Lubinski. Kubinski. Lominski. Rozanski & Poznanski. We’re in Warsaw, the capital of Poland. It’s August 1939. Europe is still at peace. At the moment life in Warsaw is going on as normally as ever. But suddenly something seems to have happened! Are those Poles seeing a ghost? Why does this car suddenly stop? Everybody seems to be staring in one direction. People seem to be frightened, even terrified. Some flabbergasted. Can it be true? It must be true. No doubt. The man with the little moustache – Adolf Hitler. To Be Or Not To Be 1942 starring Carole Lombard & Jack Benny & Robert Stack & Relix Bressart & Lionel Atwill & Stanley Ridges & Sig Ruman & Tom Dugan & Charles Halton & George Lynn & Henry Victor et al, director Ernst Lubitsch, opening commentary
He’s a vegetarian and yet he doesn’t always stick to his diet. Sometimes he swallows whole countries. ibid.
Nazis: Heil Hitler!
Hitler raises salute: Heil myself. ibid.
Girl to Hitler: May I have your autograph, Mr Bronski? ibid.
Even Shakespeare couldn’t stand seeing Hamlet three nights in a row. ibid. Jack Benny as Joseph Tura
Shall we drink to the Blitzkrieg? ibid. professor to Lombard
Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die. Mel Brooks
For decades comedy has been a way of saying the unsayable. Utterly Outrageous X-Rated Comedy, Channel 5 2019
Julian Clary/Joan Collins Fan Club: ‘There’s nothing I like more than a warm hand upon my entrance.’ ibid. Saturday Night Live
Joking about religion has often caused outrage … and why Frankie Boyle won’t be getting a blessing from the pope … A sitcom that parodied religious authority like never before: Father Ted … ‘Dave Allen really took aim at religion’ … Utterly Outrageous X-Rated Comedy II: You Can’t Say That!
I’m only joking obviously. If you know someone with cancer and they want sponsoring for something, please sponsor them: there’s a good chance you won’t have to pay. ibid. Frankie Boyle
The outrageously unladylike experience of having a baby … and that the Royal Family can teach us about bringing up kids … Father Ted: ‘Mrs Doyle is a brilliant character about repression.’ Utterly Outrageous X-Rated Comedy III: Naughty! Naughty!
Mrs Doyle: ‘God, I’m glad I never think of that type of thing, Father. That whole sexual world. God, when you think of it it’s a dirty filthy thing, isn’t it, Father? Can you imagine, Father: looking up at your husband and him standing over you with his lad in his hand wanting you to degrade yourself. God almighty, can you imagine that, Father?’ ibid. Father Ted s2e8: Cigarettes & Alcohol & Rollerblading
Hairy women in swimming costume: ‘I don’t think anyone’s going to notice a few little wisps.’ ibid. Smack the Pony
Mitchell: ‘Maybe you’re not cut out to be a doctor in a bawdy 1970s hospital.’ ibid. Mitchell & Webb s2e1
From risque routines that left 1980s audiences spluttering at their TVs to gross out 90s sitcoms to a level of swearing which had the censors demanding overtime. Utterly Outrageous X-Rated Comedy IV: Women; Sex, Channel 5 2021
The Royle Family provided Britain with an outrageously honest slice of working-class northern life. ibid.
‘Post-baby fatigue: what can you do? ibid. Denise
One area ripe for outrageous comedy is politics … Rick Mayall became Alan B’stard [The New Statesman]. Utterly Outrageous X-Rated Comedy V: Politics
‘I am a golfer. But I am also a Conservative.’ ibid. Rowan Atkinson before Tory conference
The outrageous Spitting Image ... mixed uncanny impressions with a grotesque gallery of puppets to create a weekly Punch & Judy Show. ibid.
Saturday Night Live provided the perfect platform for Alec Baldwin’s outrageous impression of Trump. ibid.
