Goon Pod

Goon Pod
  • 4.7 (45)
  • TV Reviews

A podcast where we talk about classic comedy with particular focus on the work of Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe & Michael Bentine. You'll also hear us discuss the likes of Monty Python, Hancock, Blackadder, the Carry On films, Peter Cook, Steptoe & Son and countless other comedy figures & fixtures from the postwar era. Please follow on Bluesky @goonpod.bsky.social and Twitter @goonshowpod

  1. 3 days ago

    Only Two Can Play (1962)

    The wan Don who thinks he’s Don Juan – a Welsh librarian gets the seven-year-itch. This week writer Paul Whitelaw makes his first faltering steps into Goon Pod territory to talk about a favourite film: Only Two Can Play, directed by Sidney Gilliat and starring Peter Sellers, Virginia Maskell and Mai Zetterling. Released barely a year before Sellers breasted the tape of international stardom with The Pink Panther, it is a delightfully quirky, darkly amusing tale based on a Kingsley Amis novel. Amis himself got caught up in the filming and was regularly present during the production; he and Sellers became friendly and tried to outdo each other in who could spin the filthiest yarn. This is the film where Sellers was beastly to Virginia Maskell throughout, suggesting she ‘couldn’t act for toffee’ and trying to get her fired. One cannot fault Sellers for his sound judgement, as Maskell went on to win a Bafta for her performance as Jean Lewis, down-trodden wife of the film’s antihero, provincial Welsh librarian John Lewis (Sellers). Lewis has a roving eye and soon gets caught up in a sort-of-affair with an influential councillor’s wife who is amused by him but clearly sees him as a temporary dalliance until someone else comes along. X-rated upon release and addressing issues and themes considered racy for the time, the film was very successful despite Sellers’ insistence that it would be a disaster. The Daily Post wrote: “What will surely be one of the year’s funniest comedies keeps its hero moral by accident… Peter Sellers has provided another rich character study, reflecting not only the hero’s obvious attitudes but the interior life from which they arise. In short, there is reality here as well as wit.” We discuss the film’s origins, the cast (including Richard Attenborough and Kenneth Griffith) and our favourite lines and scenes. Also: Bryan Forbes’ softened screenplay; how Sellers got ‘the voice’; the big deal they made about it in Swansea; Mai Zetterling and MI5; dirty Graham Stark; and the ghastliness of stag wallpaper.

    Only Two Can Play (1962)

  2. 22 Jul

    Puckoon (1963)

    “Caw!” said the crow. “Balls!” said the Milligan. This week, we look at a book that Spike Milligan claimed took either five years - or ten years and fifteen secretaries - to write, and which “damn nearly drove me mad.” But just how much of Spike himself and his life bled into the narrative? And how did a marriage proposal expedite its completion? Puckoon was, for a long time, Spike’s only novel, and it proved both a commercial and critical success. Set in the fictional Irish village of Puckoon, a casually drawn border line places graves, a pub, and even church grounds in British territory. From this spring comic scenarios involving two ragged-arsed IRA men attempting to smuggle explosives past a Customs post in a coffin, the digging up of the late Dan Doonan, and an escaped panther on the prowl. And what of the cast of characters? We meet the hapless Dan Milligan and his “poorly written” legs; the financially desperate Father Rudden; Murphy with the unfeasibly hairy eyebrows; the regulars of The Holy Drinker pub; and the - slightly problematic - Constable Lee Ah Pong. We discuss Spike’s complex relationship with Ireland, despite having spent very little time there, and ask whether Puckoon is a satire on partition, bureaucracy, religion, marriage… or simply the human condition itself. There’s also a look at the novel’s darker undercurrents, including the heartbreaking story of Farmer O’Mara and sequences Spike later regretted destroying. It’s rather like The Goon Show in novel form, with hints of Joyce, Flann O’Brien, and even Hollywood screwball comedy. Join Tyler and voice actor/podcaster David Wills as they try to decide where Puckoon sits among the pantheon of great comic novels in English.

