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«ИТМА» перенаправляет сюда. Для использования в других целях, см ITMA (значения) .
Эта статья о радиопрограмме. Для экранизации см. «Снова тот человек» (фильм) .

Это снова тот человек
The British comedian Tommy Handley rehearses with actors from his ITMA show (cropped).jpg
ИТМА отлиты на репетиции во время посещения дома флота в Скапа - Флоу , январь 1944
Другие названияITMA , это снова тот песок , V-ITMA
ЖанрЭскиз комедия
Продолжительность30 минут
Страна происхожденияВеликобритания
Домашняя станция
Синдикаты
В главной ролиТомми Хэндли
НаписаноТед Кавана
ПроизведеноФрэнсис Уорсли
Звукозаписывающая студия
  • Лондон (с 1, 7–12)
  • Бристоль (s 2)
  • Бангор , Уэльс (с 3 по 6)
  • Лландидно , Уэльс (s 5, одно шоу)
  • Манчестер (специальные ставки)
Оригинальный выпуск12 июля 1939 г. - 6 января 1949 г. (1939-07-12) (1949-01-06)
№ серии12
Кол- во серий305, плюс 5 спец.

Это снова тот человек (обычно заключенный по контракту с ITMA ) - это радиокомедийная программа BBC, в которой с 1939 по 1949 год было более двенадцати серий. В шоу фигурировал Томми Хэндли в центральной роли, быстро говорящий персонаж, вокруг которого вращались все остальные персонажи. Программы были написаны Тедом Каванахом, а продюсером - Фрэнсисом Уорсли . Хэндли умер во время двенадцатой серии, остальные программы которой были немедленно отменены: ITMA не могла работать без него, и никакие другие серии не были заказаны.

ITMA была комедией с характером, сатирической целью которой были правительственные ведомства и якобы мелкие правила военного времени. Части шоу были переписаны за час до трансляции, чтобы обеспечить ее актуальность. Шоу отошло от условностей предыдущих радиокомедий и от юмора мюзик-холлов . В шоу использовались многочисленные звуковые эффекты в новой манере, которые, наряду с широким диапазоном голосов и акцентов, создавали атмосферу программы.

Шоу представило более семидесяти обычных персонажей в течение двенадцати сезонов, большинство из которых имели его или ее собственную крылатую фразу . Среди них были нелепый полковник Чинстрап («Я не против, если я это сделаю»), служительница миссис Мопп («Могу я сделать вас сейчас, сэр?»), Некомпетентный немецкий агент Фунф («это говорит Фунф») , изысканные подработки Сесил и Клод («После тебя, Клод - нет, после тебя , Сесил»), торговец с Ближнего Востока Али Уп («Я иду - я возвращаюсь») и мрачная Мона Лотт ( «Это так весело, что меня поддерживает»). Чтобы шоу оставалось свежим, старые персонажи были исключены, а новые появились с годами.

ITMA внесла важный вклад в боевой дух британцев во время войны, с его веселым взглядом на повседневные заботы публики, но его детальная актуальность - одна из величайших достопримечательностей в то время - помешала ему хорошо себя зарекомендовать. слух. Неизменным наследием сериала является его влияние на последующие комедии BBC. Новаторская структура ITMA - получасовая комедия с музыкальными интермедиями и набором обычных персонажей с популярными фразами - была успешно продолжена в комедийных шоу 1950-х и 1960-х годов, таких как Take It from Here , The Goon Show и Round the Horne .

Фон [ править ]

Комик Томми Хэндли начинал как комик мюзик-холла, а затем стал постоянным участником радио BBC с 1924 года. К концу 1920-х годов он был, по словам писателей Энди Фостера и Стива Ферста , нарицательным в Британии; его популярность продолжалась до 1930-х годов. [1] Писатель Тед Кавана был поклонником Хэндли и написал для него сценарий комедийного скетча в 1926 году. Хэндли понравилась работа, и он купил ее; это было началом профессиональных отношений, которые длились до смерти Хэндли в 1949 году. [2] [3]

Хотя BBC показала много комедийных номеров в своих разнообразных программах, у нее не было регулярных комедийных сериалов до начала 1938 года, когда появились Band Waggon and Danger! Начались "Мужчины за работой" . [4] [5] Первый, который проходил три серии в 1938 и 1939 годах, имел особый успех; [6] Джон Ватт , директор по разнообразию BBC, хотел преемника и решил, что Хэндли будет подходящим человеком, чтобы представить его. [7] В июне 1939 года Хэндли, Кавана и продюсер Фрэнсис Уорсли встретились в лондонском отеле Langham , чтобы обсудить идеи скетч-шоу, отвечающего критериям Уатта. [8] [9]Они решили подражать быстрому стилю американских радиопрограмм, таких как Шоу Бернса и Аллена , хотя и с гораздо более английским качеством. [10]

Первоначально планировалось назвать новую программу MUG - «Министерство всеобщего удовлетворения», но Уорсли предпочел ITMA . «ITMA», или «Это снова тот человек», относится к Гитлеру, и этот термин был использован в заголовке для его описания Берт Ганн , редактор The Daily Express . [11] [а]

Форматировать [ редактировать ]

ITMA была комедией, управляемой персонажами, и содержала пародию и сатиру, в отличие от предыдущей радиокомедии. Сатирическими целями программы во время войны были правительственные ведомства и якобы мелкие правила военного времени, хотя программа «никогда не оспаривала власть, а вместо этого действовала как предохранительный клапан от раздражения общественности бюрократией, нехваткой военного времени, очередями и черным рынком», согласно историк культуры Мартин Диббс. [13] [14]

Хэндли (в центре) представляет Энн Рич, новую певицу ITMA ; Чарльз Шедвелл дирижирует оркестром на заднем плане

По словам Фостера и Фурста, ITMA была «совершенно новой, оторванной от условностей как радио, так и комедии мюзик-холла». [15] Это основывалось на быстрой подаче юмора Хэндли с его «почти чудесной техникой». [15] Сценарист и продюсер Джон Фишер в своем исследовании комиков и комедий 20-го века подчеркивает "скорость представления ITMA, ее быструю последовательность коротких сцен и словесных непоследовательностей, которые отходят от традиционного эскиза мюзик-холла". ориентация Band Waggon ». [16] В передачах было в среднем восемнадцать с половиной минут диалога, в которые Кавана пытался написать сотню смеха; [17]Фостер и Ферст отмечают, что смех происходит каждые одиннадцать секунд. [15] Между комическими сценами в каждом шоу обычно были две музыкальные паузы: первая чисто оркестровая, а вторая - с песней нынешнего певца. [18]

Сюжетные линии для каждой недели были тонкими, и программа была написана так, чтобы Хэндли в центре взаимодействовал с набором повторяющихся персонажей, у каждого из которых были свои собственные крылатые фразы или фразы. [14] [17] Эти крылатые фразы были использованы намеренно, чтобы позволить слушающей публике определить, кто из персонажей говорит. [19] Программа транслировалась в прямом эфире каждую неделю, и многие из многочисленных звуковых эффектов шоу звучали вживую вместе с актерами. [20] Для ITMA звуковой эффект не был сокращенным способом настройки сцены для слушателя, [b]но, по словам академика Питера Дэвисона, «как средство акцентировать быстрое развитие событий ... выполнять работу слов и разрешать чрезвычайно экономичную драму для среды, которая полагается на слова - и звуки» . [21] Разнообразие персонажей и звуков было ключевым для Кавана, который написал, что хотел:

использовать звук так, как он того стоит: звучание разных голосов и акцентов, использование крылатых фраз, воздействие забавных звуков в словах, гротескные эффекты для создания атмосферы - все средства для создания иллюзии довольно сумасшедшей или перевернутой реальности. [22]

Сценарии написаны в течение недели трансляции, чтобы обеспечить актуальность. Через год после окончания ITMA . Кавана размышлял: «Я сам не могу понять некоторые шутки. Это были пародии на девятидневное чудо - заголовок газеты того дня, который умер на следующей неделе. Каждая программа является точным отражением военной ситуации того времени». [15] Некоторые части сценария были переписаны за несколько часов до трансляции по мере изменения новостей. Кавана посетил армейские лагеря и фабрики, чтобы послушать жаргон и сленг, текущие шутки, ходящие по кругу, а также жалобы и недовольство, и использовал материал в шоу. Таким образом, Уорсли считает, что ITMAбыло "радио ближе всего подошло к повседневным шуткам, которые всегда делают обычные люди". [17]

По мере развития программы Кавана изменил ход программы, перейдя от разрозненного набора сцен или эскизов к более определенному сюжету. [22]

Трансляции [ править ]

Довоенный [ править ]

Серия 1: июль - август 1939 г. [ править ]

Первой серией ITMA планировалось стать пробный показ шести шоу продолжительностью 45 минут, транслируемых раз в две недели. Они начались 12 июля 1939 года, осуществляется на BBC звукового объекта , либо в Maida Vale Studios , [23] или Георгиевском зале . [24] Шоу транслировались в прямом эфире по национальной программе BBC в 20:15. [25] Программа была установлена ​​на корабле, способном транслировать радиопрограммы, с Хэндли в качестве диспетчера станции и ведущего. Его сопровождали Сесилия Эдди, Эрик Иган и Сэм Хеппнер. Шоу включало викторину, которую вел Лайонел Гамлин . [24] [25]

В статье в Radio Times , сопровождавшей первую программу, Уорсли описал предпосылку шоу: Хэндли «захватывает корабль, оснащает его передатчиком и студией, и отправляется в путь по культуре вещания Seven Seas scattering (бренд Handley) и 'реклама' (любой бренд) ". [26] Музыка была предоставлена ​​группой Джека Харриса, выступавшей в горячих точках Лондона, включая Café de Paris и London Casino . [26] В условиях напряженной международной обстановки в середине 1939 года Кавана старался избегать использования политических анекдотов или любых материалов, слишком актуальных или деликатных. Хэндли, как известно, придерживался сценария, практически не прибегая к импровизации, чтобы беспокоить продюсеров.[23] [27]

Четвертый выпуск ITMA вышел в эфир 30 августа. Когда 3 сентября разразилась Вторая мировая война , оставшаяся часть сериала была отменена. [28] [29] [c] Шоу имело ограниченный успех, [27] и Уорсли подумал, что это, вероятно, был «еще один провал в трансляции». [29]

