Bootsie and Snudge
Encyclopedia
Bootsie and Snudge was a British
television situation comedy series written, in the early days, by Barry Took
and Marty Feldman
, later writers were John Antrobus, Jack Rosenthal, ventriloquist Ray Alan and Harry Driver. The show featured Clive Dunn
, more famous as Corporal Jones in Dad's Army
, as well as Alfie Bass
and Bill Fraser
. Series 1-3, 5 centred around a gentlemen's club called the Imperial Club, whilst the fourth series broadcast as "Foreign Affairs" centred around a British Embassy in Bosnik. 112 half-hour episodes were made, being broadcast from 1960 to 1964 and in 1974.
The traditional gentlemen's club in Britain has long been used for comedic purposes in films, usually because of the eccentric characters with whom it can be populated, and the arcane rules. The rule of absolute silence in the reading room, notwithstanding several old men snoring under copies of The Times
, is a common feature of such comedy. Memorable moments include Kenneth Connor
, in the film Carry On Regardless
, being forced to mime "Your flies are open" to one of the members.
In the Imperial Club Bootsie and Snudge resumed their roles of snivelling skiver and bullying sergeant, with contributions from the ancient and always-bumbling dogsbody
, Johnson (Clive Dunn
), all under the tyrannical eye of the "Hon. Sec.", the club secretary played by Robert Dorning
. The Hon. Sec.'s way of dealing with arguments was to drown out the opposition with repetitions of "Tup! Tup!", rising in volume until the other party stopped trying. Thus Bootsie's name for the character was "Ol' Tuptup".
In the early 1960s, the show was adapted into a successful strip cartoon in the British comic TV Comic
.
Vol. 2" DVD in 2006 and again on "The Army Game Collection" in 2008.
The 39 remaining episodes of "Bootsie & Snudge - Series 1" have been released on DVD from Network
. "Bootsie & Snudge - The Complete Series 2" still containing all 29 episodes is due for release in 2012, with Bootsie & Snudge - Series 3 to follow.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television situation comedy series written, in the early days, by Barry Took
Barry Took
Barry Took was an English comedian, writer and television presenter. He is best remembered in the UK for his weekly role as presenter of Points of View, a BBC TV programme in which viewers' letters criticising or praising the BBC were broadcast...
and Marty Feldman
Marty Feldman
Martin Alan "Marty" Feldman was an English comedy writer, comedian and actor who starred in a series of British television comedy shows, including At Last the 1948 Show, and Marty, which won two BAFTA awards and was the first Saturn Award winner for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Young...
, later writers were John Antrobus, Jack Rosenthal, ventriloquist Ray Alan and Harry Driver. The show featured Clive Dunn
Clive Dunn
Clive Robert Benjamin Dunn OBE is a retired English actor, comedian and author, best known for his role as Lance-Corporal Jack Jones in the BBC sitcom Dad's Army.-Early life:...
, more famous as Corporal Jones in Dad's Army
Dad's Army
Dad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...
, as well as Alfie Bass
Alfie Bass
Alfred Bass was an English actor. He was born in Bethnal Green, London, the youngest in a Jewish family with ten children; their parents had fled persecution in Russia...
and Bill Fraser
Bill Fraser
-External links:* *...
. Series 1-3, 5 centred around a gentlemen's club called the Imperial Club, whilst the fourth series broadcast as "Foreign Affairs" centred around a British Embassy in Bosnik. 112 half-hour episodes were made, being broadcast from 1960 to 1964 and in 1974.
The traditional gentlemen's club in Britain has long been used for comedic purposes in films, usually because of the eccentric characters with whom it can be populated, and the arcane rules. The rule of absolute silence in the reading room, notwithstanding several old men snoring under copies of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, is a common feature of such comedy. Memorable moments include Kenneth Connor
Kenneth Connor
Kenneth Connor MBE was an English comedy stage, radio, film and TV actor, best known for his appearances in the Carry On films.-Career:...
, in the film Carry On Regardless
Carry On Regardless
Carry on Regardless was the fifth in the series of Carry On films to be made. It was released in 1961. By now a fairly regular team was established with Sid James, Kenneth Connor, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims and Kenneth Williams all having appeared in previous entries. Hattie Jacques - who was...
