Goon Pod’s 200th

The finest Goon Show related podcast in our planetary system, Goon Pod, has reached the milestone of 200 episodes. Congratulations Tyler!

Show number 200 was a look at the 1991 Radio 2 documentary, At Last The Go On Show. Guests on the podcast included that programme’s producer Dirk Maggs and the man who pulled together the clips for it, Ted Kendall.

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Mr Topaze (1961) Goon Pod

This week we're discussing Peter Sellers' only directorial feature, Mr Topaze from 1961. Sellers plays Albert Topaze, an earnest, impoverished schoolteacher in provincial France whose rigid honesty ultimately proves his undoing. He teaches under the status-obsessed headmaster Muche (Leo McKern) and is in love with Muche’s daughter Ernestine (Billie Whitelaw). Living modestly with his colleague and friend Tamise (Michael Gough), Topaze supplements his income through private tutoring.His integrity leads to his dismissal when he refuses to falsify a report, leaving him vulnerable to manipulation. He is soon drawn into the orbit of the glamorous Suzy Courtois (Nadia Gray) and her corrupt associate Castel Benac (Herbert Lom), who install him as the front for their fraudulent business dealings. Initially oblivious, Topaze is horrified when he learns the truth, but agrees to continue in order to protect Suzy.Joining Tyler this week to chat about the film's background, themes and ultimate re-evaluation after decades languishing in obscurity is Vic Pratt of the BFI https://www.bfi.org.uk/profile/vic-pratt
  1. Mr Topaze (1961)
  2. The Case of the Mukkinese Battle-Horn
  3. Neil Brand
  4. The Mighty Wurlitzer
  5. Climb Up The Wall (1960)