Военное время [ править ]

Серия 2: сентябрь 1939 г. - февраль 1940 г. [ править ]

BBC планировала начало войны, и как только она была объявлена, отдел варьете был переведен в Бристоль . [27] [d] Переезд означал, что некоторые из первоначальных исполнителей были недоступны; Новый состав был собран из тех, кто переехал в Бристоль и получил необходимый допуск от Министерства информации . [28] [41] Хэндли аккомпанировали Вера Леннокс, Морис Денхэм , Сэм Коста и Джек Трейн , а музыку для второй серии исполняла группа Джека Хилтона под управлением Билли Тернента.и поддерживается Rhythm Octet. [15]

В связи с тем, что идея радиовещательного корабля во время войны стала слишком маловероятной, предпосылка программы изменилась, и Хэндли возглавил вымышленное Министерство по расследованию преступлений и тайн, где он работал в Управлении тверпов. [41] [42] Другие изменения в формате включали удаление части викторины программы - которая, по мнению Уорсли, задерживала ход шоу - заменена «Radio Fakenburg», пародией на Radio Luxembourg . [43] По вечерам и ночам было отключено электричество , все кинотеатры и театры были закрыты правительством; такие меры привели к увеличению количества слушателей шоу. [40] Писатель и комик Барри Тукпишет, что успех также стал результатом «уверенности в себе и бодрого оптимизма, [который был] долгожданным облегчением в то время страха и неуверенности». [27]

Вторая серия ITMA завершилась в феврале 1940 года, и шоу отправилось в тур по стране, в течение которого его не транслировали почти 18 месяцев, за исключением одного специального выпуска в мае 1940 года. Принял к сведению, что шоу не имело того влияния, которое оно оказало на радио, поскольку выступления Хэндли через микрофон были более интимными, чем в театре. [44] [15]

Серии 3 и 4: июнь 1941 г. - май 1942 г. [ править ]

В то время как ITMA отсутствовал в эфире, немецкая кампания бомбардировок включала Бристоль, что вызвало переезд Департамента разнообразия в Бангор , северо-западный Уэльс в апреле 1941 года. [45] [46] Когда в июне 1941 года начал вещание третий сериал, Кавана уже имел представил больше персонажей и установил шоу в вымышленном приморском городке Пена во рту с Хэндли в качестве его мэра, переименовав программу, кратко, «Это снова песок» , прежде чем она вернулась к ITMA . Произошли изменения и в актерском составе. Денхольм и Коста присоединились к армии со времен предыдущей серии; были привлечены новые актеры, в том числе Гораций Персиваль, Дороти Саммерс, Кларенс Райт иФред Юл . [47] [48]

Серия 3 длилась шесть недель и закончилась 25 июля 1941 года. Серия 4 последовала через два месяца, начиная с 26 сентября. К этому моменту программа собрала 16 миллионов слушателей и была самой популярной программой, которую когда-либо транслировал Департамент эстрады BBC. [49] Во время пятой программы слушатели слышали взрыв двух морских мин , которые были сброшены на Бангор и приземлились в 0,8 км от студии, а не в реке Мерси . Хотя актеры продолжили выступление после короткой паузы, программу сняли с эфира и заменили музыкой. [49] [50]

В апреле 1942 года ITMA провела командное выступление в Виндзорском замке в присутствии Георга VI и его королевы по случаю 16-летия принцессы Елизаветы . Это было, как отмечает Уорсли, первым радиошоу Королевского командования. [51] Королевская семья была поклонницей программы; член королевского двора сказал, что если война закончится между 8.30 и 21.00 в четверг вечером, никто из членов семьи не посмеет сказать королю, пока ITMA не закончит. [52]

Серии 5 и 6: сентябрь 1942 г. - июль 1943 г. [ править ]

Серия 5 началась в сентябре 1942 года и длилась 20 недель. Одна из программ в ноябре транслировалась по программе BBC Forces для солдат в Северной Африке, и это была первая передача в войска. [53] Шоу становились все более актуальными и актуальными. [54] Уорсли начал экспериментировать с размером аудитории, чтобы выбрать наиболее подходящий вариант. Он пытался в театрах и кинотеатрах Бангора и Лландидно привлечь 2000 зрителей, а в студии Бангора - 200 зрителей; он также попробовал без аудитории, и остановился на 200 как правильное число. [55] [e]Предпосылка шоу снова изменилась: Хэндли был уволен с поста мэра «Пена во рту», ​​а теперь стал менеджером завода по производству боеприпасов. Было введено несколько новых персонажей, в том числе полковник Чинстрап, отставной армейский офицер-алкоголик, озвученный Train. [54]

Перед началом записи шестой серии была выпущена киноверсия It's That Man Again . В главной роли Хэндли и многие из постоянных участников радиопрограмм, он был написан Каванахом и Говардом Ирвингом Янгом и направлен Уолтером Фордом . [56] [57] The Times сочла трудным перенести формат радио-шоу на экран кинотеатра, но, тем не менее, Форд «очень хорошо справляется со своей сложной задачей». Как следствие, рецензент подумал, что фильм «достигает хотя бы частичного успеха за счет экстравагантности собственного безумия». [58]

Сценарий программы снова изменился в шестой серии, когда, решив переместить завод по производству боеприпасов под землю, был открыт серный источник, и «Пена во рту» превратилась в спа . [54]

Серии 7 и 8: октябрь 1943 г. - июнь 1945 г. [ править ]

ИТМА отливать с некоторыми из экипажа HMS  Энсон  (79) под четыре корабля 14-дюймовых орудий

Во второй половине 1943 года Департамент эстрады вернулся в Лондон. [13] Сезон 7 ITMA , который начался в октябре того же года, был записан в Criterion Theater на площади Пикадилли . [59] Шоу возобновилось без Трейна, чье здоровье, которое ухудшалось в течение некоторого времени, полностью сломалось; он провел год в санатории в Северном Уэльсе, выздоравливая. Уорсли принял решение дать отдых персонажам Трейна, а не попросить другого актера изобразить его; хотя его критиковали за это решение, он сказал, что «любая имитация была, на мой взгляд, как клей к настоящим бриллиантам». [41] [60] В серию вошли передачи для каждой из трех сил: в январе 1944 г.ITMA транслировалась с базы Королевского флота в Скапа-Флоу , шоу для Королевских ВВС было записано в Criterion в феврале, а армейское издание - из Гарнизонного театра в Королевских артиллерийских казармах в Вулвиче . [61]

Серия 8 началась в сентябре 1944 года со специального шоу на заводе Wolseley Motors в Бирмингеме, [f] но шоу провалилось, и было решено не проводить никаких дальнейших трансляций за пределами студии. [63] Трейн вернулся в гипс, но в конце 1944 года Уорсли был госпитализирован на семь месяцев. [60] [g] Производственные обязанности были взяты на себя Ронни Уолдманом до трансляции 10 мая 1944 года, когда вернулся Уорсли. Его первой программой была V-ITMA , специальная выставка 11 мая 1945 года, посвященная окончанию войны в Европе. [65] [66] [h] Сериал подошел к концу через месяц, после 39 недель просмотра.[40]

Послевоенное [ править ]

Серии 9–12, послевоенные: сентябрь 1945 г. - январь 1949 г. [ править ]

Хэндли (в центре) и Дороти Саммерс записывают эпизод ITMA в 1945 году; дирижер Чарльз Шедвелл (справа) смеется

В начале послевоенных ITMA , Хэндли, Кавана и Уорсли решили сменить многих актеров, чтобы шоу оставалось свежим; Дороти Саммерс, Сидней Кейт, Дино Гальвани и Гораций Персиваль были освобождены из шоу и заменены Хью Мортоном , Мэри О'Фаррелл, Карлтоном Хоббсом и Линд Джойс, а Кларенс Райт вернулся в программу. [67] [i] Предпосылка шоу тоже изменилась: Хэндли покинул «Пенистую во рту» и стал губернатором вымышленного острова Томтопия. [70]Сюжетная линия ближе к концу 9 серии была сосредоточена на правительственном расследовании деятельности администрации Томопии; серия закончилась в июне 1946 года, когда Хэндли покинул Tomtopia и вернулся в Великобританию. [71]

Программа-приквел к 10-му сериалу «Куда делась Томопия?» Была основана на идее, что Хэндли должен «столкнуться с расследованием вопроса о его губернаторстве» острова. Он столкнулся с вопросами, среди прочего, от Дилис Пауэлл - кинокритика из «Санди Таймс», медицинского представителя доктора Чарльза Хилла и автора А. Г. Стрит ; Программу вел сэр Уильям Дарлинг , член парламента. [68] [j] Остальная часть сериала была посвящена Хэндли, живущему в вымышленном замке УиХус в Шотландии, где он строил ракету, чтобы доставить его на Луну. Примерно на шестой неделе сериала ракета была запущена, но совершила аварийную посадку на Томопию, где появился новый губернатор Перси Палавер, которого играетДерик Гайлер - главный. [73] [74]

В 11-м сезоне, который начался в сентябре 1947 года, был последний рекрут в составе ITMA : Хэтти Жак , сыгравшая Эллу Фант и Софи Такшоп. Она так нервничала во время прослушивания, что Хэндли держал ее за руку, что, как она обнаружила, заставило ее нервничать еще больше. [75] [76] Здоровье Хэндли начало ухудшаться к концу 38-недельного цикла, и было высказано предположение, что серия 12 была отложена. Он сказал нет, и ITMA снова началось в сентябре 1948 года. 9 января 1949 года, через три недели после шестнадцатого эпизода сериала, Хэндли внезапно умер от кровоизлияния в мозг . Новость была объявлена ​​по радио в тот вечер, в конце воскресного вечернего повтора ITMA.Генеральным директором BBC сэром Уильямом Хейли , который настоял на том, чтобы сделать заявление сам. [12] [77] [78] Без звезды ITMA закрыли ; Тук отмечает, что Хэндли «был настолько краеугольным камнем и воплощением настоящего выступления, что ITMA умерла вместе с ним». [12]

Ведущие персонажи [ править ]

The main character was always Handley's, whether as manager of the pirate radio station, head of the Office of Twerps, Mayor of Foaming-at-the-Mouth, factory manager, Governor of Tomtopia or down-and-out. He remained the fast-talking central figure, around whom all the other characters orbited.[79] Took comments that it is impossible to put them into order of popularity: "They were all successful. Everyone had their own favourite".[80] Some of the best known are described below, in order of first appearance in the show.