‘There’s a Muslim paedophile living under your bed. Vote Conservative.’ ibid. Frankie Boyle, Mock the Week
They were something completely different. As unexpected as the Spanish Inquisition to the ripping up of the rule book of television comedy, and creating a surreal ... world of silly walks, dead parrots, fish slapping, cross-dressing lumberjacks, pepper pots, gumbies and a whole host of other sketches. No, we will be saying more. Python at 50: Silly Talks & Holy Grails, BBC 2019
The peak of their power and that many including John Cleese have called their masterpiece – In 1979 there are on location in Tunisia for The Life of Brian … fun times. ibid.
Michael is I think probably the funniest really … spells of … a creative genius … he just creates material. ibid.
The famous titles: designed by the group’s lone American author – Tony Gilliam. ibid.
‘We’re not about the allow this sort of smut to be shown on screen. ibid. cartoon of head between legs
‘I think I had a mini nervous breakdown … I’ve got to get out. I need space … A great deal of resentment …’ ibid. John Cleese
Fawlty Towers: they surely deserve some credit. ibid.
They still got on and worked well together … Monty Python & the Holy Grail. ibid.
‘It’s about a search for a Holy Grail which is large creature albeit like a dodo with a beak. And people are trying to find this Grail. No. It’s a big let down. The whole film is a great anti-climax.’ ibid. Graham Chapman
‘Four pints of gin a day.’ ibid. Chapman’s Parkinson interview
The Life of Brian: The film was banned in countries around the world. ibid.
‘This is such a tenth rate film.’ ibid. Malcolm Muggeridge, Parkinson
Their final film: The Meaning of Life … The best of Python and as challenging as ever. ibid.
The Meaning of Life ends with a visit from the grim reaper. ibid.
‘The petty differences were forgotten.’ ibid. Python on Chapman’s illness & death
We know the rhythm of all those sketches. ibid. Pailn
Lauded and acclaimed. ibid.
I think being an American is a preexisting condition. Judah Friedlander: America is the Greatest Country in the United States, Netflix 2017
I like trilogies. That’s why I’m so excited about World War III. The original was a landmark – everyone loved that one. A lot of critics and hardcore fans think the second one was even better that the first. We’ve all been waiting over 70 years for the final chapter in the trilogy. I wish they just would give it to us already. I think the next one could be the highest grossing of all. I just hope they don’t ruin it with too much merchandising. ibid.
Where you from? England at one point in history you used to own the whole world. What happened? And I don’t think you were an evil imperialistic nation, I think you were simply a country that was in search of a better tasting cuisine. I er I think one day your troops wondered over to India, took a lunch break, and were like wow! This curry is just dandy. Let’s take this recipe back to the Queen. And then your generals stepped in and said, no, this is too good, we should surround this nation with our troops and protect this Chicken Tikka Masala recipe. ibid.
We defeated you and took your language and perfected it … David Beckham he lives here. ibid.
Welcome to the Number One country. Welcome. Thank you for coming all the way from your little amateur junior [inaudible] culture to an an actual real professional and No 1 country. ibid.
All right, Netherlands, how many gun murders a year do you have? Like 3, 4. We have 30,000. And do you know why. Because we’re Number One. Think about it. Why does America have so many more gun murders than the Netherlands? Because our country has superior aim. We’re better Marksmen. ibid.
We’re Number One in Type 2 diabetes. ibid.
We came to the realisation that living in Canada was punishment enough. ibid.
A friend of mine just went to a pro-police brutality rally. The cops beat the shit out of him. Be very careful what protest you go to. ibid.
Health care? We don’t need it. We’re Americans … I say everyone gets free health care. Except the insurance companies. ibid.
I think if Jesus had been American and had a gun he’d still be alive today. ibid.
Lenny Henry has just released his memoirs. And he’s chosen not to focus on his glory days but on the early years, learning his trade on the working men’s club circuit, in a world of ’70s light entertainment, and 5 years performing with the Black & White Minstrels. Imagine … Lenny Henry, BBC 2019
In recent years he has reinvented himself as a serious actor and an unspoken champion of diversity. ibid.