The Reviewing Stand

Almost a decade ago, back on December 4, 2013, BBC Four aired an hour-long documentary about Lionel Bart entitled Lionel Bart: Reviewing the Situation.  They made the film available online, but -- as they always do -- only for a limited time.  And I found out about it a few days too late.  And so, missed it.

I 've been looking for it online ever since, but the challenge was daunting.  The biggest problem was the title -- if I searched for "Reviewing the Situation," it brought up many hundreds or even thousands of videos of his song from Oliver!  Putting his name in the search terms didn't help.  Adding "BBC Four" only brought up recordings of the song on the BBC.  Adding "documentary" did the same, but also brought a totally different documentary which was pleasant, but more a puff piece.  And even including the name of director Mick Conefrey -- and the date it aired -- which I was sure would do the trick, didn't.  All the song videos of "Reviewing the Situation" predominated.

I could find the documentary listed on director Conefrey's website, but it wasn't embedded there like I hoped and no link was provided to it anywhere.

Believe me, I tried.  For nine years.

And then, for reasons I can't explain or remember, a month ago I tried another search term --  and found it!!  And it was as good as I had read.  Thoughtful, interesting, fun, detailed, great footage including interviews with Bart, but also open and honest about his flops, drug addiction, personal issues, having to sell the rights to Oliver!... and redemption.  Including one of the more magnanimous gestures I've come across in theater, when legendary producer Cameron Macintosh bought the rights for himself, put on a new production of Oliver! on the West End -- and gave some of the rights back to Lionel Bart.

My only real quibble is that it doesn't mention one of his first shows on the West End, a reasonably successful show called Lock Up Your Daughters, based on a novel by Henry Fielding who wrote the novel Tom Jones.  My parents saw the show on a trip to London, and brought back the cast album that's really wonderful.  I've even embedded several songs from it on this website, including one of my favorites here if you'd like to hear it.  (Highly recommended.) That article also includes a link to the fun title number,  sung by three rapscallions, which has one of my all-time favorite rhymes in a musicals --

Out in the street there are others like me
Searching for possible mothers to be.

The only reason I can think of why they didn't include the show is because he only wrote the lyrics, not the music, as well.  Nor, like his shows after Oliver!, the book, as well.  But the music by Laurie Johnson -- who wrote the theme music to the classic TV series The Avengers with Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg, as well as the thoroughly fun musical comedy The Four Musketeers with Harry Secombe -- is joyful.

Yes, that was a bit of a digression, but if the documentary isn't going include anything about Lock Up Your Daughters, it was up to me to do so.  However, back now to Lionel Bart and the documentary.  As I said, it was very good, and I was thrilled to finally track it down.

Unfortunately (okay, are you ready?), when I went to post it here today, the link was taken down!  After all that effort for years.

But -- but not to worry!  Because I actually thought that might possibly happen, and after a decade looking for the documentary, I didn't want to rely on chance and hope that it would always stayed posted.  And so, in a rare burst of foresight and wisdom, I downloaded it to save a copy.

And so, I'm able to upload it here.  Because of having to post it this way, the screen below is a bit small, but you can open it to full-screen.  Which is a good thing, because after nine years looking for it, I didn't want to miss a thing.