Funf[edit]

Funf
Played by Jack Train
Series 2–6
Catchphrase: This is Funf speaking.[81]

Funf,[k] "the enemy agent with the feet of sauerkraut",[83] was the earliest of the show's major characters, making his debut in the second programme of the second series.[28] He was an incompetent German agent, ITMA's response to a national scare in 1940 about a supposed "fifth column" in Britain.[84] He would telephone Handley to make dark threats, in a sinister, hollow voice, which Train produced by speaking across the top of an empty glass held next to the microphone. Handley's verbal dexterity continually left Funf in confusion. Funf, described by the media historian Denis Gifford as "the greatest of all war-time characters",[85] became what Worsley called "a national craze"[82] and helped to make the German propaganda machine a source of public ridicule in Britain.[86]

The Diver[edit]

The Diver
Played by Horace Percival
Series 3–8
Catchphrases:
• Don't forget the diver
• Every penny makes the water warmer
• I'm going down now, sir.[81]

The Diver was drawn from a real-life figure familiar to Handley's generation of Merseysiders. The one-legged diver and swimmer Frank Gadsby was well known at New Brighton in the first decades of the 20th century for high-diving off the pier, watched by what the Liverpool Echo called "countless boatloads of people"[87] He would solicit donations with phrases appropriated by his caricature in ITMA: "Don't forget the diver, sir, don't forget the diver. Every penny makes the water warmer!"[88][l]

In ITMA the Diver was what Worsley called a "crossing" character: he would cross a scene for a few seconds, often to interrupt Handley at a particularly inopportune moment:

There would be a gurgling sound, a few bubbles, and up would bob the Diver. His few words very soon became part of the country's vocabulary, as did so many of our phrases, and it was not long before "Don't forget the Diver" was heard on all sides, in bars, in buses, on stations, even from disembodied voices in the black-out, and practically no lift descended without someone saying in those weary tones "I'm going down now, sir!"[92]

Cecil and Claude[edit]

Cecil and Claude
Played by Horace Percival and Jack Train
Series 3–5
Catchphrase:
After you, Claude. No, after you, Cecil.[93]

Two ceremonious odd-job men—also broker's men – who talked in rhyme:

Cecil: After you, Claude –
Claude: No, after you, Cecil
Handley: Cut out the etiquette—you've a big job to do
Cecil: Do you want us to push your chair, Mr Mayor?
Claude: It'll need a new tyre, sire.
Handley: No. I want you to go round to the lighthouse and lend a hand erecting our Foaming Fun Fair.
Cecil: Will there be swings and things?
Claude: There'll be coconut shies I surmise.
Handley: Yes, and merry-go-rounds, you hounds. …
Cecil: Then we'll have a dekko Sir Echo.
Claude: We'll have a penn'orth Sir Kenneth.[94]

Ali Oop[edit]

Ali Oop
Played by Horace Percival
Series 3–4
Catchphrase: I go—I come back.[95]

Ali Oop was a caricature of a middle-eastern hawker, persistently trying to sell improbable goods to Handley:

Ali Oop: Please mister, you give me permission to peddle on your pier?
Handley: Certainly not.
Ali Oop: Any other town I peddle where I like.
Handley: Ah, but we're very particular here.
Ali Oop: You give me licence—I give you very funny toy. Make loud noises when sat on.
Handley: They used to laugh when I sat down at the piano.[m] You get out of here and take your penetrating effluvia with you.
Ali Oop: I go—I come back.[97]

Sam Scram and Lefty[edit]

Sam Scram and Lefty
Played by Sydney Keith and Jack Train
Series 3–8 (Sam); 3–6 and 8 (Lefty)
Catchphrases:
• Boss, boss, sumpin' terrible's happened! (Sam)
• It's me noives! (Lefty).[93]

Sam and Lefty were two American characters, both nominally gangsters, but of a conspicuously uncombative kind. Sam, Handley's bodyguard, was prone to panic:[48]

Sam: Boss, boss, sumpin' terrible's happened!
Handley: Don't tell me the Scharnhorst has come up again?
Sam: No, there's a tough-looking guy outside, boss.
Handley: Has he got a broken handcuff on one wrist?
Sam: Yes, boss!
Handley: And a bludgeon in the other?
Sam: Yeah, boss!
Handley: And crime written all over his face?
Sam: Yeah, boss!
Handley: It's my brother: send him in.[98]

Lefty was of a nervous disposition.[48] At a fairground shooting gallery with Sam:

Lefty: I got the gun—they're going to get the woiks. ... Missed 'em!
Sam: I thought you were a dead shot with one of dem tings.
Lefty: Aw—it's me noives, I tell ya—its me noives.[99]

When Train was ill during series 7, Lefty was temporarily replaced by Butch Scram, Sam's brother, played by Bryan Herbert.[59]

Mrs Mopp[edit]

Mrs Mopp
Played by Dorothy Summers
Series 4–8
Catchphrases:
• Can I do you now, sir?
• I've brought this for you, sir.
• TTFN.[81]

Although Mrs Mopp, the charlady, was in fewer than half the series of ITMA, she was one of the best loved characters, and was remembered long after the show finished. She would burst through Handley's door, usually when least convenient, and hoarsely ask, "Can I do you now sir?"[n] She regularly brought Handley peculiar presents, nominally edible as a rule, beginning with some carrot jelly she had sieved through her jumper.[49] In the show recorded before a Royal Navy audience she brought him "a Bosun's Blancmange".[101] At the end of their scenes together she would bid him "Ta-ta for now", soon abbreviated to "TTFN".[49]

Mrs Mopp: Can I do you now, sir?
Handley: Well, if it isn't Mrs Mopp the vamping vassal with the tousled tassel. I thought you told me you were called up?
Mrs Mopp: Well, sir, I had me medical.
Handley: And were you passed A.1?
Mrs Mopp: Oh no, sir. I'm passed sixty-two.
Handley: You don't look a day over sixty-one. I mean, were you passed fit? ...
Mrs Mopp: No, sir—I was examined by a lady doctor. She wanted me to remove my bonnet.
Handley: Disgraceful! I expect she wanted to open a false front.
Mrs Mopp: I wouldn't let her meddle with my modesty vest, sir. I said, "You must take me as you find me". The Labour sent me to you, sir.
Handley: The Labour? That's capital. I'll put you in charge of the sock exchange.
Mrs Mopp: Oh, thank you, sir. I brought this for you.
Handley: Isn't that nice. What is it—an engineer's indiscretion?
Mrs Mopp: No, sir, it's an overseer's 'otpot.
Handley: Thank you, Mrs M. There'll be an 'otpot in the Old Tom tonight.
Mrs Mopp: Ta-ta for now.[102]

At their last meeting Mrs Mopp bade Handley "TTFN", to which he responded, "NCTWWASBE"—"Never Clean The Window With A Soft-Boiled Egg".[103][o] After being written out of ITMA she had her own series of quarter-hour programmes, The Private Life of Mrs Mopp, written by Kavanagh.[105]

Commercial Traveller[edit]

Commercial Traveller
Played by Clarence Wright
Series 4–5
Catchphrase: Good morning! Nice day!.[93]

The Commercial Traveller, like the Diver, was a "crossing" character, distracting Handley from the business at hand with his irrelevant sales patter:

Traveller: Good morning.
Handley: Good morning
Traveller: Nice day.
Handley: No.
Traveller: Any helicopters, motor cars or washing machines?
Handley: Yes, please.
Traveller: You can't have them—they're only for export.
Handley: What have you come here for, then?
Traveller: So that I can call again. Good morning.
Handley: Good morning.
Traveller: Nice day.[106]

Signor So-So[edit]

Signor So-So
Played by Dino Galvani
Series 4–8
Catchphrase: Notting at all! Notting at all!.[93]

Handley's scatty secretary was planned as an Italian equivalent of Funf, but "his chronic mismanagement of the English tongue proved too endearing and he remained at Handley's side as a well-loved language joke".[107] His incurable tendency to malapropisms caused him to address a female character: "Ah, you attract me like a maggot! Let me cuss you on both cheeks".[107] His verbal infelicities became infectious and regularly caused Handley's character to trip over his words:

Handley: Now, So-So, you are an architect, aren't you?
So-So: Oh yes, Mr Hagglemuch. I am an unqualified artichoke. I have built many sky-scrappers, and bolks of falts.
Handley: Bolks of falts?
So-So: Yes—luxury falts.
Handley: Now listen, you leaning tower of Pisa, you can say bolks of falts as easy as I can.
So-So: You mean blocks of flats. I have also built a villain in the country.
Handley: A villain?
So-So: Yes, a semi-detached villain. … Come this way. This is your office. I will finish it.
Handley: Listen, So-So, leave the finishing—er—furnishing of this to me. Any more of your basic English and I'd go mad.
So-So: Oka-da-doke.[108]

Colonel Chinstrap[edit]

Colonel Chinstrap
Played by Jack Train
Series 5–6 and 8–12
Catchphrase: I don't mind if I do.[109]

The bibulous Colonel Chinstrap was a retired army officer, perpetually on the look-out for a free drink.[p] The Times commented that his voice "carried the unmistakeable aroma of vintage port and brandy".[112] A prototype of the character appeared in the third series:

Handley: Didn't I meet you in Rumbellipoor, sir?
Train: You did not, sir. I was never there.
Handley: Then you must have a double.
Train: Thanks, I will.[113]

The character reappeared in the fifth series, now identified as Colonel Humphrey Chinstrap; he rapidly became one of the show's most popular features.[109] He would "mishear" an innocent remark as an invitation to a drink:

Handley: Colonel, you have been treated most shabbily.
Chinstrap: A glass of Chablis, sir? I don’t mind if I do.[114]		Handley: Why don't you try a swim in the Serpentine?
Chinstrap: Try a gin and turpentine? I don't mind if I do.[115]
Handley: Funf … He's a sly Jerry
Chinstrap: Did I hear you say "dry sherry", Handley? I don't mind if I do.[116]		Handley: King John signing the Magna Carta at Runnymede.
Chinstrap: Rum and mead, sir? I don't mind if I do.[117]

The catchphrase, "I don't mind if I do", was not new,[q] but ITMA brought it into widespread popular use.[119]The Colonel had a life beyond ITMA. Train ("assisted by Colonel Chinstrap") made a gramophone record of a song called "I don't mind if I do" in 1949;[120] Chinstrap and his ITMA colleague Major Mundy offered comments on the Lord's Test Match in two short broadcasts in June 1949;[121] Train, playing Chinstrap, co-starred in the 1950 comedy series The Great Gilhooly,[122] and appeared weekly on television in late 1951 and early 1952 with scenes from the Colonel's life story.[123] In 1952 Evans Brothers published Chinstrap's autobiography—ghost-written by Kavanagh, with a foreword by Train.[124] In a 1954 BBC radio programme he featured in The True Story of Humphrey Chinstrap (Col. Retd.), "the authentic history of a warrior who penetrated the darkest jungles of Whitehall and Wooloomooloo armed only with a sword and a corkscrew".[125] Train twice made guest appearances as Chinstrap in The Goon Show (1957 and 1959).[126][r]

Mona Lott[edit]

Mona Lott
Played by Joan Harben
Series 10–12
Catchphrase:
It's being so cheerful that keeps me going.[93]

Mona Lott (subsequently, after her marriage, Mona Little), the lugubrious laundress, was among the later creations to feature in the show, appearing in the last three series. She would regale Handley with her latest woes, her doleful demeanour in ludicrous contrast with her mantra, "It's being so cheerful that keeps me going". For Mona, a domestic disaster such as a burst water tank would become increasingly calamitous, until her husband ...

