"Dad's Army" (1968) TV series 1968-1977

Creators:

David Croft
Jimmy Perry
(more)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Release Date:

31 July 1968 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | War

Plot:

Popular BBC comedy series set in the fictional south coast seaside town of Walmington-On-Sea during World War 2...

Plot Keywords:

Home Guard | Lance Corporal | Sergeant | Butcher | Bank Manager

Awards:

1 win & 9 nominations

Cast

Arthur Lowe	...	Capt. George Mainwaring / ... (80 episodes, 1968-1977)
John Le Mesurier	...	Sgt. Arthur Wilson (80 episodes, 1968-1977)
Clive Dunn	...	LCpl. Jack Jones (80 episodes, 1968-1977)
John Laurie	...	Pte. James Frazer (80 episodes, 1968-1977)
Arnold Ridley	...	Pte. Charles Godfrey (80 episodes, 1968-1977)
Ian Lavender	...	Pte. Frank Pike (80 episodes, 1968-1977)
James Beck	...	Pte. Joe Walker (60 episodes, 1968-1973)
Bill Pertwee	...	A.R.P. Warden Hodges / ... (57 episodes, 1968-1977)
Bud Flanagan	...	The Voice Of / ... (49 episodes, 1968-1975)
Edward Sinclair	...	Verger Henry Yeatman / ... (46 episodes, 1968-1977)
Colin Bean	...	Private Sponge / ... (41 episodes, 1968-1977)
Frank Williams	...	Rev. Timothy Farthing / ... (40 episodes, 1969-1977)

Series Directed by
David Croft		(33 episodes, 1968-1977)
Harold Snoad		(5 episodes, 1969-1970)
Bob Spiers		(4 episodes, 1977)

Series Writing credits
David Croft		(80 episodes, 1968-1977)
Jimmy Perry		(80 episodes, 1968-1977)

Series Produced by
David Croft	....	producer (70 episodes, 1968-1977)

Series Cinematography by
James Balfour		(1 episode, 1972)
Peter Chapman		(unknown episodes)

Series Film Editing by
Bob Rymer		(20 episodes, 1969-1973)
Bill Harris		(13 episodes, 1970-1974)
John Dunstan		(4 episodes, 1977)
John Stothart		(2 episodes, 1975)

Series Production Design by
Paul Joel		(46 episodes, 1968-1973)
Alan Hunter-Craig		(6 episodes, 1968)
Bryan Ellis		(5 episodes, 1974)
Ray London		(4 episodes, 1969)
Richard Hunt		(3 episodes, 1969)
Robert Berk		(3 episodes, 1975)
Tim Gleeson		(3 episodes, 1977)
Geoff Powell		(3 episodes, 1977)
Oliver Bayldon		(2 episodes, 1969)

Series Costume Design by
Susan Wheal		(4 episodes, 1972-1973)
Judy Allen		(unknown episodes)
Barbara Kronig		(unknown episodes)

Series Makeup Department
Sylvia Thornton	....	makeup artist / makeup designer (14 episodes, 1974-1977)
Cynthia Goodwin	....	makeup artist / make up (6 episodes, 1970-1972)
Anna Chesterman	....	make up / makeup artist (2 episodes, 1972-1973)
Ann Ailes-Stevenson	....	makeup artist (unknown episodes)
Penny Bell	....	makeup artist (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
Michael McCarthy	....	sound / sound: studio (40 episodes, 1969-1975)
Les Collins	....	sound recordist (11 episodes, 1970-1972)
James Cole	....	sound (8 episodes, 1968-1969)
John Gatland	....	sound recordist / film sound (7 episodes, 1973-1974)
John Delany	....	sound (6 episodes, 1972)
Laurie Taylor	....	sound: studio / sound (6 episodes, 1977)
John Holmes	....	sound (4 episodes, 1969-1970)
Ron Blight	....	sound recordist (4 episodes, 1972)
Graham Bedwell	....	film sound (4 episodes, 1977)
Keith Bowden	....	grams operator (4 episodes, 1977)
Clive Derbyshire	....	boom operator (3 episodes, 1973)
Bill Chesneau	....	film sound (2 episodes, 1975)
Alan Machin	....	sound / sound: studio (2 episodes, 1975)
Mike Roberts	....	grams operator (2 episodes, 1977)

Series Special Effects by
Peter Day	....	special effects (7 episodes, 1969)