, being forced to mime "Your flies are open" to one of the members.
In the Imperial Club Bootsie and Snudge resumed their roles of snivelling skiver and bullying sergeant, with contributions from the ancient and always-bumbling dogsbody
Dogsbody
A dogsbody, or less commonly dog robber in the Royal Navy, is a junior officer, or more generally someone who does drudge work. A rough American equivalent would be a "gofer" or a "grunt", a "lackey", or "toady".-History:...
, Johnson (Clive Dunn
Clive Dunn
Clive Robert Benjamin Dunn OBE is a retired English actor, comedian and author, best known for his role as Lance-Corporal Jack Jones in the BBC sitcom Dad's Army.-Early life:...
), all under the tyrannical eye of the "Hon. Sec.", the club secretary played by Robert Dorning
Robert Dorning
Robert Dorning was a musician, dance band vocalist, ballet dancer, and actor. He is known to have performed in at least seventy-seven television and film productions between 1940 and 1988....
. The Hon. Sec.'s way of dealing with arguments was to drown out the opposition with repetitions of "Tup! Tup!", rising in volume until the other party stopped trying. Thus Bootsie's name for the character was "Ol' Tuptup".
In the early 1960s, the show was adapted into a successful strip cartoon in the British comic TV Comic
TV Comic
TV Comic was a British comic book published weekly between November 9, 1951 and June 29, 1984 for 1,697 issues. With its bright, eye-catching covers, it featured stories based on television shows running at the time of publication. The first issue had 8 pages and had Muffin the Mule on the cover....
.
Foreign Affairs
In 1964, a fourth series was broadcast as Foreign Affairs, and shows Bootsie (played by Bass) getting a job as a Security Officer at the British Embassy in Bosnik where he is joined by Claude Snudge (played by Fraser). Snudge not only thinks of himself as ambassador material, but also as usual feels justified in bullying Bootsie around.1974 Series
The 1974 series sees the men reunited in a reversal of roles ten years later. Bootsie, now unemployed and living alone, has just won £1,000,000.27 on the football pools under the pseudonym 'Yilseb', devised to preserve his anonymity. Snudge is now a travelling representative of the football pools company who brings the lucky winner his cheque. As Bootsie has been using the name 'Yilseb' (Bisley spelled backwards), Snudge has no idea that the winner he is about to visit is his old friend, Bootsie. On discovering the truth, Snudge immediately gives up his job with the football pools company and appoints himself as Bootsie's pompous but subservient financial adviser.Archival Status
Of the 112 episodes of Bootsie and Snudge that were made most still exist. However, the final episode of the first series, three episodes from the third series remain missing as of September 2011. These are series 1 episode 40 'Back Pay', series 3 episodes No 2 'The Rescue', No 5 'Soul Mates' and No 7 'I'm in a Dancing Mood', aka 'Carnet De Balham'. Six of the eight episodes of Foreign Affairs no longer exist; only the first two episodes exist in the archive as of 2011.DVD release
An episode of Bootsie & Snudge was released on "The Army GameThe Army Game
The Army Game is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1957 to 1961. Made in black-and-white, it is about National Service conscription to the post-war British Army. It was created by Sid Colin...
Vol. 2" DVD in 2006 and again on "The Army Game Collection" in 2008.
The 39 remaining episodes of "Bootsie & Snudge - Series 1" have been released on DVD from Network
Network DVD
Network DVD is a DVD publishing company that specialises in classic British television. In particular, it has the rights to a number of well-known ITV programmes...
. "Bootsie & Snudge - The Complete Series 2" still containing all 29 episodes is due for release in 2012, with Bootsie & Snudge - Series 3 to follow.
| DVD | Year(s) | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Series 1 | 1960- 1961 |
12 October 2009 |
| Series 2 | 1961- 1962 |
TBA 2012 |
| Series 3 | 1962- 1963 |
TBA 2013 |
| Series 4 | 1964 | TBA 2013 |
| Series 5 | 1974 | TBA 2014 |
| Series 1 to 5 Box Set | 1960- 1974 |
TBA 2014 |