... started rowing the bed about the room shouting, "Any more for the Skylark?" and then somebody opened the bungalow door and he went sailing down the garden path and I haven't heard from him since.[128]

Among other catastrophes recounted by Mona were her brother-in-law, a champion runner, walking in his sleep and getting half-way to Brighton before anyone could catch him,[129] and, when on a train journey, "I put me head out of the window to look at the view, and the mail-bag catcher caught me. Before I knew where I was I found myself on the platform between a sack of fertiliser and a dead duck".[130]

Sophie Tuckshop[edit]

Sophie Tuckshop
Played by Hattie Jacques
Series 11–12
Catchphrase: …but I'm all right now.[131]

Sophie Tuckshop was a replacement for a less successful character, Ella Phant. Jokes about the latter's size did not work well on radio because the light and girlish voice of the performer, Hattie Jacques, did not suggest a heavyweight.[75] She described Sophie as "a terrible child who never stopped eating, with the inevitable sickening results".[75]

Sophie: I had such a lovely dream last night —I dreamt the bed was made of marzipan and the mattress was marshmallow and the sheets were jelly and the pillows embroidered with lovely sugar violets.
Handley: Stop! Once more we halt the roar of Sophie's Tuckshop to tell you of some of the interesting things that are In Tum Tonight! Carry on, Bicarb![132][s]

Other characters[edit]

Sam Costa

Kavanagh and the ITMA team caricatured people of all ages, both sexes, and many nationalities, classes and professions. There were spoofs of national and regional types, including Johann Bull, a conspicuously Teutonic German agent trying to pass himself off as English;[54] Chief Bigga Banga of Tomtopia, who spoke no English and Wamba M'Boojah who spoke with the grandest of Oxford accents, having been a BBC announcer;[136] the American publicity agent, Luke Slippy;[93] Hari Kari, a Japanese caller whose gibberish only Handley could understand,[137] and his compatriots Bowing and Scraping.[138] From the British regions there were the Scottish Tattie Mackintosh (and her mother); the Welsh Sam Fairfechan ("Hello, how are you? As if I cared") and his family;[139] and the Liverpudlian Frisby Dyke, with a strong Scouse accent, puzzled by some of Handley's longer words ("What's a concentrated cacophony?"),[140] but usually winning their weekly battle of wits.[141][t]

Leading female characters included three secretaries to Handley in his various capacities: Cilly,[24] Dotty (her sister),[28] and the formidable but soft-hearted Miss Hotchkiss;[65] Mrs Lola Tickle, Handley's first charlady;[37] Ivy Clingvine, telephonist at Radio Fakenburg;[37] the shy Lady Sonely;[136] Banjeleo, Bigga Banga's daughter and translator;[136] Nurse Riff-Rafferty, Handley's old nanny, with a fund of embarrassing stories of his early years;[136] Naieve, Major Mundy's old-fashioned daughter;[143] the "pert poppet" Poppy Poopah;[59][144] Ruby Rockcake who ran the railway buffet: "No cups outside!";[136] the generously proportioned Ella Phant;[75] and the two unnamed Posh Ladies, whose conversations were strewn with "dahlings" and always ended with the cry, "Taxi!"[69]

Military figures in addition to Colonel Chinstrap included his puritanical nephew Brigadier Dear, mortified by his uncle's excesses;[145] and Major Mundy, a British expatriate on Tomtopia with an unreconstructed 19th-century mindset.[143]

Among the mock authority figures were Sir Short Supply, a strangulated-voiced bureaucrat;[145] the Town Clerk, a north-country official who would offer "have a cher, Mr Mer", later Mer himself;[146] Fusspot, an official whose name was self-explanatory;[147] two characters with a habit of repeating the ends of their sentences: the Man from the Ministry[54] and Inspector Squirt: "I'm Inspector Squirt—I said Squirt";[148] and Percy Palaver, appointed governor of Tomtopia in Handley's absence, and notable for his generally unintelligible speech punctuated with "oomyahs" and "harrumphs".[93]

Professions and occupations were represented by, among others, the announcer at Radio Fakenburg;[37] Atlas, the hypochondriac strongman;[141] Bookham, a variety agent;[54] Curly Kale, a chef who hated food and loved dreadful old jokes;[149] Dan Dungeon, the jocose tour guide at Castle Weehouse;[145] Farmer Jollop;[40] Lemuel the office boy;[37] Norman the Doorman;[54] and Vodkin and Vladivostooge, two mad scientists.[150]

Eccentrics included Basil Backwards ("Sir, morning good! Coffee of cup. Strong too not. Milk have rather I'd");[151] George Gorge, a champion glutton;[143] Comical Chris, a persistent would-be joker;[69] Mark Time, a nonagenarian whose response to anything was, "I'll have to ask me dad";[65] Mr Sninch-of-Puff, a man who spoke in spoonerisms;[152][153] and Whats'isname, a man who struggled to recall the simplest nouns, and had the same effect on Handley.[69][154]

Performers[edit]

The list is not exhaustive: members of the cast played many other roles, mostly one-off, unnamed, and sometimes not even human;[u] the singers, the orchestra and the musical director, Charles Shadwell, sometimes had lines in the script.[156] From time to time guests appeared on the show.[157][158] There were recurring characters who were mentioned frequently but were never heard, such as Peter Geekie,[159] or appeared regularly but were not given a name, such as Carleton Hobbs's man whose banal weekly tales began and ended "Ain't it a shame, eh? Ain't it a shame?"[136] and Hugh Morton's speaker whose sentences began softly and ended in a deafening shout.[160]

