Series 3 Ep. 1: The Armoured Might of Lance Corporal Jones

[Katie]

Series 3 Episode 1: The Armoured Might of Lance Corporal Jones

Broadcast on 11/09/69

GHQ orders the platoon to work closer with the ARP. The new chief warden, Mr Hodges is to discuss suggestions as to how this can be achieved.

As soon as Hodges arrives, the foundations of his friction-based relationship with Mainwaring are laid. Walker persuades Jones into loaning his delivery van, which is converted to gas for fuel economy, to the platoon, primarily because he wants to use it for his own black market dealings. The delivery van takes on a new role as an ambulance during Hodges' air raid practice, with the platoon becoming stretcherbearers.

Also appearing: Janet Davies (Mrs Pike), Bill Pertwee (the ARP Warden), Frank Williams (the Vicar), Queenie Watts (Mrs Peters), Pamela Cundell (Mrs Fox), Jean St Clair (Miss Meadows), Olive Mercer (Mrs Casson), Nigel Hawthorne (the angry man), Harold Bennett ( the old man) and Dick Haydon (Raymond).

[Dave Homewood]

This is a great show with a neat story that reflects life so well, as so many Home Guard units improvised armoured cars from old bangers. The episode also introduces six occasional characters to the show for the first time:
The Vicar
Mrs Fox
Mrs Yeatman (though in this known as mrs Casson but clearly the same character)
Mr Blewitt (credited as the old man)
Raymond the butcher's boy
and Jones's van, of course.

It also introduced the element of colour which makes a world of difference to the series I think. And Hodges is newly-elevated to Chief Warden, making even more bumptious than ever before.

I think the gas mask scene is very funny, expecially when Wilson and Mainwaring discuss Hodges' dirty fingernails. The scene where all the ladies are kissing up to Jones for a bit on the side of their meat ration is superb, so well played by all involved. The scene where Walker and Jones get high on the gas leak is classic, you can really tell that Jimmy and Clive were enjoying that scene. And Frazer's ingenious way of tricking the Vicar when theyre nicking his gas is always a favourite. Wilson's drill for the van, making it into an armoured car, is great. "Open-two-three; Up-two-three..."

All the chaos at the end with the stretcher is classic Dad's Army, and the whole show is capped off with a great line by Mr Blewitt, "I'll walk to the flipping hospital." Brilliant.

[Summerday Sands]

"The Armoured Might of Lance Corporal Jones" is such an important one because it is quite pioneering in the history of Dad's Army. It's the first in colour, the end credits changed from the first two series & remained until series 9. It features the introduction of The Vicar, Mrs. Fox, Mrs. Yeatman & Mr. Blewitt. I think Jones's boy Raymond also makes his debut. This is also the first episode to feature Jonesy's van. We also learn who has become chief ARP Warden, Hodges. All this in one episode. It also features one of the most unusal gags ever in the show, the cold room gag with Jones & Walker, which works well I think. Nigel Hawthorne (Yes Minister) also has disappointing bit part, which he always regretted.

[Dave Homewood]

Why would he regret it? Hewas given the role and gladly took it because he hadn't had any work for ages, and was broke. Jimmy Perry was an old mate of his who bumped into him in the street and on hearing how bad Nigel's career was at the time, he wrote him a part to give him some work. You'd think he'd be greatful rather than regretful. He played it very well too, I thought.

[Summerday Sands]

I remember reading in a book that Hawthorne didn't enjoy his short time in Dads Army because the part was so poor & he felt he didn't play it well. I think the fact that he appeared in such an early series is another reason, at that stage Dads Army hadn't yet become huge. People would ask him what part he played it annoyed him that his appearance in one of greatest comedies of all time was the largely forgettable "Angry Man"

He also said that he didn't connect with the other cast off camera. The only one who would mix with the other actors was Clive Dunn.

[Dave Homewood]

Thanks for that extra detail.

[TheOldEmptyBarn101]

This was the one that got me into it. (I had watched some episodes before but wasn't such a fan despite finding them funny). My Grandad has both Series 3 and 4 on DVD.

I love this episode, the part in the cold room is funny (Walker snaps the ends of Jonesy's moustache off ;D).

There are some nice lines in it, my fav is when Jonesy is upset about his van being converted into gas so he says "Where-ever I look there's a great sagging bag!" to which Walker replies "Can't you keep your mind off women for a moment?" and Jonesy mouths "Shut up". ;D
I like it how Jonesy keeps referring to the "little Belgian boy" which aggrivates Walker (he keeps telling Jones that it's a "little Dutch boy" but Jonesy keeps on forgetting). I'm not sure what they're exactly reffering to but it's still funny.

The end if funny when they're trying to get the old man on the stretcher in the van, the doors are locked so they getting him through a little hole in the back of the cab! Finally Jones returns with the key but Jones keeps on driving off when he thinks Hodges has given the signal. The old man says "I'll walk to the flippin' hospital!" and limps down the road. Comic Gold

[Dave Homewood]

Wardie, the little Belgian Boy is referring to a very famous statue in Belgium (in Brussells I believe) called the Manneken Pis, which is a boy peeing into a fountain. It has been replicated in statues, fountains and we even had one blowing bubbles in our fish tank when I was a kid. It's rude and funny but largely harmless. These days the PC lot have probably had it banned though.

