Daniel Farson's Guide to Great Britain - Volume 1

Brash, boozy and bohemian (and probably the first television celebrity in that field) British writer and broadcaster Daniel Farson was associated with the early days of commercial TV in the UK and laid the foundation for later broadcasters such as Louis Theroux. This 3-disc Dual Format release of Vol 1 covers Farson’s never short of fascinating TV presentations over a period from 1957 to 1963.

Naturally charming and polite, Farson certainly didn’t shy away from covering controversial or even taboo subjects of the day and while quite a few of those he interviewed displayed opinions which, by nowadays standards, belong to the dark ages, they provide an interesting glimpse into what Great Britain was like at the tail end of the 1950s.

Farson presented his various series for Associated Re-Diffusion and we start with two examples from his Out Of Step series, the first one being ‘Witchcraft’ (1957), during which the broadcaster wonders what witchcraft in 50s Britain is like. During the 13 min episode, he interviews no-nonsense anthropologist Margaret Murray and 71 year old male witch / Wiccan priest Gerald Gardner, who was known by his craft name Scire and was responsible for founding the Gardnerian Wicca tradition. When Farson asks whether any specific gowns are worn during the rituals, Gardner, half-amused, replies that the preferred gowns are the natural one, that is to say he and his disciples practice in the nude.

The second Out Of Step episode (also from 1957 and 13 min) is called ‘Other Worlds Are Watching Us’ and as you can probably guess concerns the possibility of extraterrestrial life forms and UFOs. Farson asks various passers-by on the street whether they believe in flying saucers before interviewing individuals, in particular one nutter who claims to have contact with inhabitants from various other planets, including Mars and Venus (where the women are exceptionally beautiful). Farson has a hard time trying to stay professional and serious… and who could blame him.

After Out Of Step we get to see two episodes (both from 1958 and same running time) from another series, titled Keeping In Step. The first concerns Farson observing matrimonial traditions, one being a rather bizarre rule which states that the button hole (for a flower) of a male guest’s suit jacket should never be larger than that of the groom, sarcastically remarking the rule is a trifle difficult to observe, as male guests cannot possibly know upfront what size the button hole of the groom will be. The second episode, ‘The Stock Exchange’ - is perhaps a trifle boring for those who aren’t familiar with that world.

Other interesting highlights include the 7 min ‘Soho Striptease’ from 1958 (from Farson’s This Week series, during which he interviews some striptease dancers as well as club managers, and perhaps the truly disturbing episode ‘Mixed Marriages’ (1958) from his People In Trouble series, which will sit particularly uncomfortable with modern audiences (recent BAFTA Awards ceremony, anyone?). After having interviewed various mixed race couples on what they have to say about interracial relationships in 50’s Britain, Farson proceeds to interview one of his regular and deeply reactionary guest, the vile James Wentworth Day, who doesn’t hold back on his deeply racist and eugenicist views, even going so far as stating that he thinks mixed race marriages are a bad idea because the white mother (all the interracial couples that Farson interviewed consisted of white women and black men and not the other way around) ultimately will see herself confronted “with a coffee-coloured imp” sitting by her bedside in the morning, calling her ‘momma’! Eventually and some years later, Farson, very sensibly, cut all ties with Wentworth Day after he remarked that “all homosexuals should be hanged”… an opinion that didn’t go down too well with Farson, himself a homosexual (at a time when it was still illegal to be gay in the UK).

From the Success Story series, we are treated to a 1959 interview with ‘A Taste of Honey’ playwright Shelagh Delaney, and in the same year Farson interviewed a then 29-year old Cliff Richard for his Celebrity series. It’s almost amusing to observe how well-behaved and coy Cliff was, talking about buying a house for his parents and how he grew up in India (where his dad worked as a contractor for Indian Railways) and after the family returned to Old Blighty, he found the English attitude rather ‘stuffy’. He also told Farson about a holiday in Florence which he didn’t enjoy much: “Perhaps we were in the wrong parts of town, but everything seemed dirty and smelly and there was so much poverty. Oh dear! Not the kind of idyllic Florence as depicted in the 1985 movie ‘A Room with a View’ then.
This is followed by the purreciously delightful ‘Farson’s Guide to the British: Cats’ episode, also from 1959.

The final offering clocks in at 39 minutes and is not only the longest, but split into two parts. ‘Beat City’ from 1963 chronicles the Liverpool club scene with venues such as The Cavern Club and The Blue Angel as well as the various artists and bands performing there. But this is not just a fascinating slice of info about Merseybeat but we learn a fair bit about the maritime city, which presented the world with The Beatles, along the way.
Special features on this newly 2K remastered Blu-ray/DVD dual release include newly recorded audio commentaries, ‘Beat City’ image gallery and illustrated booklet (first pressing only).