The latest Phil Evans column from the South Wales Evening Post
The latest Phil Evans column from the South Wales Evening Post.
Comedian Phil Evans is from Ammanford. He is known as the man who puts the ‘cwtsh’ into comedy.
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Did you watch “The Great Escape” over Christmas?
Despite the fact the 1963 prisoner-of-war classic has as much to do with Santa Claus as raging myxomatosis has to do with the Easter Bunny, it’s a regular fixture in the Christmas schedules. This time around it was on Five USA.
TV executives could be accused of lazy programming, filling-up several hours with a 50-year old film. But what’s wrong with spending a cold winter’s afternoon settled on the sofa watching an old movie full of big name stars, action, excitement, humour...and that incredible motorcycle leap over the barbed-wire fence at the climax?
Whatever your feelings about war films, without doubt it’s a rock solid piece of screen entertainment with a brilliant screenplay and the sure hand of Hollywood veteran John Sturges at the helm.
I make a point of watching it every Christmas, not only because I love the film, but because, at a little under four hours screen time, including ad breaks, it’s the perfect length for timing my chicken in the oven.
But over the past few years, each viewing has been tinged with sadness as I note which of the stars had passed away since I last watched it.
We lost Steve McQueen (“Hilts - The Cooler King”) many years ago, since when Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, Nigel Stock, James Coburn, Gordon Jackson and James Donald have all gone.
As at the time of writing, only two of the stars are still with us.
David McCallum, who went on to fame as llya Kuryakin in “The Man From Uncle” TV series and who currently appears in another hit series “N.C.I.S.” – and singer/actor John Leyton who, at the age of 78 still tours with other veteran pop acts on the Solid Gold Sixties shows.
This year has been particularly bad for devotees of the film. We lost James Garner (“Hendley – The Scrounger”) and Sir Richard Attenborough (“Big X“ ) within a month, followed by Angus Lennie (“Ives”).
Then just this month, I read the obituary of Tom Adams (“Dai Nimmo”) who went on to be the face of DFS sofas in a series of self-deprecating advertisements – and more recently was the continuity voice for the E4 channel.
I often visit the multiplex so I won’t say that new films aren’t as good as old films.
Clearly, some right old rubbish was churned out by Hollywood and Pinewood in the past. But all that many modern actors are required to do is react to CGI explosions, lead CGI armies into CGI battles; or take on CGI aliens.
When true giants of the screen, like James Garner and Richard Attenborough pass away, their unique qualities as unforgettable actors go with them.
So as I watched “The Great Escape” again and noted who was no longer with us, I realised what had happened.
Since the film was first released, they’d all escaped...one by one.
And they can never be recaptured!
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One of the things I will never understand as a responsible dog owner is how anyone can leave the house to take their dog for a walk and not have a stock of poo bags in their pocket.
I can’t even imagine how people can stand by and watch Fido do his business and then walk away without cleaning it up.
All too often you see some poor parent or grandparent having to clean up their little ones shoes or trainers after they have been playing in the park and managed to get Fido’s deposit in the treads of their shoes.
With dark mornings and evenings during December many of us are having to walk our four-legged friends without being able to see what is under foot, oh yes, many a time I’ve prayed that was just a slug or a discarded pile of chips that just squidged under my wellie.
So here is my plea, please clean up after your dogs, it only takes two minutes to bag it and throw it in the nearest council provided doggy doo bin and, in this weather, it makes a great hand warmer until you find one....
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There has been a sudden unwelcome cold snap and most of us have been able to find comfort in well insulated homes with central heating and a nice warm fire.
But for too many this winter, this will not be the case. Our towns and cities homeless face a cold, wet and miserable time sleeping outside, cold and often hungry. You may have seen a few of them, but there are many more out there that you don’t see, hanging on just taking one night at a time.
Try not to judge until you have walked a mile in their shoes and remember most homeless people were once in the same position as you and I, it could happen to any one of us at any time for many different reasons.
I pray that none of you ever have to sleep outside in the cold or go hungry.
We can all make a difference; why not make it part of your New Year’s resolutions and don’t just walk by...?
