As an older child and teenager I regularly watched ‘Dad’s Army’ on television. My father loved this series, and while I didn’t understand all of what was going on, there was sufficient to make me laugh now and again. Gradually the main characters began to feel familiar, and as a young adult I sometimes watched repeats on TV. So when the opportunity arose to buy some of the DVDs, many years ago, I went ahead and acquired some of them.
They sat on our shelves for a long time, but finally, over the past couple of months, we have watched the DVD set entitled, slightly mystifyingly, ‘The Complete first series plus the ‘lost’ episodes of Series Two’. I know that three of the six Series Two episodes are missing, unlikely ever to be recovered. But the three which are in this set are surely the ‘found’ ones, rather than being lost.
In any case, it’s probably forty years since I saw any of these, which are in black-and-white; from Series 3 onwards, they were filmed in colour. I did recall some of the first episode, when the platoon is formed, headed by Mr Mainwaring the bank manager (pronounced 'Mannering'). But it’s possible I was remembering the full-length feature film that was made later, as a lot of it seemed quite new to me. It’s possible that I had never seen these early episodes - or not for nearly sixty years.
The whole series is set in the second World War, when men unable to join up in the army formed their own defence groups locally. Some them start with real film from the era, cleverly edited with some of the characters from the series. The first ‘Dad’s Army’ episode was broadcast in 1968, and shows the first gathering of the unlikely troops.
Captain Mainwaring (Arthur Lowe) is suitably pompous; his second-in-command, Sergeant Wilson (John le Mesurier) much more relaxed, unwilling to shout or give orders. Lance Corporal Jones (Clive Dunn) is the local butcher, and possibly the most enthusiastic of the new recruits. He fought in a previous war and considers himself an expert.
Other characters who recur in the series are Private Wilson (James Beck) who works in the black market and tries to make money any way he can; Private Fraser (John Laurie) who is fiercely Scottish and works as an undertaker; Private Godfrey (Arnold Ridley) who is a retired tailor; Private Pike (Ian Lavender) who is 17 and works as a bank clerk. Pike’s mother regularly appears, worried about her son’s health; she is a widow, and it’s quickly clear that Sgt Wilson is romantically involved with her.
The first few episodes include attempts to get hold of weapons and uniform. A few items are issued, and they try to commandeer items from local people or organisations, usually with amusing results. There are episodes where the platoon learn new skills, or go out on watch, usually at night. Inevitably things go wrong, or misunderstandings arise.
There are just six episodes in Series One, and three remaining from Series Two. The characters are established right from the start, and these early episodes form the basis of the future series, although each one is complete in itself.
‘Dad’s Army’ often appears quite basic, television-wise. Backgrounds are sometimes artificial, and props are not always realistic. But it doesn’t matter. This is classic material, well-choreographed humour, and a stalwart of British television.
The whole series is a caricature of the reality of the 1940s Home Guard, and it was probably so popular in the 1960s because people watching could remember the war years clearly. Yet somehow there’s still an appeal, even to people considerably younger than we are. It's possibly worth seeing for the social history aspect, even if the real Home Guard were rather better organised and less prone to error.
Definitely recommended if you don’t mind the very British ridiculousness of some of the situations. There’s even an ‘extra’ feature on this DVD set, explaining the circumstances of the losing of Series Two, and the finding of three of the episodes.
Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews
