Description
The Frankie Howerd Collection 5-DVD Box Set
A box set collection of shows starring Frankie Howerd:
The Best of Frankie Howerd (10 episodes);
Then Churchill Said to Me (6 episodes);
Up Pompeii Series 1 (7 episodes); Up Pompeii Series 2 (6 episodes);
and Further Up Pompeii (TV Special).
5 discs. OPTIONAL SUBTITLES. Comedy. Colour and Black & White. Running time over 11 hours.
Stars include: Frankie Howerd, Max Adrian, Wallas Eaton, Kerry Gardner, Elizabeth Larner, Valerie Leon, Willie Rushton, Barbara Windsor, Wendy Richard, Nicholas Courtney, Joanna Dunham, Michael Parkinson, Terry Wogan, Russell Harty & more.
The complete two series of Up Pompeii! and the 1975 one-off Further Up Pompeii! Featuring Lurcio (Frankie Howerd), a lazy slave living in ancient Pompeii before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
The complete series of Then Churchill Said to Me, set during World War II in London, in which Frankie Howerd plays two roles: humble Private Percy Potts and General ‘Fearless’ Freddy Hollocks.
The Best of Frankie Howerd Includes sketches from An Evening With Frankie Howerd and the Royal Variety Performance, as well as chat show appearances on Parkinson and Wogan.
Frankie Howerd turned bluster, innuendo and mock outrage into an art form. After faltering post-war radio performances, he used his shyness to his advantage. With stuttering, embarrassment and over-the-top outrage, he created a unique character. His catchphrases include “Ooh Missus!”, “Titter ye not”, and “Control Yourselves” – which he used to magnificent effect in comedy series, sketches and interviews.
His most famous role was Lurcio, the bone-idle slave involved in the shenanigans and intrigue of his master’s Roman Empire household in Up Pompeii. From the rambling prologue to the over-acting cast, Howerd was in his element, dishing out puns, double-entrendres and innuendo; feigning shock at the bawdy exploits of characters such as Ludicrus Sextus, Nausius, Erotica, Stovus Primus and James Bondus. Vestal virgins, soothsayers, poisonous asps, loose togas, love potions and revolting slaves form the basis for these titillating and hilarious episodes. As Lurcio said: “You wont’ get anything like this in your Harold Pinter!” In Churchill Said to Me, Frankie Howerd’s stuttering Private Potts has just two aims in life: to do as little work as possible and to avoid physical injury. His uncanny resemblance to Fearless Freddy Hollocks, a respected general with a will of iron, might help him to survive, but the demanding Colonel Witherton and the screeching Sergeant Major Ruckus put a swift end to Potts’ hope of a quiet war.
Frankie Howerd broke the mould of the comedy performer, bringing the audience into his realm and making them a part of the show. He pioneered the art of breaking the fourth wall, with a very British sense of humour, understated, intimate and down to earth. He is a founding father of modern comedy.
