actors Tony Hancock and Sid James are playing the roles of characters that Galton and Simpson have decided to call Tony Hancock and Sid James merely creates the illusion for the viewing public that they are watching half an hour in the life of the real Tony and Sid. By and large, however, these viewers are not daft and they accept the illusion, they know they are watching fiction. Why? Well for a start they know that stars like Tony Hancock and Sid James would not be living in a tatty dump in Railway Cuttings nor would they be having any difficulty stumping up the cash for something as trivial as a paper bill. To discover whether Tony Hancock actually bought Film Fun, either to satisfy his vanity or simply because he enjoyed reading it, we would need to read biographical or autobiographical material. Those who think of the fictional Tony and Sid as their real selves are getting uncomfortably close to those people who send flowers and cards to characters in Coronation Street or beat up an actor playing a 'tough-guy' to see just how tough he is, or take a poke in the street at another actor for mistreating his fictional girlfriend or wife in Eastenders.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

BENNY HILL was probably the one exception to the 'I'm-a- successful-star-so- why -should -I -live-in-a-basic-gaff' mentality, Phoenix: he was the only UK TV comedian who properly cracked the States, but still chose to live in an austere, rented flat in Teddington, [and shop at Tescos] despite his millions in fortune.

SID JAMES had a chronic gambling habit that seen him reduced to accepting bribes so he could do 'product placement' sidelines in the widely-seen CARRY ON capers.

[Kashgar]

Are yo suggesting

He even mentioned Film Fun in the classic episode of his TV show 'The Economy Drive' in which he relates to Sid the items on their Railway Cuttings paper bill, thus displaying to the audience, who would have for the most part known that he appeared in the comic, the vanity of him being a regular subscriber.

I think we must be very careful not to confuse real life with fiction. There is absolutely no way we are entitled to assume, just from watching The Economy Drive, that Tony Hancock even bought newspapers, nor that he had his papers delivered if he did buy any, let alone that he bought Film Fun on a regular basis. There is obviously no doubt that a Tony Hancock and a Sid James existed in the real world, but the characters in The Economy Drive are not they. They are fictional creations born in the fertile imaginations of Ray Galton and Alan Simpson for the purpose of exploring a relationship between two characters who have opposing natures and views, and then presenting this to the general public in a half-hour situation comedy on TV. The fact that the actors Tony Hancock and Sid James are playing the roles of characters that Galton and Simpson have decided to call Tony Hancock and Sid James merely creates the illusion for the viewing public that they are watching half an hour in the life of the real Tony and Sid. By and large, however, these viewers are not daft and they accept the illusion, they know they are watching fiction. Why? Well for a start they know that stars like Tony Hancock and Sid James would not be living in a tatty dump in Railway Cuttings nor would they be having any difficulty stumping up the cash for something as trivial as a paper bill. To discover whether Tony Hancock actually bought Film Fun, either to satisfy his vanity or simply because he enjoyed reading it, we would need to read biographical or autobiographical material. Those who think of the fictional Tony and Sid as their real selves are getting uncomfortably close to those people who send flowers and cards to characters in Coronation Street or beat up an actor playing a 'tough-guy' to see just how tough he is, or take a poke in the street at another actor for mistreating his fictional girlfriend or wife in Eastenders.

I think you are being a little picky here Derek. I could have said it was the character Hancock, as delineated by Galton and Simpson, that was the purchaser of Film Fun on a regular basis rather than Tony Hancock the comedian but I I didn't really think I needed too.
Sadly, I can't imagine the Tony Hancock that bared his soul to John Freeman on 'Face to Face' being too interested in reading his comic antics in Film Fun.

[Kashgar]

One interesting thing demonstrated by that first issue advert is the fact that most of Film Fun's original stars tended to be American (though Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel admittedly started out on this side of the Atlantic), whereas they were almost all British by the end. I'd have to check to be sure but it may be that in the early days Radio Fun was seen as the natural venue for homegrown celebrities.

- Phil Rushton

The final US influence on FIlm Fun comic strips came in issue dated 6th June 1959 when both Red Skelton and Jerry Lewis both appeared for the last time.
As to Radio Fun it was indeed far more centred on home-grown talent but even so a few US stars did make appearances.
For instance for the first two years it was published Clark Gable appeared in an adventure strip drawn by George Heath with singing cowboy star Tom Keene also featuring in early issues before his Western adventures were replaced by those of William 'Hopalong Cassidy' Boyd both under artist C Montford.
Later arrivals would include couple Bebe Daniels and Ben Lyon, Jimmy Durante and Bob Hope and Jerry Collona.

[Phoenix]

I think you are being a little picky here Derek. I could have said it was the character Hancock, as delineated by Galton and Simpson, that was the purchaser of Film Fun on a regular basis rather than Tony Hancock the comedian but I I didn't really think I needed too. Sadly, I can't imagine the Tony Hancock that bared his soul to John Freeman on 'Face to Face' being too interested in reading his comic antics in Film Fun.

