Dick and the Duchess

I was watching a late 1956 edition of What's My Line? on GSN tonight (this morning) and Milton Berle was the mystery guest. He commented that he was moving to England to film his next series with producer Sheldon Reynolds and described the basic premise of this series, saying it would begin airing in September of 1957. I don't know what happened that prompted his exit from the show, but I can only imagine how awful it would have been with him starring. If you didn't think it was a good show as produced, just be thankful Uncle Miltie wasn't inflicted on you! It seemed to me as he was talking about it that the plans were a bit sketchy in his mind. I got the feeling he wanted to have something to promote after the humiliation of being beaten off the air in the ratings by Bishop Fulton Sheen.

I watched this show when I was in my teens, and remembered Patrick O'Neal as a charming light comedian ever after. I was surprised, reading NIGHT OF THE IGUANA today, to find out that O'Neal had gone on from that sitcom to a Broadway triumph in an almost tragic role as the Reverend Shannon. But the first act or so of IGUANA requires a lot of comedic skill -- more than I think Richard Burton, who played the role on screen, had -- and I know O'Neal would have had a marvelously light touch in the play's comedic parts. That may account for the fact that the play was a great success on Broadway for him, while Burton didn't add much to his reputation, making the movie version.

God, has it been a long time!

This was, if dim memory serves, a situation comedy with a light hand, rather too light for someone my age. The first-named was a youngish, attractive bloke, rather the Common Man, and she was as her title implied. I watched it for the London location, being interested in faraway places as a boy.

That this web site lists DICK AND THE DUCHESS is no small tribute to its creators. The programme just popped into my rusting head yester-day for some strange reason; I was not even old enough to identify with the male lead.

"DIck and the Duchess", rather unusually for the 1950s, was an American sitcom that was filmed at MGM's studio in Elstree, England (with a primarily English cast and some interesting locations). The 26 episodes aired in the USA on CBS-TV from September 1957 through May 1958 ... and then aired on ITV in Britain from September 1958 to April '59.

American actor Patrick O'Neal (Ryan O'Neal's cousin) starred as Dick Starrett, an insurance claims investigator based in London and married to an Englishwoman. The "duchess" of the title was his wife Jane (the gorgeous Hazel Court): not an actual duchess, but a very proper and patrician upper-class lady whom Dick lovingly calls "Duchess".

Many prominent English actors appeared in this series. Richard Wattis (the British equivalent of Franklin Pangborn) played a recurring role as Dick's fussy business associate Peter. Others who strolled through the proceedings were Dame Margaret Rutherford, Alfie Bass, Irene Handl, Lionel Jeffries, and Kenneth 'Carry On' Williams.

Regrettably, the basic premise of 'Dick and the Duchess' was much too similar to several other American sitcoms. Jane would try to 'help' her husband by interfering in his business affairs, with chaos the inevitable result. The clever husband would then have to undo all the trouble that his foolish little wifey had caused.

Rather cheekily, the very last scene of every episode always depicted Dick and the Duchess in bed for the night, discussing the events of the day. But of course, this being an American tv show of the fifties, the husband and wife slept in twin beds. Oh, well...

The Paley Center in NY has two episodes in its archive, and it was great fun to watch one. It's cotton candy, of course, with some wildly improbable plot turns and clichéd writing here and there.

But the comic acting and timing are first rate, and the cast seem to be enjoying themselves a lot. I enjoyed them too, and it was intriguing to see 1957-era London locations (e.g., the Richard Wattis character walking down a London street, with actual Londoners in the background, frankly gawking at the actor, camera, and crew passing by).

And yes, at the end the hero and heroine DO end up in their chaste twin beds, discussing the day's events.

(By the way, the Paley Center version includes commercials from the sponsor, Mogen David Wine, and its subsidiary, "Key Wines" (presumably for the secular market)--with Hans Conreid posing as a Frenchman who is congratulating Americans for having the good fortune to be able to enjoy the wonders of Key Wines. Yes...they WERE simpler times.)