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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Spells &amp; Karma" data-source="post: 304516" data-attributes="member: 23">Having wrapped up The Two Ronnies, I wanted to explore a bit of Ronnie Barker's solo work. Some I know well; some I have only a passing acquaintance with and some I don't know at all.1969's Hark At Barker falls into the final category. I don't believe I've ever seen it before. The ensemble is very familiar though, with many of them going on to become regular Barker collaborators. Most notably, there's Josephine Tewson as Lord Rustless's secretary Miss Bates (it's the kind of timid, subservient but all-seeing and all-knowing role in which she specialises. This first series being black and white she actually looks older here than she would in the early Nineties). Frank Gatliffe is another comfortingly familiar face though I don't associate him with any particular role. He's one of those character actors who seems to have been in everything. Then there's Nöel Dyson (Ken Barlow's Mum, AKA Nanny from Father, Dear Father) who appeared in a number of Ronnies episodes.The structure, too, feels rather like a dry run for what we'd get in The Two Ronnies, with Ronnie starting off as an announcer (sometimes incorporating Barker's brilliant wordplay or gift for clever mispronunciation).A couple of sketches in the first few episodes did seem familiar. Most notable of these was a sketch set at the cinema where Barker gets heated watching an erotic film while his mousy wife - played by Nöel Dyson - critiques the decor and the leading lady:Either I've seen this clip elsewhere quite recently or - more likely - it was recreated as a Two Ronnies sketch.The entire episode can be found here, with the sketch in question at 19 and a half minutes:[MEDIA=youtube]lXlaz2E8GLk[/MEDIA]</blockquote>

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