See here
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manneken_Pis

Hence the reason why Walker was not keen to do what the Belgian Boy did (pee on it) and prefered to do what the little Dutch boy did (he stuck his finger in the hole in the dyke and saved the village according to legend).

[TheOldEmptyBarn101]

Dec 7, 2010 0:18:10 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

Wardie, the little Belgian Boy is referring to a very famous statue in Belgium (in Brussells I believe) called the Manneken Pis, which is a boy peeing into a fountain. It has been replicated in statues, fountains and we even had one blowing bubbles in our fish tank when I was a kid. It's rude and funny but largely harmless. These days the PC lot have probably had it banned though.

See here
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manneken_Pis

Hence the reason why Walker was not keen to do what the Belgian Boy did (pee on it) and prefered to do what the little Dutch boy did (he stuck his finger in the hole in the dyke and saved the village according to legend).

I didn't know that, I also hadn't heard of that legend.

[jonboy]

The story of the statue is also mentioned in an old episode of Steptoe & Son.

[hawksmoor]

May 28, 2010 14:18:40 GMT 12 Summerday Sands said:

I remember reading in a book that Hawthorne didn't enjoy his short time in Dads Army because the part was so poor & he felt he didn't play it well. I think the fact that he appeared in such an early series is another reason, at that stage Dads Army hadn't yet become huge. People would ask him what part he played it annoyed him that his appearance in one of greatest comedies of all time was the largely forgettable "Angry Man"

He also said that he didn't connect with the other cast off camera. The only one who would mix with the other actors was Clive Dunn.

That's interesting, although in a way I'm surprised he has developed such a strong reaction to the experience. After all, it's pretty much a one-scene walk-on role in one episode, with half a dozen lines. He can't have been in studio more than three or four days, surely - hardly long enough to have particularly liked or disliked it that much? I would have thought it would be just another job, and one you'd not really have strong memories of. Just goes to show, I suppose.

[mingwalton]

I too think the cold-room scene is great comedy as it gradually builds up the ice formation on their clothes and moustaches and I really couldn't help laughing out loud at it on first viewing, and again just now on Youtube. Really well done by Jimmy and Clive.

Dick Haydon (Raymond the butcher boy) I noticed popped up in 1974 in something called 'Commuter Husbands' starring Gabrielle Drake.
Pretty sure this is him centre screen (around the 52-second mark) here.......



He was in other things but the trail seems to go cold in 1993 according to imdb......

www.imdb.com/name/nm0370829/

[hawksmoor]

May 25, 2010 16:34:57 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

This is a great show with a neat story that reflects life so well, as so many Home Guard units improvised armoured cars from old bangers. The episode also introduces six occasional characters to the show for the first time:
The Vicar
Mrs Fox
Mrs Yeatman (though in this known as mrs Casson but clearly the same character)
Mr Blewitt (credited as the old man)
Raymond the butcher's boy
and Jones's van, of course.

It also introduced the element of colour which makes a world of difference to the series I think. And Hodges is newly-elevated to Chief Warden, making even more bumptious than ever before.

On top of all of the above, Hodges is even given a kind of re-introduction to the series, whereby they pretend that they don't know him very well (despite his Series 1-2 appearances). The whole episode feels very much like a kind of 're-launch' of the show in colour.

[stephen68]

I can see that point of view yeah Hawksmoor

[stephen68]

Whilst watching this tonight on the dvd collection, for some reason i had the subtitles on.

Now when Frazer is stealing the vicars gas from his fire to refill Jonesy's gas bag on his van, and the vicar has accepted Frazers explanation for being in his house with a long hose attached to his fire, i always thought that Frazer called him a twerp for falling for his story.

According to the sub titles, what Frazer says is one - up.

Can any one confirm what was actually said to the vicar by Frazer please ?.

[Dave Homewood]

Hmm, to my ears he has always said "Twerp".

In the script, found in the script book 'Dad's Army: Walmington Goes To War" by Jimmy Perry, David Croft and Richard Webber, there is no line at all after the Vicar says to Frazer he's most charitable. So John Laurie must have ad libbed it, or the twerp line was added in rehearsal.

One - up makes no sense. I think the subtitles are wrong.

[stephen68]

My thoughts exactly Dave, thank you, but thought i would ask.

[jonboy]

Harold Snoad did on radio 4xtra last Saturday that Clive Dunn often ad-libbed and usually got away with it though David & Jimmy disapproved but if a recording was going well they would let it pass so I guess that was a case in point.

[Molly]

Oh I don' remember hearing twerp at all. I'll have to watch again and listen carefully.

I guess the temptation to ad-lib must just have been too much to resist for Clive Dunn. It'd be interesting to know the places where he ad-libbed - he was such a funny man. I wonder if he or any of the other actors ever got very involved in the scripts?

[Dave Homewood]

Clive Dunn often ad-libbed in rehearsal, and Jimmy and David thought it was great. But when he came to filming he'd forgotten what the ad-lib hasd been, apparently.

I guess to see the ad-libs you have to read along with the TV scripts while you watch. You certainly pick up several changes. Like a scene in A Deadly Attachment where Walker asks the Germans if they have any daggers and such like to sell him. That was cut in rehearsal due to time constraints so never went to air on TV. Later it was left in the radio version.