PerformerSeriesRegular rolesNotes
Jean Capra7–9"Ever So" girl;
Naieve;
Poppy Poopah		Jean Capra (1916–1991) was an actress who made her broadcasting debut in ITMA in October 1943 in the seventh series. She had appeared in Shakespeare at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre and in Me and My Girl at the Victoria Palace, toured in musical comedies and appeared in films before joining the cast of ITMA.[161]
Kay Cavendish3–5Singer: leader of the Cavendish Three, a close harmony trio
Further information: Kay Cavendish
Jack Cooper7singerIn the 1930s Jack Cooper was the singer with Jack Jackson's band, and later starred with Joan Heal in the London production of the musical High Button Shoes (1948). He was a frequent broadcaster.[162][163]
Sam Costa2Singer; Lemuel
Further information: Sam Costa
Michelle de Lys9French girlFrench actress. A child dancer at the Paris Opéra. One of the first artists to entertain French forces in Britain (becoming known as the "Sweetheart of the French Fighting Forces").[164] She had small film roles in Lisbon Story and Bedelia.[165]
Maurice Denham2Announcer, Radio Fakenburg;
Ivy Clingvine, telephonist;
Mrs Lola Tickle;
Vodkin		Maurice Denham left to join the armed forces, but made a guest appearance as Lola Tickle in series 4 while on leave, in a confrontation between Handley's two charladies.[157] Later known for playing Dudley Davenport in Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh among numerous other roles in a stage, screen and radio career lasting from 1934 to 1997.[166]
Further information: Maurice Denham
Cecilia Eddy1Cilly, the secretaryCanadian actress (1912–1958). She appeared frequently on BBC radio between 1939 and 1946, and on BBC television in 1939 in Once in a Lifetime, and in the early 1950s in Anne's Arrival and Dinner at Eight.[167] She and Handley had appeared together on air earlier in 1939 in a show called That's Selling 'Em, as "a delightfully crazy team after the manner of George Burns and Gracie Allen".[26]
Eric Egan1VladivostoogeDetails of this performer are scarce. He was the physical fitness instructor on Radio Luxembourg's Doing the Daily Dozen in 1939.[168] He is not recorded as having broadcast on the BBC other than in four episodes of ITMA;[169] he is not mentioned in Who's Who in the Theatre or on the British Film Institute's website.[170][171]
Tony Francis10Reg RaspberryA dialect expert, mimic and impressionist,[172][173] Francis was born in Leicester,[174] and came from a theatrical family. He began as a boy soprano before successfully taking up impressions. He joined ITMA from the Royal Air Force through one of the BBC's regular auditions.[175] He mimicked skidding cars, trains, galloping horses and crowded pubs, but used no dialogue. According to Foster and Furst, "although his skills were considerable, they held up the pace of the show and he didn't stay for long".[152]
Dino Galvani4–8Signor So-So
Further information: Dino Galvani
Lionel Gamlin1Quizmaster
Further information: Lionel Gamlin
Paula Green3–8Singer;
Commercial traveller;
"Ever So" girl		Paula Green (6 March 6, 1917 – 4 January 2012) was a popular wartime singer who performed on radio and travelled thousands of miles from Orkney to the Middle East to perform for British troops. Before joining ITMA she toured with the Joe Loss Orchestra. She was given her own radio show towards the end of the war. Her recording of "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" was played on BBC Radio nearly half a century later for the Queen Mother's 90th birthday.[176]
Deryck Guyler10–12Dan Dungeon; Frisby Dyke; Percy Palaver; Sir Short Supply
Further information: Deryck Guyler
Joan Harben10–12Mona Lott;
Upsey's owner		Joan Harben (1909–1953) was the daughter of the actress Mary Jerrold. She won a scholarship and gold medal at RADA in 1927 and took leading roles at the Old Vic and in the West End.[177] Despite her considerable theatre experience, Mona Lott in ITMA was only her second comedy role.[178]
Sam Heppner1Presenter of "Man Bites Dog" featureSam Heppner (1914–1983) was a broadcaster, author, composer and lyricist.[179]
Bryan Herbert7Butch (Sam Scram's brother)Described in the press as "An Irishman with many voices at his command",[180] Herbert came to ITMA after working at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin and with the spin-off company The Irish Players. He began broadcasting in 1933, joined the BBC Repertory Company in 1942 and ITMA the following year.[178]
Carleton Hobbs9Curly Kale; Major Munday
Further information: Carleton Hobbs
Hattie Jacques11–12Ella Phant; Sophie Tuckshop
Further information: Hattie Jacques
Lind Joyce9–12Singer; Banjeleo;
Pam Fairfechan (Sam's sister)		 Lind Joyce (née Edith May Joyce, 1918–1971) was an actress and singer. She sang frequently on BBC radio programmes between 1942 and 1955,[181] and was seen in the 1947 film Meet Me at Dawn.[182]
Sydney Keith4–8Sam ScramSydney Keith (1900–1982) was born in the US, appeared on Broadway, went to Britain in a juvenile act in 1918 and spent most of his subsequent career there.[183] He played in revue and musical comedy and toured with his wife, Sheila May, in a song and dance double act.[184]
Vera Lennox2, 5–6Dotty;
First Posh Lady		Vera Lennox (1903–1984) was a comedienne, singer and dancer. She appeared in many musical comedies and light non-musical plays in the 1920s and 30s, often with Leslie Henson, mostly in the West End, but also on Broadway. The Times praised her "spirited charm".[185]
Diana Morrison8–12Miss Hotchkiss;
Nanny; Aunt Sally		The actress Diana Morrison (1914–2000) started in show-business in the chorus at the Gaiety Theatre She appeared frequently on BBC radio and television from the 1930s onwards. Like Sam Costa and Maurice Denham, after the end of ITMA she appeared in Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh.[186]
Hugh Morton9–12Basil Backwards; Josiah Creep; Brigadier Dear; Sam Fairfechan; Wamba M'Boojah; Mr Sninch of Puff; Scraping
Further information: Hugh Morton (actor)
Mary O'Farrell9Nurse Riff-Rafferty;
Ruby Rockcake;
Lady Sonely		Mary O'Farrell (1892–1968) was an actress who worked mostly for the BBC. Starting her career in the West End, she first broadcast in 1923 in a production with Henry Ainley, and was later a long-time member of the BBC Repertory Company.[187] Among her best-known roles was the eponymous "composeress" Hilda Tablet in Henry Reed's series of radio comedies between 1953 and 1959.[188]
Horace Percival3–8Ali Oop;
Cecil;
The Diver;
Whats'isname; Percy Pintable		After success in musical comedy in the 1920s the actor Horace Percival (1886–1961) concentrated on radio work, in which, according to The Times he displayed considerable versatility. Before joining the ITMA team in 1942 he appeared in radio plays, operettas, musicals, variety and numerous features like the "Scrapbook" programmes. After his seasons with ITMA he featured prominently in Here's Howerd with Frankie Howerd and from 1950 to 1958 in Life with the Lyons on television.[189]
Ann Rich8singerTook over singing slot from Paula Green in mid-series 8 (March 1945).[190] Also a regular in the Sunday Serenade programme, and sang in many other shows between 1942 and 1948.[191] She later appeared in the West End in The Pajama Game.[192]
Pat Rignold5singerPat Rignold was one of the singing trio The Cavendish Three, along with Kay Cavendish (above) and Dorothy Carless. She was also a comedienne, with a style described by the BBC as "dumb and scatty". She was the sister of the conductor Hugo Rignold.[193]
Bill Stephens6–7Admiral;
Comical Chris;
The Mad Photographer		Bill Stephens began his career in seaside concert parties and music hall. In 1942 he became a regular in Jollyoliday, a BBC programme for the armed forces.[194] In 1947 he took on the management of the New Market Theatre, Aylesbury, which had been used as a cinema before the war and as a food warehouse during it. Stephens restored the theatre and established a repertory company there.[195]
Dorothy Summers3–8Mrs Mopp;
Second Posh Lady		Dorothy Summers, née Daisy Sarah Summers (1883–1964), was born in Birmingham and as soon as she left school embarked on a show-business career, first in a pierrot troupe and then, for 14 years, touring the Commonwealth with various theatrical companies. From 1930 onwards her career was mostly in broadcasting. After ITMA she continued to appear on radio and between 1950 and 1958 she made numerous television appearances.[196]
Jack Train2–6, 8–12Bookham; Bowing; Claude; Colonel Chinstrap; Funf; Fusspot; Farmer Jollop; Hari Kari; Lefty; Prattle; Luke Slippy; Mark Time; Town Clerk
Further information: Jack Train
Molly Weir10Mrs Mackintosh; Tattie Mackintosh
Further information: Molly Weir
Clarence Wright3–5, 9Commercial Traveller;
Man from the Ministry;
Inspector Squirt		Clarence Wright (1908–1992) was born in Bournemouth, where he sang as a choirboy and later played the violin in the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra. He subsequently played in the Savoy Orpheans, and from there turned to acting. He considered his years working with Handley the most rewarding of his career, and the two became close friends. Wright organised the memorial tribute to Handley at St Paul's Cathedral in January 1949 and campaigned for 25 years to have a blue plaque placed on the wall of Handley's house in London.[197]
Fred Yule3–12Atlas; Bigga Banga; Johann Bull; Norman the Doorman; Andrew Geekie; George Gorge; Mr Grooves; Willy Nilly; Walter Wetwhite
Further information: Fred Yule
Sources: Foster and Furst (1999); Gifford (1985) and Kavanagh (1975).[198][199][200]

Catchphrases[edit]

These are among the best known of the catchphrases from the show. Some became common currency among the general public for many years; others were more ephemeral. One—"TTFN"—remained in frequent use throughout the second half of the 20th century and into the 21st, latterly being used in chat rooms, emails and newsgroups to sign off a message or posting.[201] "It's being so cheerful that keeps me going" also remains in use, seen in British newspapers more than 100 times in the first two decades of the 21st century.[202]

PhraseCharacter
After you, Claude.Cecil.[137]
Boss, boss, sumpin' terrible's happened!Sam Scram.[137]
But I'm all right now.Sophie Tuckshop.[131]
Can I do you now, sir?Mrs Mopp.[85]
Defense de cracher!Radio Fakenburg announcer.[85]
Doh![v]Miss Hotchkiss.[204]
Don't forget the diver!Diver.[137]
Down, Upsey!unnamed bossy character, to her small dog.[152]
Every penny makes the water warmer.Diver.[81]
Friday! Friday!Handley.[85]
Good morning! Nice day!Commercial traveller.[205]
I always do my best for all my gentlemen.Lola Tickle.[40]
I don't mind if I do.Colonel Chinstrap.[85]
I go—I come back.Ali Oop.[137]
I'll have to ask me dad.Mark Time.[65]
I'm going down now, sir.Diver.[137]
It's being so cheerful that keeps me going.Mona Lott.[93]
It's me noives!Lefty.[137]
I've brought this for you, sir.Mrs Mopp.[81]
Lovely grub!George Gorge.[143]
Me? In my state of health?Atlas.[148]
Mine's a Persico.Radio Fakenburg advertising slogan.[85]
Most irregular!Fusspot.[28]
No, after you, Cecil.Claude.[137]
Notting at all! Notting at all!Signor So-So.[49]
TTFN.Mrs Mopp.[81]
Well, all right, well, all right!The Cavendish Three.[85]
What a common boy!Handley.[40]
Wish I had as many shillings.Handley.[85]

Reputation[edit]

The Times commented that ITMA "achieved a humour of universal appeal and found eager listeners in every rank of society".[206] A 2002 history of Britain in the first half of the 20th century called the show "the most celebrated wartime radio programme ... praised by intellectuals for its surrealism and wordplay, but loved by the mass listening public for its delirious silliness".[207] The size of the audience was unprecedented; one historian records that more than sixteen million people listened to ITMA every week",[42] and another that "a staggering 40 per cent of the population" regularly tuned in.[208] But the show was not without its critics. Took quotes hostile letters to Radio Times: "Why should the producers in the Variety department assume that the listeners are a body of half-wits? The puns served up last night in "ITMA" were an insult to anyone's intelligence" (1939) and "I am constantly amazed by the number of otherwise intelligent people who rave about this programme. I have tried to discover some sort of level of culture or intelligence from which ITMA fans are drawn—but in vain" (1944).[208] In 1947 a Scottish MP, Jean Mann, referred to Handley—or his character—as a "twerp".[w]

In the show's early days critical response was not enthusiastic. The radio critic of The Manchester Guardian wrote in December 1939 that amusing as the show could be, "it is beginning to pall by its regularity and its attachment to the same style of humour".[211] By the end of the last series, in 1949, writers in the same paper were comparing ITMA to the comedies of Aristophanes[212] and Ben Jonson,[213] as "a brilliant, penetrating commentary on our times ... enlightening millions of people—a cunningly dispensed and cleverly administered medicine for the lesser ills of society".[213] A contemporary critic observed that ITMA was entirely original and avoided stock characters:

There are neither drawling Bayswater millionaires nor drooling Aberdonian wags nor, thank Hackney, any boy Cockney. These characters are novel. They gibber, splutter, stutter, stagger, suffer from amnesia, paranoia, claustrophobia, dyspepsia, dementia, and delirium tremens. A whirling dream-world, the happy (and unhappily rare) one where no anxieties matter and where terror figures are laughed away by Daddy Handley's telephonic ridicule.[214]