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You can follow Phil Evans on Twitter @philevanswales
Did you watch “The Great Escape” over Christmas?
Despite the fact the 1963 prisoner-of-war classic has as much to do with Santa Claus as raging myxomatosis has to do with the Easter Bunny, it’s a regular fixture in the Christmas schedules. This time around it was on Five USA.
TV executives could be accused of lazy programming, filling-up several hours with a 50-year old film. But what’s wrong with spending a cold winter’s afternoon settled on the sofa watching an old movie full of big name stars, action, excitement, humour...and that incredible motorcycle leap over the barbed-wire fence at the climax?
Whatever your feelings about war films, without doubt it’s a rock solid piece of screen entertainment with a brilliant screenplay and the sure hand of Hollywood veteran John Sturges at the helm.
I make a point of watching it every Christmas, not only because I love the film, but because, at a little under four hours screen time, including ad breaks, it’s the perfect length for timing my chicken in the oven.
But over the past few years, each viewing has been tinged with sadness as I note which of the stars had passed away since I last watched it.
We lost Steve McQueen (“Hilts - The Cooler King”) many years ago, since when Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, Nigel Stock, James Coburn, Gordon Jackson and James Donald have all gone.
As at the time of writing, only two of the stars are still with us.
David McCallum, who went on to fame as llya Kuryakin in “The Man From Uncle” TV series and who currently appears in another hit series “N.C.I.S.” – and singer/actor John Leyton who, at the age of 78 still tours with other veteran pop acts on the Solid Gold Sixties shows.
This year has been particularly bad for devotees of the film. We lost James Garner (“Hendley – The Scrounger”) and Sir Richard Attenborough (“Big X“ ) within a month, followed by Angus Lennie (“Ives”).
Then just this month, I read the obituary of Tom Adams (“Dai Nimmo”) who went on to be the face of DFS sofas in a series of self-deprecating advertisements – and more recently was the continuity voice for the E4 channel.
I often visit the multiplex so I won’t say that new films aren’t as good as old films.
Clearly, some right old rubbish was churned out by Hollywood and Pinewood in the past. But all that many modern actors are required to do is react to CGI explosions, lead CGI armies into CGI battles; or take on CGI aliens.
When true giants of the screen, like James Garner and Richard Attenborough pass away, their unique qualities as unforgettable actors go with them.
So as I watched “The Great Escape” again and noted who was no longer with us, I realised what had happened.
Since the film was first released, they’d all escaped...one by one.
And they can never be recaptured!
----------------------
One of the things I will never understand as a responsible dog owner is how anyone can leave the house to take their dog for a walk and not have a stock of poo bags in their pocket.
I can’t even imagine how people can stand by and watch Fido do his business and then walk away without cleaning it up.
All too often you see some poor parent or grandparent having to clean up their little ones shoes or trainers after they have been playing in the park and managed to get Fido’s deposit in the treads of their shoes.
With dark mornings and evenings during December many of us are having to walk our four-legged friends without being able to see what is under foot, oh yes, many a time I’ve prayed that was just a slug or a discarded pile of chips that just squidged under my wellie.
So here is my plea, please clean up after your dogs, it only takes two minutes to bag it and throw it in the nearest council provided doggy doo bin and, in this weather, it makes a great hand warmer until you find one....
-----------------------
There has been a sudden unwelcome cold snap and most of us have been able to find comfort in well insulated homes with central heating and a nice warm fire.
But for too many this winter, this will not be the case. Our towns and cities homeless face a cold, wet and miserable time sleeping outside, cold and often hungry. You may have seen a few of them, but there are many more out there that you don’t see, hanging on just taking one night at a time.
Try not to judge until you have walked a mile in their shoes and remember most homeless people were once in the same position as you and I, it could happen to any one of us at any time for many different reasons.
I pray that none of you ever have to sleep outside in the cold or go hungry.
We can all make a difference; why not make it part of your New Year’s resolutions and don’t just walk by...?
----------------------
You can follow Phil Evans on Twitter @philevanswales
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