    Puckoon (1963)

  3. 15 Jul

    How I Won The War (1967)

    Following on from last week’s conversation with Samira Ahmed about A Hard Day’s Night we continue the Richard Lester theme with a look at his 1967 anti-war satire How I Won the War - a film often lazily regarded as a John Lennon vehicle, but in reality a far stranger, darker, and more ensemble-drivenpiece of cinema. The film stars Michael Crawford as Lieutenant Ernest Goodbody, a hapless officer leading a doomed platoon through a series of absurd and increasingly brutal Second World War missions. Although Lennon features prominently in the film’s marketing, his role as Musketeer Gripweed is supporting rather than central - albeit memorable. We look at why Lennon was used to sell the film, where he was personally and creatively at the time and how his detached, cynical performance fits the film’s tone. Told largely in flashback, the story follows Lieutenant Goodbody recounting his wartime experiences to a cultured German officer after his capture near the Rhine. Missions include the wholly pointless task of setting up a cricket pitch behind enemy lines in North Africa, followed by campaigns through Europe and the final crossing at the Rhine. The platoon is made up of a host of familiar faces, including Roy Kinnear, Ronald Lacey and Lee Montague, with Michael Hordern almost stealing the film as Colonel Grapple, still fighting World War One in his head. Novelist Adam Leslie joins Tyler to talk about HIWTW, discussing the film’s class commentary, British fascism and why the film was poorly received on release despite later reassessments. Adam is also the man behind both the Goon Pod feem choon and logo – cheers Adam! (This episode was originally published in January 2026 as part of Goon Pod Film Club, the Patreon subscription feed)

    How I Won The War (1967)

  4. 8 Jul

    Samira Ahmed on A Hard Day's Night

    Writer and broadcaster Samira Ahmed joins Tyler this week to talk about her new book on A Hard Day’s Night and its roots in the world of the Goons, from the Fred shows to The Running, Jumping & Standing Still Film. Also: Richard Lester’s creative vision and Alun Owen’s pitch-perfect scriptWhy Beatlemania was distinctly black and white and how the film mirrors thisWilfrid Brambell – and why the film wouldn't be the same without him.Ringo and David JansonFavourite scenes: from the ad agency to John & MillieDeleted scenesThe women of A Hard Day's Night and why the film avoided stereotypes that would later creep into Help!Recasting ideasRingo’s odd line deliveryThe disposable TV culture at the timeThose intriguing unmade Beatles filmsAnd… was Paul Rodney Bewes to John’s Tom Courtenay?  A celebration of a film that's every bit as fresh, funny and ground-breaking today as it was in 1964. Samira’s podcast Through the Square Window can be found HERE: https://squarewindow.co.uk/

    Samira Ahmed on A Hard Day's Night

  5. 1 Jul

    World War One (aka '_________!')

    Join us as we march off to war wearing squeaky socks and woolly underpants, before surrendering to the twisted logic of Spike Milligan (“better looking than Peter Sellers”). This show, one of the highlights of the Goon Show’s eighth series and released on BBC LP in 1981, has a plot of sorts: 1917 and England is at war, France is at war, while Eccles is at lunch. Grytpype and Moriarty sell German army shares to Neddie. They claim that the Germans are bound to win any war they enter. Seagoon discovers to his horror that the Germans are losing, but Major Bloodnok sells Seagoon 10,000 unused 1904 calendars. The plan is to drop the calendars on England by zeppelin, making the English think the war hasn’t even started, therefore giving the Germans an advantage. However, the British drop 1918 calendars on Berlin, and the Germans capitulate. There’s a lot more to it than that and joining Tyler to ‘rifle’through it is Graeme Lindsay-Foot, man of a thousand voices and motorcar enthusiast. That said, he can’t hold a torch to the late Peter Sellers, whose obsession with the horseless carriage they also examine this week, as well as singing the praises of the sound effects chaps, querying quite why Secombe got given six characters to voice and asking whether this could possibly be one of Spike’s greatest performances of his career.

    World War One (aka '_________!')

  6. 24 Jun

    Digby The Biggest Dog In The World (1973)

    "He's only got to lift his leg and he'll drown 50 kids!" This week: Digby, The Biggest Dog in the World, a 1973 British family comedy in which an Old English Sheepdog accidentally drinks an experimental growth formula and raises the woof! Leading the cast is Jim Dale as Jeff Eldon, an animal psychologist at a NATO research facility; when Spike Milligan (playing a shameless German stereotype) moves in next door he is all for having him impounded as he mistakenly believes Jeff thinks he is a dog. It's part Disney family adventure, part monster movie parody and utterly British. Did we forget to mention that other cast members include Angela Douglas, Norman Rossington, John Bluthal and Victor Spinetti? There’s also a cucumber the size of a bus, a mischievous chimp and a wonderful scene set in a roadside café. Plus we ask: did Dulux pay for the outrageous product-placement?  Do the special effects hold up? And why wasn’t Jim Dale a bigger star in Britain? Joining Tyler is Graham Rinaldi, film writer and academic and huge Bowie fan, and please feel free to join in the Bowie drinking game as we discuss this fine film.