I agree with you, Ray, that I am picky. Indeed, a fair number of my previous posts on this forum bear that view out. There is nothing really wrong with being so, though, if it leads to clarification. However, by introducing the Hancock of the Face To Face interview, you are actually showing even better than I did how distinct the man/actor was from the parts he played. But that Hancock is not the one that the general public would have easily recognised. To them, as you say, he was a comedian, and on that basis the distinction between the man/actor and his roles, especially the one in The Economy Drive, is rather less obvious. I just wonder how likely it is that he really did read his antics in Film Fun, perhaps to remind himself that he was a comedian, permanently one every week, rather than the tortured soul revealed by his honest responses to John Freeman's probing questions, and ultimately by his suicide. On a related matter, I have to say that I found the introductory music to Face To Face stunning. I had the head of music at Maghull High and the head of RE, who was a classical music enthusiast, searching their mental databases for a week before they identified it for me. I gave Virgin Records £9.79 for the CD that very evening. I am listening to it now as I write. For the record it was from the Overture to Les Francs-juges by Berlioz.

[NP]

Who'd have guessed that my casual mention of Hancock would cause such a tangent! However - An LP of Face to Face was released in 1960 with Hancock on one side and Stirling Moss (no clues, youngsters) on the other (no big surprise, they had the same agent!) But WHO would sit around contentedly listening to Hancock discussing philosophy for half an hour? Not a patch on a Sunday Afternoon At Home they'd say. And where's Sid?
Anyway, it could have been worse- Gilbert Harding crying, Adam Faith discussing buying shirts, Carl Jung on -well, let's not go there. A great show, time it came out on DVD for retro nerds!
And now, kids, back to the funny pictures....
Maybe!

(So, Derek, Maghull, eh? Remember on Pete Murray's Open House one day when he read out a request from someone from MAG-hull, and Ted Ray phoned in to say it was pronounced the same as in "The bells are ringing for me and My Girl"? No, well it was the only entertainment we had at 10am in 1972. I met Pete Murray in October, he Lenny Henry and the bloke from 15 to 1 William G Stewart were having lunch at BAFTA in Picadilly. Try to make a thread out of that. This must seem like Martian to everyone else!!)

[Raven]

A great show, time it came out on DVD for retro nerds!

Face to Face has been out on DVD since August - a 6 DVD set; £43.99 from Play.com. All 35 episodes are included - Hancock, Lord Reith, Bertrand Russell, John Osborne, the lot.

[NP]

Face to Face has been out on DVD since August - a 6 DVD set; £43.99 from Play.com. All 35 episodes are included - Hancock, Lord Reith, Bertrand Russell, John Osborne, the lot.

WHAT???!!
How come no-one told me! We need some sort of electronic information and communications system, man.

[Phoenix]

(So, Derek, Maghull, eh? Remember on Pete Murray's Open House one day when he read out a request from someone from MAG-hull, and Ted Ray phoned in to say it was pronounced the same as in "The bells are ringing for me and My Girl"? No, well it was the only entertainment we had at 10am in 1972.

I'm sure many members will never have heard of Pete (or Peter, as he preferred to be known in his more mature years) Murray so I'm posting a picture of him from a free gift with Roxy in 1958. I imagine that Ted Ray is rather better known, perhaps because of Ray's A Laugh on the radio. I remember also that he was top of the bill when my group was singing on a radio programme in a theatre in Blackpool, and I was really disappointed because, despite the fact that there was a live audience, he read all his gags off a handful of sheets of paper. Maghull, by the way, is pronounced Mgull, the M pronounced as in the very first alphabet we learned in the reception class, and the stress is on the 'gull'.

[felneymike]

*skip skip* It always seemed to me that the Two Ronnies were just the same off-screen as on as well. Quite recently Piers Morgan hosted a sort of "serious look into" type show with Ronnie Corbett, even though it was supposed to be deadly serious and hard-hitting he could help but turn it into comedy!

[NP]

My mother's sister's husband's brother lived in Maghull. Never been there myself! But that's Scousers for you!

[NP]

Quite recently Piers Morgan hosted a sort of "serious look into" type show with Ronnie Corbett, even though it was supposed to be deadly serious and hard-hitting he could help but turn it into comedy!

Yeah, Piers Morgan isn't quite of the same mental calibre as John Freeman!
Anyone remember that definition of "Countryside?"

[Phoenix]

My mother's sister's husband's brother lived in Maghull.

Did I know him?

But that's Scousers for you!

I'm not actually a Scouser, in fact on my eBay address I put Lancashire and my postman is clearly sympathetic. In fact, I haven't a bad word to say about the postal service. You might not believe this but over a period of some years I used to get parcels of DCT story papers periodically from Norman Shaw, and although my home address was on the parcels, the van driver knew I wouldn't be at home so he used to deliver them to the school. The office staff couldn't believe their eyes and I think they are still laughing about it to this day.

[NP]

My mother's sister's husband's brother lived in Maghull.

Did I know him?
I'm not actually a Scouser.

Probably.
No, the Scouser I was referring to was not yerself or imself but meself.

By the way, it's a little late, but: