The Disorderly Room
Encyclopedia
The Disorderly Room was a very early British
television
comedy production, written by Eric Blore
and starring Tommy Handley
. Blore was also an actor who played roles such as butler
s in various Hollywood films, while Handley later found greater fame in the BBC radio
comedy show It's That Man Again
.
The Disorderly Room was a one-off piece which consisted of a single sketch, wherein army disciplinary proceedings were put to the tunes of various popular songs of the day. It was first performed live on the BBC Television Service
on Saturday 17 April 1937, in a fifteen-minute form at 3.45pm. Such was its popularity, however, that the production was re-staged on various occasions before the suspension of the flegdling television service for the duration of the Second World War in September 1939.
The later performances on 30 August 1937 (twice — one 35-minutes and one 30-minutes); 23 December 1937 (15 minutes); 15 August 1939 (30 minutes) and finally on 20 August 1939 (again 30 minutes). None of these has survived because the technology to record them did not exist at the time of their broadcasting; the sole surviving remnants are still photographs.
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
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
comedy production, written by Eric Blore
Eric Blore
Eric Blore was an English comic actor. Blore was born in Finchley , England.Aged eighteeen, he worked as an insurance agent for two years. He gained theatre experience while touring Australia. Originally enlisting into the Artists Rifles he was commissioned in the South Wales Borderers in World...
and starring Tommy Handley
Tommy Handley
Thomas Reginald "Tommy" Handley was a British comedian, mainly known for the BBC radio programme ITMA . He was born at Toxteth Park, Liverpool in Lancashire....
. Blore was also an actor who played roles such as butler
Butler
A butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its...
s in various Hollywood films, while Handley later found greater fame in the BBC radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
comedy show It's That Man Again
It's That Man Again
It's That Man Again was a BBC radio comedy programme which ran from 1939 to 1949. The title was a contemporary phrase referring to ever more frequent news-stories about Hitler in the lead-up to World War II, and specifically a headline in the Daily Express written by Bert Gunn...
.
The Disorderly Room was a one-off piece which consisted of a single sketch, wherein army disciplinary proceedings were put to the tunes of various popular songs of the day. It was first performed live on the BBC Television Service
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
on Saturday 17 April 1937, in a fifteen-minute form at 3.45pm. Such was its popularity, however, that the production was re-staged on various occasions before the suspension of the flegdling television service for the duration of the Second World War in September 1939.
The later performances on 30 August 1937 (twice — one 35-minutes and one 30-minutes); 23 December 1937 (15 minutes); 15 August 1939 (30 minutes) and finally on 20 August 1939 (again 30 minutes). None of these has survived because the technology to record them did not exist at the time of their broadcasting; the sole surviving remnants are still photographs.