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1952 At the Bristol Old Vic Julian Slade and Dorothy Reynolds's Christmas in King Street (cowritten with James Cairncross) caused a deal of excitement; eight years later it was transformed into a West End edition, Follow That Girl. The hard-worked Eric Maschwitz came up with a musical that displayed the talents of Jean Carson, Love from Judy, adapted from a popular novel by Jean Webster, Daddy Long Legs. It made a star of Carson, but she didn't stay in Britain. Bet Your Life was a modest affair hoping for a broad appeal, with a libretto from Alan Melville and music by Charles Zwar and Kenneth Leslie-Smith. Its main draw was Arthur Askey, who helped it run for the best part of a year without the show ever becoming really popular. On Broadway, Ethel Merman had barnstormed her way through Irving Berlin's Call Me Madam. London got to see the less legendary Billie Worth, but it ran well. Lovers of intimate revue were well catered for. The little Bells of St. Martin's had the charms of Hattie Jacques accompanied by Douglas Byng and a pleasing company, but didn't stay long. The Globe Revue was made of stronger stuff, with a cast that represents the Golden Age of this type of show: the names included Dora Bryan, Ian Carmichael and Joan Heal. The material was from practised hands such as Coward, Richard Addinsell, Arthur Macrae, Paul Dehn and Donald Swann. For belly-laughs and leggy chorus-girls there was the undemanding Excitement at the Casino and Paris to Piccadilly with Norman Wisdom. Both had long runs. Even longer-lived was the Crazy Gang's Coronation variety revue, Ring Out the Bells, but even this was outstripped by London Laughs which starred Tony Hancock, Jimmy Edwards and Vera Lynn. A Norwegian 'revue' had a cast list and, presumably, a plot, but Rendezvous nevertheless insisted on being known as a revue. Theatregoers resisted the opportunity to see Diana Dors (as one Doreen Downe), Chili Bouchier and Walter Crisham going through their motions. Televariety sounded like giving in to the power of the small screen. It was a curious assembly of people that included the grumpy game-show personality Gilbert Harding, Joan Turner and the legendary Northern comic Frank Randle. Their audience remained at home waiting for them to come back on television. |