Historians of the show acknowledge that the topicality that was one of ITMA's strengths has prevented it from wearing well.[15][215] Kavanagh himself admitted that reading his old scripts he could not work out what some of the jokes were about.[15] Even while the show was still running, its producer, Worsley, said that recordings of earlier series "seem curiously dusty and faded, like an album of old photographs".[15]

In a 2013 study of British comedy, John Fisher emphasises the influence of ITMA on later comedy shows by virtue of "its speed of delivery, its quick-fire succession of short scenes and verbal non-sequiturs, its surrealist overtones, all breaking away from the traditional music hall sketch orientation of Band Waggon, and anticipating Take It From Here, and even more so The Goon Show and Round the Horne".[16]

Notes, references and sources[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ While the phrase "It's That Man Again", when used during the 1930s, referred to Hitler, it was originally used by members of the American Republican Party when referring to President Franklin D. Roosevelt as he introduced another element of the New Deal.[12]
  2. ^ For example, at the time BBC Radio used a seagull as a shorthand way of letting listeners know the action was taking place at the seaside or on a cliff top.[21]
  3. ^ The pre-war broadcasts of ITMA comprised one series with four programmes, from 12 July 1939 to 30 August 1939.[30]
  4. ^ ITMA broadcast seven series during the war, from September 1939 to June 1945:
    • Series 2: 19 September 1939 to 6 February 1940 (20 weeks)[15]
      • "Star Variety Special" from the Palace Theatre, Manchester on 18 May 1940[15][31]
    • Series 3: 20 June to 25 July 1941 (6 weeks)[1]
    • Series 4: 26 September 1941 to 1 May 1942 (32 weeks)[32]
      • "A Grand ITMA Concert" on 12 May 1942[7][33]
    • Series 5: 18 September 1942 to 29 January 1943 (20 weeks)[34]
      • "A Grand ITMA Concert" on 12 May 1942[35][36]
    • Series 6: 15 April to 29 July 1943 (16 weeks)[28]
    • Series 7: 7 October 1943 to 8 June 1944 (36 weeks)[37]
      • "Well for Santa Claus" (as part of Children's Hour) on 25 December 1943[38][39]
    • Series 8: 21 September 1944 to 14 June 1945 (39 weeks)[40]
  5. ^ Took notes that for decades afterwards, radio and television audiences in the UK all had 200–300 people, based on Worsley's research.[44]
  6. ^ At the time, the factory was engaged on wartime production of tanks and other vehicles for the army.[62]
  7. ^ Worsley had been struggling with what he thought was lumbago for a few months, but found out that it was a more serious condition and was quickly hospitalised.[64]
  8. ^ V-ITMA was, as Worsley describes it, "Tommy's own private celebration of the great event".[64]
  9. ^ ITMA broadcast four series after the war, from September 1945 to January 1949:
    • Series 9: 20 September 1945 to 13 June 1946 (39 weeks)[48]
      • "Whither Tomtopia? (A Discussion on a Burning Topic)" on 12 September 1946[49][68]
    • Series 10: 19 September 1946 to 12 June 1947 (39 weeks)[54]
    • Series 11: 25 September 1947 to 10 June 1948 (38 weeks)[53]
    • Series 12: 23 September 1948 to 6 January 1949 (16 weeks)[69]
  10. ^ The idea for the programme came from a real life lunch given at the Connaught Rooms on Great Queen Street for the cast of ITMA. Postprandial speeches dealt with Tomtopia as if it were a real crown colony, and "Handley's administration" of the island was found inadequate.[72]
  11. ^ Although fünf is the German for "five", the name was not chosen for any association with "fifth column": Worsley, hearing his schoolboy son counting in German, decided that Funf—pronounced foonf—sounded ideal.[82]
  12. ^ In 1919 Gadsby, known as "Professor" or "Peggy" Gadsby, went one better by diving into the River Mersey from a biplane.[87] To make his act more spectacular he sometimes oiled himself and set fire to the oil before diving in.[89] When he retired, he was succeeded by another diver, Bernard Pykett, who had lost a leg in the First World War.[90] When the pier was reconstructed in 1930 the local authority prohibited diving, and, as the Echo put it, "Don't forget the diver! The familiar appeal for the one-legged diver ... will no longer be heard by arriving trippers".[88] Handley was not the only Liverpudlian comedian to celebrate the diver: he is mentioned in a 1942 song by Arthur Askey: "First class, third class, guard and engine driver/Sailors, whalers, don't forget the diver".[91]
  13. ^ Handley's allusion is to a famous American advertising slogan for mail-order piano lessons, "They all laughed when I sat down at the piano, But oh!, when I began to play".[96]
  14. ^ Mrs Mopp's opening words were originally "Can I do for you now, sir", but the "for" was omitted, at first by accident and then because the line was more effective without it.[100]
  15. ^ Handley's comebacks like this to Mrs Mopp's "TTFN" were his own last-minute inventions, not known to anybody else in advance.[104] His longest is thought to be NKABTYSIRWU—Never Kiss A Baby Till You're Sure It's Right Way Up.[16]
  16. ^ Jack Train and John Snagge recalled that Chinstrap was based on an acquaintance of Snagge's, a retired Indian Army officer, who told him, "I have bought a water heater on a ten-year instalment plan and the devils who are selling it to me don't know I'm dying of drink". The man did not recognise himself in Chinstrap, whom he considered "exactly like a lot of silly chumps I used to know in India".[110][111]
  17. ^ The Oxford English Dictionary dates the phrase—"a humorous circumlocution accepting an invitation, esp. the offer of a (usually alcoholic) drink"—to at least 1847.[118]
  18. ^ The Goon Show historian Roger Wilmut comments, "It is interesting that the character, although from a different show a decade earlier, fits into the Goon Show framework with no sense of strain".[127]
  19. ^ Handley's words parody the opening and closing announcements of the popular radio show In Town Tonight (1933–1960), delivered by a stentorian voice (Fred Yule's for a time)[133] halting "the roar of London's traffic" to bring to the microphone "some of the interesting people who are In Town Tonight". At the end of each show the voice cried, "Carry on, London!"[134][135]
  20. ^ Frisby Dyke was the name of a Liverpool department store; ITMA's use of the name escaped the BBC's strict ban on advertising because the store had gone out of business in 1936.[142]
  21. ^ Maurice Denham played a cow, a pig and a duck belonging to Farmer Jollop in one episode in the second series.[155]
  22. ^ Miss Hotchkiss's "Doh!" is—with "I don't mind if I do" and "TTFN"—one of three ITMA citations in The Oxford English Dictionary, a few lines above Homer Simpson's "D'oh!"[203]
  23. ^ "The greatest insult of all to Scotland is the introduction of a Scots girl to 'Itma' who is supposed to be falling head over heels for a little 'twerp' called 'The Governor'".[209] Mann's comment was believed to be the first time the word "twerp" was uttered in the House of Commons:[210]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Foster & Furst 1999, pp. 28–29.
  2. ^ Took 2004.
  3. ^ Kavanagh 1975, p. 10.
  4. ^ Foster & Furst 1999, pp. 14–16, 24–27, 28.
  5. ^ Gifford 1985, p. 65.
  6. ^ Took 1981, p. 21.
  7. ^ a b Foster & Furst 1999, p. 30.
  8. ^ Took 1981, p. 22.
  9. ^ Grundy 1976, p. 43.
  10. ^ Briggs 1985, p. 128.
  11. ^ Wintour 2008.
  12. ^ a b c Took 2011.
  13. ^ a b Dibbs 2019, p. 126.
  14. ^ a b Hendry, "Morale and Music".
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Foster & Furst 1999, p. 28.
  16. ^ a b c Fisher 2013, p. 167.
  17. ^ a b c Curran & Seaton 2002, p. 133.
  18. ^ Kavanagh 1975, pp. 47 & 54; 73 & 77; 123 & 129.
  19. ^ Davison 1982, p. 35.
  20. ^ Barfe 2009, p. 36.
  21. ^ a b Davison 1982, p. 57.
  22. ^ a b Neale & Krutnik 1990, p. 222.