    Digby The Biggest Dog In The World (1973)

  7. 17 Jun

    Fool Britannia (LP, 1963)

    "Round the back for the old cherry brandy!" Recorded in New York on 6 August 1963, this satirical comedy album brought together Peter Sellers, Anthony Newley, Joan Collins, Leslie Bricusse, Daniel Massey and Michael Lipton at the height of the Profumo Affair. The midnight session accommodated Newley and Massey, whose Broadway shows had only just finished. The idea had been conceived less than two weeks earlier while Newley and Bricusse were holidaying in Montauk and they were keen to capitalise on Britain's appetite for political satire. The recording became a celebrity gathering, attracting around 100 guests including Vivien Leigh, Sammy Davis Jr., Roddy McDowall and Peter Lawford. By 2am, according to one witness, Sellers and Newley were sharing Scotch from a thermos while cigarette smoke filled the studio. The entire session was completed in just three hours. They rushed to release the album before public interest in the Profumo scandal faded but some record labels - notably Decca - were sniffy about its content, with mockery of the Royal Family a particular point of contention. Sellers responded: "Only a prude could possibly be offended by it." The BBC banned it from radio play, although excerpts had appeared on television. Contemporary reviews ranged from praise to outrage, reflecting the record's deliberately provocative humour. The album remains a fascinating snapshot of Britain's early-1960s satire boom, when comedians and performers increasingly challenged the deference traditionally shown to politicians, celebrities and public institutions. Joining Tyler to talk through the LP is Brett Tremble, who can be found on Bluesky @agnes-guano.bsky.social

    Fool Britannia (LP, 1963)

  8. 10 Jun

    Invasion Quartet (1961)

    This week we look at Invasion Quartet (1961), one of the most significant, if forgotten, films in Spike Milligan's career. Set in a military convalescent hospital on the English south coast during 1942, the story follows three disabled service officers and an ageing military veteran who decide to launch their own private invasion of occupied France to destroy a German super-gun known as "Big Hermann", whose shelling is disrupting both the war effort and their cricket matches. The result is a whimsical wartime adventure that one hack at the time described as "a skit on The Guns of Navarone." The film was made shortly after Spike signed a contract with MGM's British subsidiary, soon after the Oscar nomination of The Running, Jumping & Standing Still Film. Invasion Quartet was part of MGM British's first production slate under Lawrence P. Bachmann, alongside future hits such as Village of the Damned and Murder She Said. While those films became major successes and spawned sequels, Invasion Quartet was one of the few productions that failed to make much impact at the box office. The cast included Bill Travers, John Le Mesurier, Grégoire Aslan, Millicent Martin and Maurice Denham, with Eric Sykes appearing briefly as a German soldier. Spike himself later dismissed the picture as "desperately unfunny" and often lamented his lack of success in films. It did, however, result in at least one happy outcome for the Milligan family... Although Invasion Quartet quickly disappeared from view, it offers a fascinating glimpse of a period when British cinema attempted to turn Spike Milligan into a mainstream film star - and failed. Joining Tyler this week is John Hewer of Hambledon Productions, who are soon to hit the stage with a brand new production of The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town. John discusses this in the show and details can be found here: https://hambledonproductions.com/phantomraspberryblower/

    Invasion Quartet (1961)
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4.7
out of 5
45 Ratings

About

A podcast where we talk about classic comedy with particular focus on the work of Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe & Michael Bentine. You'll also hear us discuss the likes of Monty Python, Hancock, Blackadder, the Carry On films, Peter Cook, Steptoe & Son and countless other comedy figures & fixtures from the postwar era. Please follow on Bluesky @goonpod.bsky.social and Twitter @goonshowpod

Information

  • Creator
    Goon Pod
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    246
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Goon Pod
  • Show Website
    Goon Pod

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