Series Visual Effects by
Peter Day	....	visual effects (14 episodes, 1970-1973)
Martin Gutteridge	....	visual effects (4 episodes, 1977)
Tony Harding	....	visual effects (2 episodes, 1972)
Jim Ward	....	visual effects (2 episodes, 1974)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Howard King	....	lighting / studio lighting / ... (51 episodes, 1969-1977)
James Balfour	....	film cameraman / camera operator / ... (19 episodes, 1969-1973)
George Summers	....	lighting (17 episodes, 1968-1970)
Stewart A. Farnell	....	film cameraman / film camera / ... (11 episodes, 1970-1972)
Peter Chapman	....	film cameraman / camera operator (8 episodes, 1975-1977)
Len Newson	....	film cameraman (3 episodes, 1974)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mary Husband	....	costumes (9 episodes, 1975-1977)
Susan Wheal	....	costumes (5 episodes, 1974)
George W. Ward	....	costumes (3 episodes, 1968-1970)
Michael Burdle	....	costumes (2 episodes, 1969)
Barbara Kronig	....	costumes (2 episodes, 1970)

Series Editorial Department
Angela Beveridge	....	vision mixer (6 episodes, 1977)

Series Music Department
Major Trevor L. Sharpe	....	conductor / conductor: The Band of the Coldstream Guards (80 episodes, 1968-1977)
Band of H.M. Coldstream Guards	....	musician: band / band musicians / ... (39 episodes, 1968-1977)

Series Other crew
Charles Garland	....	series editor (8 episodes, 1973-1975)
Susan Belbin	....	assistant floor manager (6 episodes, 1977)
Gordon Elsbury	....	production assistant (6 episodes, 1977)
Judy Littler	....	floor assistant (6 episodes, 1977)
Hilary West	....	producer's assistant (6 episodes, 1977)
Bob Spiers	....	production assistant (5 episodes, 1974)
Brendan Carr	....	technical manager (5 episodes, 1977)
Jo Austin	....	production assistant (3 episodes, 1975)

Production Companies

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Distributors

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (1968-1977) (UK) (TV) (original airing)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (seasons 3 and 4)

Also Known As:

The Fighting Tigers (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

30 min (80 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Australia:PG (some episodes) | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

All Saints' Church, Honington, Suffolk, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

A pilot for a sequel to Dad's Army, "It Sticks Out Half a Mile", was recorded for BBC Radio in 1981 with Arthur Lowe and John Le Mesurier. In it, Mainwaring moves to another seaside resort in 1948. He wants a loan with the local bank manager and discovers that this is Wilson. He wants to buy the local pier, closed since the war, and attempts (with Wilson's help) to buy it off the council. It was not transmitted (Lowe was very ill during the recording and died soon after) but the pilot is sometimes repeated on the digital radio channel BBC7. With some reworking "It Sticks Out Half a Mile" did become a radio series. In it Hodges and Pike decide to restore the pier at Frambourne-on-Sea and approach Wilson for the loan. Le Mesurier, Bill Pertwee and Ian Lavender reprised their rôles. The series aired on Radio 2 in 1983-4 and is often rerun on BBC7; it was also reworked for television in the form of ITV's "High and Dry" (1987).

Quotes:

Frazer: Captain Mainwaring. Did I ever tell you the story about the old, empty barn.
Mainwaring: Um. No.
Frazer: Would you like to hear the story about the old, empty barn?
Mainwaring: Um. Yes. Listen everybody. Frazer's going to tell us the story about the old empty barn.
Frazer: Right. The story of the old empty barn. Well. There was nothing in it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Passing Years (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

If ever a heart was in the right place

You Stupid Boy!

Capt. Mainwaring would frequently utter the above phrase, and then immediately do something much more stupid than young Private Pike could ever accomplish. This is one of the reasons why this colorful program is one of my favorites (pardon my American English spelling).

The scripts are good, but what really make this show brilliant are the great characters and the wonderful actors. It must have been very difficult to get elderly actors to do zany slapstick comedy, but the directors managed to do it beautifully.

The contrast of young and old, and middle class and working class people in perpetual conflict is really great fun to watch. More egos are deflated in this series than ever before, and with hilarious results.

Instead of watching the horrible news accounts of the Iraq War, watch a video tape of Dad's Army. This a very funny remembrance of a much better era.