  23. ^ a b Worsley 1949, p. 3.
  24. ^ a b c Foster & Furst 1999, p. 31.
  25. ^ a b "It's That Man Again". The Radio Times.
  26. ^ a b c Worsley 1939, p. 10.
  27. ^ a b c d Took 1981, p. 23.
  28. ^ a b c d e f Foster & Furst 1999, p. 32.
  29. ^ a b Worsley 1949, p. 4.
  30. ^ Foster & Furst 1999, pp. 27–28.
  31. ^ "Star Variety". The Radio Times.
  32. ^ Foster & Furst 1999, pp. 29–30.
  33. ^ "Tommy Handley Introduces a Grand 'ITMA' Concert". The Radio Times.
  34. ^ Foster & Furst 1999, pp. 30–31.
  35. ^ Foster & Furst 1999, pp. 31–32.
  36. ^ "Tommy Handley in a Grand ITMA Concert". The Radio Times.
  37. ^ a b c d e Foster & Furst 1999, p. 33.
  38. ^ Foster & Furst 1999, pp. 33–34.
  39. ^ "Well for Santa Claus". The Radio Times.
  40. ^ a b c d e f Foster & Furst 1999, p. 34.
  41. ^ a b c Worsley 1949, p. 6.
  42. ^ a b Freedman 2015, p. 67.
  43. ^ Worsley 1949, p. 11.
  44. ^ a b Took 1981, p. 24.
  45. ^ Worsley 1949, p. 16.
  46. ^ Dibbs 2019, p. 123.
  47. ^ Worsley 1949, p. 18.
  48. ^ a b c d Foster & Furst 1999, pp. 34–35.
  49. ^ a b c d e f Foster & Furst 1999, p. 36.
  50. ^ Worsley 1949, pp. 21–22.
  51. ^ Worsley 1949, pp. 24–25.
  52. ^ Grahame 1976, p. 15.
  53. ^ a b Foster & Furst 1999, pp. 37–38.
  54. ^ a b c d e f g h Foster & Furst 1999, p. 37.
  55. ^ Took 1981, pp. 23–24.
  56. ^ "It's That Man Again (1943)". British Film Institute.
  57. ^ "Non-Stop Revue". The Times.
  58. ^ "The Tivoli To Reopen". The Times.
  59. ^ a b c Foster & Furst 1999, p. 39.
  60. ^ a b Grundy 1976, p. 69.
  61. ^ Worsley 1949, pp. 38–42.
  62. ^ Worsley 1949, p. 45.
  63. ^ Worsley 1949, pp. 45–46.
  64. ^ a b Worsley 1949, p. 47.
  65. ^ a b c d Foster & Furst 1999, p. 41.
  66. ^ "V-ITMA". The Radio Times.
  67. ^ Grundy 1976, p. 79.
  68. ^ a b "Whither Tomtopia?". The Radio Times.
  69. ^ a b c d Foster & Furst 1999, p. 38.
  70. ^ Worsley 1949, pp. 52–53.
  71. ^ Foster & Furst 1999, pp. 37, 42–43.
  72. ^ Worsley 1949, p. 56.
  73. ^ Foster & Furst 1999, pp. 43–44.
  74. ^ Worsley 1949, pp. 60–61.
  75. ^ a b c d Kavanagh 1975, p. 136.
  76. ^ Merriman 2007, 924.
  77. ^ Foster & Furst 1999, p. 47.
  78. ^ Davalle 1988, p. 21.
  79. ^ Foster & Furst 1999, pp. 36 and 41.
  80. ^ Took 1981, p. 28.
  81. ^ a b c d e f Kavanagh 1975, p. 49.
  82. ^ a b Partridge 1992, p. 95.
  83. ^ Curran & Seaton 2002, p. 135.
  84. ^ Thurlow 1999, p. 477.
  85. ^ a b c d e f g h Gifford 1985, p. 134.
  86. ^ Kavanagh 1975, p. 17.
  87. ^ a b "Aeroplane Dive". Liverpool Echo.
  88. ^ a b "Don't Forget the Diver!". Liverpool Echo.
  89. ^ "Seeing the Fashions at New Brighton". Liverpool Echo.
  90. ^ "Have a thought!". Liverpool Echo.
  91. ^ Askey, "The Flu-Germ", Event occurs at 1 minute 14 seconds.
  92. ^ Worsley 1949, p. 19.
  93. ^ a b c d e f g h Foster & Furst 1999, p. 43.
  94. ^ Kavanagh 1975, pp. 50–51.
  95. ^ Foster & Furst 1999, p. xx.
  96. ^ Rawson & Miner 2005, p. 6.
  97. ^ Kavanagh 1975, pp. 45–46.
  98. ^ ITMA. Series 7. Episode 14. 6 January 1944, Event occurs at 1 minute 14 second.
  99. ^ Kavanagh 1975, pp. 59–60.
  100. ^ Partridge 1992, p. 43.
  101. ^ Gifford 1985, p. 180.
  102. ^ Kavanagh 1975, pp. 70–71.
  103. ^ "Memories of I.T.M.A.", Event occurs at 29 minutes 12 seconds.
  104. ^ "Buying ITMA a coffee". Liverpool Echo.
  105. ^ "Mrs Mopp". BBC Genome.
  106. ^ Kavanagh 1975, p. 153.
  107. ^ a b Kavanagh 1975, p. 37.
  108. ^ Kavanagh 1975, p. 74.
  109. ^ a b Kavanagh 1975, p. 63.
  110. ^ "Chinstrap". Aberdeen Evening Express.
  111. ^ "Col Chinstrap Speaking". Birmingham Daily Gazette.
  112. ^ "Jack Train". The Times.
  113. ^ Partridge 1992, pp. 139–140.
  114. ^ Kavanagh 2019.
  115. ^ Fisher 2013, p. 163.
  116. ^ "Memories of I.T.M.A.", Event occurs at 9 minutes 30 seconds.
  117. ^ Kavanagh 1975, p. 143.
  118. ^ "mind". Oxford English Dictionary.
  119. ^ Kavanagh 1975, p. 139.
  120. ^ British Library Catalogue.
  121. ^ "Colonel Chinstrap and Major Mundy: Cover points at the Test Match". BBC Genome.
  122. ^ "I want you to meet Gilhooly". The Radio Times.
  123. ^ "Colonel Chinstrap". BBC Genome.
  124. ^ Kavanagh 1952.
  125. ^ "At Last! The true story of Humphrey Chinstrap (Col. Retd.)". The Radio Times.
  126. ^ Wilmut & Grafton 1977, pp. 67 and 75.
  127. ^ Wilmut & Grafton 1977, p. 146.
  128. ^ Kavanagh 1975, p. 149.
  129. ^ ITMA. Series 10. Episode 19. 23 January 1947, Event occurs at 7 minutes.
  130. ^ ITMA. Series 12. Episode 4. 14 October 1948, Event occurs at 16 minutes 15 seconds.
  131. ^ a b Foster & Furst 1999, p. 45.
  132. ^ Kavanagh 1975, p. 147.
  133. ^ "Fred Yule", The Times.
  134. ^ "In Town Tonight 1936". The Radio Times.
  135. ^ "In Town Tonight 1945". The Radio Times.
  136. ^ a b c d e f Kavanagh 1975, p. 113.
  137. ^ a b c d e f g h Foster & Furst 1999, p. 35.
  138. ^ Kavanagh 1975, p. 116.
  139. ^ Foster & Furst 1999, pp. 42 and 44.
  140. ^ Kavanagh 1975, p. 151.
  141. ^ a b Foster & Furst 1999, p. 46.
  142. ^ Took 1981, p. 27.
  143. ^ a b c d Foster & Furst 1999, p. 42.
  144. ^ "The master of the rapid-fire radio pun show". Sydney Morning Herald.
  145. ^ a b c Kavanagh 1975, p. 134.
  146. ^ Kavanagh 1975, pp. 93–94.
  147. ^ Kavanagh 1975, p. 32.
  148. ^ a b Worsley 1949, p. 102.
  149. ^ Kavanagh 1975, p. 112.
  150. ^ Foster & Furst 1999, pp. 31 and 33.
  151. ^ Kynaston 2010, p. 306.
  152. ^ a b c Foster & Furst 1999, p. 44.
  153. ^ "ITMA". The Sketch.
  154. ^ Kavanagh 1975, p. 102.
  155. ^ Kavanagh 1975, p. 35.
  156. ^ Kavanagh 1975, pp. 46–47, 108 and 146–147.
  157. ^ a b Took 1981, p. 25.
  158. ^ Foster & Furst 1999, pp. 46–47.
  159. ^ "Peter Geekie". Liverpool Echo.
  160. ^ Kavanagh 1975, p. 135.
  161. ^ "Jean Capra". Dubbo Liberal.
  162. ^ "London Hippodrome". The Times.
  163. ^ "Jack Cooper". BBC Genome.
  164. ^ Worsley 1949, p. 96.
  165. ^ "Michelle de Lys". BFI.
  166. ^ "Maurice Denham". The Times.
  167. ^ "Cecilia Eddy". BBC Genome.
  168. ^ Gifford 1985, p. 71.
  169. ^ "Eric Egan". BBC Genome.
  170. ^ Gaye 1967, p. 569 (Edwards–Elder).
  171. ^ "Eric Egan". BFI.
  172. ^ "Miss Guided". The Daily Herald.
  173. ^ "Holiday Week Variety". Hull Daily Mail.
  174. ^ "Dominion Status". Birmingham Daily Gazette.
  175. ^ Worsley 1949, p. 97.
  176. ^ "Paula Green". The Times.
  177. ^ "Joan Harben". The Times.
  178. ^ a b Worsley 1949, p. 98.
  179. ^ "Sam Heppner". The Times.
  180. ^ "New Voices and Features in ITMA". Aberdeen Evening Express.
  181. ^ "Lind Joyce". BBC Genome.
  182. ^ "Lind Joyce". BFI.
  183. ^ Worsley 1949, p. 99.
  184. ^ "Sydney Keith". The Times.
  185. ^ "Vera Lennox". The Times.
  186. ^ Worsley 1949, p. 100.
  187. ^ "Mary O'Farrell". The Times.
  188. ^ "Hilda Tablet". BBC Genome.
  189. ^ "Horace Percival". The Times.
  190. ^ "ITMA 1945". BBC Genome.
  191. ^ "Ann Rich". BBC Genome.
  192. ^ Wearing 2014, pp. 394–395.
  193. ^ "Our Miss Rignold". The Radio Times.
  194. ^ "Bill Stephens". BBC Genome.
  195. ^ Peters 2002.
  196. ^ "Dorothy Summers", The Times.
  197. ^ "Clarence Wright". The Times.
  198. ^ Foster & Furst 1999, pp. 31, 33, 35 and 41–46.
  199. ^ Gifford 1985, pp. 134 and 180.
  200. ^ Kavanagh 1975, pp. 17, 32, 37, 45–46, 50–51, 59–60, 63, 70–71, 74, 93–94, 102, 112–113, 116, 134, 136, 139, 143, 147, 149, 151 and 153.
  201. ^ "TTFN". Oxford Reference.
  202. ^ "It's being so cheerful that keeps me going". Newsbank.
  203. ^ "doh, int.". Oxford English Dictionary.
  204. ^ Kavanagh 1975, p. 141.
  205. ^ Kavanagh 1975, p. 42.
  206. ^ "Tommy Handley". The Times.
  207. ^ Nicholas 2002, p. 132.
  208. ^ a b Took 1981, p. 26.
  209. ^ "Hansard 1947".
  210. ^ "B.B.C. Comedian Called a 'Twerp'". The Canberra Times.
  211. ^ "Review of Broadcasting". The Manchester Guardian.
  212. ^ "The Man Who Was Thursday". The Manchester Guardian.
  213. ^ a b "ITMA". The Manchester Guardian.
  214. ^ "Radio". The Observer.
  215. ^ Took 1981, p. 31.

