Do You See What I Secombe?

Boy, was this a joy for me to find.  From the BBC, it’s the Christmas Day episode from 1968 of, of all things, The Harry Secombe Show.  As readers here well-know that he’s my fave.  And I knew he’d had a few TV series, but I’d never seen anything from this one.  But that’s not what makes it such a joy, because all the better, it’s specifically a very special episode.  However, that’s not because it’s a Christmas special -- because it’s not.  In fact, oddly, there’s no mention of Christmas at all in the program.  (All the more odd because Secombe's brother Fred was a minister, and Harry himself was pretty religious in his personal life and even later hosted a sort of "travelogue through England" series on BBC-TV for 10 years, Highway, that was spiritual-based . But this show, even though on Christmas Day, was all entertainment, period.)  

And the entertainment that is there is a total treat:  the show reunites much of the cast of the Oscar-winning Best Picture Oliver! which had opened earlier in the year.  Secombe appeared in the film as ‘Mr. Bumble,’ and the guest stars here are Ron Moody, Shani Wallis, Jack Wild and Peggy Mount (who played ‘Mrs. Bumble) – and also…yes, really -- Lionel Bart!  (He appears in a running bit, but also in a small character part in a full sketch near the end of the episode.)
 
The show also features soprano Myrna Rose who sings an aria from La Boheme, and then is joined by Secombe for the opera’s famous duet, “O Soave Fanciulla.”  (For all his career of clowning, Secombe’s singing voice is not out of its league here.  In fact, in one of his British movies, Davey, he played a member of a low-level family comedy team who wants to become an opera singer.)
 
At heart, Secombe came from the vaudeville stage before coming to fame in the 1950s on BBC Radio with Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan in The Goon Show – and then later going on to make movies, star in stage musicals and have several TV series, write books and more.  And that vaudeville heritage definitely comes through here.  Some of the material is of that vintage, and very silly today, but it’s done with such verve that it’s at least fun to see that style of comedy.  And there’s a lot of wonderful material presented, as well.  There are some songs from Oliver!, too, of course -- though surprisingly not nearly as much as one would expect.  Early on, there’s also a very offbeat piece with Ron Moody that, for all its full-blown oddity, is a showcase for how deeply-talented he is, especially for those who only know him from the movie as ‘Fagin.’
 
One other note.  After a production number near the beginning with Secombe, Ron Moody and Jack Wild, he comments that it was choreographed by Gillian Lynne.  She is now Dame Gillian Lynne, and was a renowned ballerina and choreographer in both England and on Broadway.  Among the great many musicals she did were Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Roar of the Greasepaint-Smell of the Crowd, Cabaret (1986) – and Pickwick, that Harry Secombe played in London and Broadway.
 
And for me, there’s a happy treat at the very end of the show.