Sources[edit]

Books[edit]

  • Barfe, Louis (2009). Turned Out Nice Again: The Story of British Light Entertainment. London: Atlantic. ISBN 978-1-8435-4381-7.
  • Briggs, Asa (1985). The BBC: The First Fifty Years. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-1921-2971-0.
  • Curran, James; Seaton, Jean (2002). Power Without Responsibility: Press, Broadcasting and the Internet in Britain (fifth ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-82330-7.
  • Davison, Peter (1982). Contemporary Drama and the Popular Dramatic Tradition in England. London: Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-3332-8083-6.
  • Dibbs, Martin (2019). Radio Fun and the BBC Variety Department, 1922–67. London: Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-95609-1.
  • Fisher, John (2013). Funny Way to Be a Hero. London: Preface. ISBN 978-1-84809-313-3.
  • Foster, Andy; Furst, Steve (1999). Radio Comedy, 1938–1968: A Guide to 30 Years of Wonderful Wireless. London: Virgin Books. ISBN 978-0-86369-960-3.
  • Freedman, Jean R. (2015). Whistling in the Dark: Memory and Culture in Wartime London. Lexington, KY: The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-4816-8. (subscription required)
  • Gaye, Freda (ed) (1967). Who's Who in the Theatre (fourteenth ed.). London: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons. OCLC 5997224.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  • Gifford, Denis (1985). The Golden Age of Radio: An Illustrated Companion. London: Batsford. ISBN 978-0-7134-4234-2.
  • Grundy, Bill (1976). That Man: A Memory of Tommy Handley. London: Elm Tree Books. ISBN 978-0-241-89344-9.
  • Kavanagh, P. J. (1975). Introduction. The ITMA Years: Scripts. By Kavanagh, Ted. London: Futura Publications. pp. 9–12. ISBN 978-0-86007-245-4.
  • Kavanagh, Ted (1952). Colonel Chinstrap. London: Evans Brothers. OCLC 13674955.
  • Kynaston, David (2010). Austerity Britain 1945–1951. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-4088-0907-5.
  • Merriman, Andy (2007). Hattie: The Authorised Biography of Hattie Jacques (Kindle ed.). London: Aurum Press. ISBN 978-1-84513-817-2.
  • Neale, Stephen; Krutnik, Frank (1990). Popular Film and Television Comedy. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-04691-6.
  • Nicholas, Siân (2002). "Being British: Creeds and Cultures". In Robbins, Keith (ed.). The British Isles, 1901-1951. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 103–136. ISBN 978-0-19-873195-5.
  • Partridge, Eric (1992). Dictionary of Catch Phrases. London: Scarborough House. ISBN 978-1-4616-6040-8.
  • Rawson, Hugh; Miner, Margaret (2005). The Oxford Dictionary of American Quotations (second ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-516823-5.
  • Took, Barry (1981). Laughter in the Air. London: Robson Books and the BBC. ISBN 978-0-86051-149-6.
  • Wearing, J. P. (2014). The London Stage 1950–1959: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-8108-9308-5.
  • Wilmut, Roger; Grafton, Jimmy (1977) [1976]. The Goon Show Companion. London: Robson Books. ISBN 978-0-7221-9182-8.
  • Worsley, Francis (1949). ITMA 1939-1948. London: Vox Mundi. OCLC 18240961.

Episodes[edit]

  • ITMA. Series 7. Episode 14. 6 January 1944. BBC. Home Service.
  • ITMA. Series 10. Episode 19. 23 January 1947. BBC. Home Service.
  • ITMA. Series 12. Episode 4. 14 October 1948. BBC. Home Service.

Gramophone records[edit]

  • Askey, Arthur (1942). The Flu-Germ (78 rpm record). London: HMV. BD 1002.
  • Memories of I.T.M.A. (LP record). London: Oriole. 1951. OCLC 155203905. MG 20032.

Journals[edit]

  • Mann, Jean, MP for Coatbridge (19 February 1947). "Civil Estimates, Supplementary Estimate, 1946–47: Broadcasting". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 433. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. col. 1249.
  • Thurlow, Richard (January 1999). "The Evolution of the Mythical British Fifth Column, 1939–46". Twentieth Century British History. 10 (4): 477–498. doi:10.1093/tcbh/10.4.477.
  • Took, Barry (2004). "Kavanagh, Henry Edward [Ted] (1892–1958)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/65823. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  • Took, Barry (2011). "Handley, Thomas Reginald [Tommy] (1892–1949)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/33682. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  • Wintour, Charles (2008). "Gunn, Herbert Smith [Bert] (1903–1962)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/48275. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

Magazines[edit]

  • "At Last! The true story of Humphrey Chinstrap (Col. Retd.)". The Radio Times. No. 1572. 25 December 1953. p. 40. ISSN 0033-8060.
  • "In Town Tonight". The Radio Times. No. 678. 10 October 1936. p. 76. ISSN 0033-8060.
  • "In Town Tonight". The Radio Times. No. 1147. 21 September 1945. p. 18. ISSN 0033-8060.
  • "ITMA". The Sketch. 16 April 1947. p. 192.
  • "It's That Man Again". The Radio Times. No. 823. 7 July 1939. p. 44. ISSN 0033-8060.
  • "I want you to meet Gilhooly". The Radio Times. No. 1405. 29 September 1950. p. 5. ISSN 0033-8060.
  • Kavanagh, P. J. (18 January 2019). "Round the Horne ... Revisited". The Oldie. p. 21. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  • "Our Miss Rignold". The Radio Times. No. 984. 7 August 1942. p. 11. ISSN 0033-8060.
  • "Star Variety (by arrangement with George Black) 'ITMA (It's That Man Again !)". The Radio Times. No. 867. 10 May 1940. p. 38. ISSN 0033-8060.
  • "Tommy Handley Introduces a Grand 'ITMA' Concert". The Radio Times. No. 971. 8 May 1942. p. 10. ISSN 0033-8060.
  • "Tommy Handley in a Grand ITMA Concert". The Radio Times. No. 1010. 5 February 1943. p. 7. ISSN 0033-8060.
  • "V-ITMA". The Radio Times. No. 1128. 11 May 1945. p. 6. ISSN 0033-8060.
  • "Well for Santa Claus". The Radio Times. No. 1055. 17 December 1943. p. 22. ISSN 0033-8060.
  • "Whither Tomtopia?". The Radio Times. No. 1197. 6 September 1946. p. 14. ISSN 0033-8060.
  • Worsley, Francis (7 July 1939). "It's That Man Again". Radio Times. p. 10.

Newspapers[edit]

  • "Aeroplane Dive". Liverpool Echo. 6 September 1919. p. 4.
  • "B.B.C. Comedian Called a 'Twerp'". The Canberra Times. 21 February 1947. p. 1.
  • "Buying ITMA a coffee". Liverpool Echo. 7 September 1944. p. 4.
  • "Clarence Wright". The Times. 21 March 1992. p. 17.
  • "Col Chinstrap Speaking". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 14 June 1956. p. 4.
  • Davalle, Peter (5 September 1988). "Fun and fundamentals". The Times. p. 21.
  • "Dominion Status". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 28 August 1946. p. 2.
  • "Don't Forget the Diver!". Liverpool Echo. 24 January 1930. p. 5.
  • Grahame, Charles (27 November 1976). "The master of the rapid-fire radio show". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 15.
  • "Have a Thought!". Liverpool Echo. 22 January 1929. p. 10.
  • "Holiday Week Variety". Hull Daily Mail. 5 April 1947. p. 4.
  • "Jean Capra of the B.B.C. ITMA Team". The Dubbo Liberal and Macquarie Advocate. 12 March 1946. p. 3.
  • "London Hippodrome". The Times. 23 December 1948. p. 6.
  • "The Man Who Was Thursday". The Manchester Guardian. 10 January 1949. p. 4.
  • "Maurice Denham". The Times. 26 July 2002. p. 31.
  • "Miss Dorothy Summers: 'Can I Do You Now, Sir?'". The Times. 14 January 1964. p. 11.
  • "Miss Guided". The Daily Herald. 28 August 1946. p. 3.
  • "Miss Joan Harben". The Times. 20 October 1953. p. 10.
  • "Miss M. O'Farrell". The Times. 12 February 1968. p. 10.
  • "Miss Vera Lennox". The Times. 15 January 1985. p. 16.
  • "Mr Fred Yule". The Times. 13 December 1982. p. 14.
  • "Mr Horace Percival: Gifted Actor of Radio Comedy". The Times. 10 November 1961. p. 17.
  • "Mr Jack Train'". The Times. 20 December 1966. p. 10.
  • "Mr Sam Heppner". The Times. 4 June 1983. p. 10.
  • "Mr Tommy Handley". The Times. 10 January 1949. p. 7.
  • "New Voices and Features in ITMA". Aberdeen Evening Express. 29 September 1943. p. 5.
  • "Non-Stop Revue". The Times. 10 February 1943. p. 6.
  • "Paula Green". The Times. 11 February 2012. p. 94.(subscription required)
  • "Peter Geekie". Liverpool Echo. 7 September 1944. p. 4.
  • "Review of Broadcasting". The Manchester Guardian. 20 December 1939. p. 8.
  • "Seeing the fashions at New Brighton". Liverpool Echo. 14 July 1914. p. 4.
  • "Sydney Keith". The Times. 22 November 1982. p. 14.
  • "The Tivoli To Reopen". The Times. 18 February 1943. p. 6.
  • Blewett, Denis (28 September 1956). "Train takes a sentimental journey". The Aberdeen Evening Express. p. 6.
  • Grahame, Charles (27 November 1976). "The master of the rapid-fire radio pun show". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 15.
  • Harrisson, Tom (9 January 1944). "Radio". The Observer. p. 2.
  • Wynn, H. H. (15 January 1949). "ITMA". The Manchester Guardian. p. 4.

Websites[edit]

  • "Ann Rich". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  • "Bill Stephens". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  • "Cecilia Eddy". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  • "Colonel Chinstrap". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  • "Colonel Chinstrap and Major Mundy: Cover points at the Test Match". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  • "doh". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 28 June 2020. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  • "Eric Egan". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  • "Eric Egan". British Film Institute. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  • Hendy, David. "Morale and Music". BBC. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  • "Hilda Tablet". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  • "I don't mind if I do". British Library. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  • "ITMA 1945". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  • "It's being so cheerful that keeps me going". Newsbank. Retrieved 29 June 2020. (subscription required)
  • "It's That Man Again (1943)". British Film Institute. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  • "Jack Cooper". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  • "Lind Joyce". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  • "Lind Joyce". British Film Institute. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  • "Michelle de Lys". British Film Institute. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  • "mind". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 28 June 2020. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  • "Mrs Mopp". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  • Peters, Kevin (26 July 2002). "Aylesbury Repertory Company" (PDF). Aylesbury Town Council.
  • "TTFN". Oxford Reference. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 29 June 2020. (subscription required)

External links[edit]

  • It's That Man Again at BBC Programmes
  • It's That Man Again at BBC Online
  • It's That Man Again at British Comedy Guide