Jim Davidson : 'The Art Of The Filmed Pantomime'

A group of my co-workers here in the U K are big fans of comedian and national treasure Jim Davidson OBE, so understandably it irks them somewhat that he's not yet received a knighthood and they believe today's "woke" culture is to blame. When I was a kid, Davidson was 'Mr. Saturday Night', hosting snooker quiz sensation 'Big Break' and family institution 'The Generation Game'. 

The chap (now retired) that showed me the ropes where I work had seen Davidson live in concert about a dozen times and was itching for more, describing him as the "final word in blue humour". Davidson was also Mr. Saturday afternoon, a keen supporter of Charlton Athletic Football Club, like snooker ace Steve Davis and tabloid columnist Garry Bushell ('Bushell On The Box'). In the 1990s, he ranked consistently as one of the biggest presenters on television alongside Jeremy Beadle MBE, Noel Edmonds and hotshot media tycoon Chris Evans, at times edging ahead of veteran entertainers Sir Bruce Forsyth CBE and Bob Monkhouse OBE, as well as 'The Godfather Of Magic' Paul Daniels.

Davidson was reluctant to enter cinema in the way some of his contemporaries had done, though he did appear in Peter Greenaways's disturbing drama 'A Zed & Two Noughts' (1985) which sadly none of my co-workers have seen. Davidson later recalled the work of Brian Deacon and Eric Deacon in 'A Zed & Two Noughts' when filming a sketch for the stage, a gag sequence in which three naked men play with balloons together, ultimately exposing themselves to the audience; Davidson included this as an extra on the dvd release of 'Sinderella 2 : Sinderella Comes Again'.

Which brings me to the central point of this post, Davidson's creation of three adult pantomimes that proved to be big hits with the British public, all of which would be filmed and released on dvd : 'Sinderella' (1995 - Jim Davidson & Robert Garofalo), 'Boobs In The Wood' (1999 - Kevin Bishop & Jim Davidson) and the follow-up 'Sinderella Comes Again' (2004 - Jim Davidson). My co-workers have all of these on dvd as part of their Jim Davidson dvd collections (I believe this consists of mostly filmed stand-up performances and stage shows).

I must confess I don't like 'Sinderella' or 'Sinderella Comes Again'. Some of the greatest filmmakers in world cinema have also specialised in filming ballets, operas, plays or theatre productions and these two Davidson pantomimes are visually flat as presented, though a couple of dance numbers in 'Sinderella Comes Again' almost make the grade. On the other hand, I do enjoy aspects of 'Boobs In The Wood'.

For this production, inspired by the legend of 'Robin Hood', Davidson aligned himself with experienced comedy director Kevin Bishop who brought with him a wealth of television experience having served as a regular director on comedy shows like 'The Kenny Everett Television Show', 'French And Saunders', 'Victoria Wood', 'Rory Bremner', 'The Les Dennis Laughter Show' and 'A Bit Of Fry And Laurie', not to mention 'The Paul Daniels Magic Show'. Bishop's extensive skill-set would have included methods of filming comic performances, musical performances and magic acts, and this comes through in 'Boobs In The Wood', making it a more visually imaginative rendering of one of Davidson's adult pantomimes.

Casting is also key. No-one stood out in either 'Sinderella' production to me, whereas 'Boobs In The Wood' attracted stars of gravitas including Victor Spinetti who demonstrates his gift for wordplay as Friar Tuck. Panto legend Dave Lee MBE and Christie Goddard exhibit great chemistry during an educational sequence, with Goddard excelling in multiple roles including the mystical Fairy Dildo. Tim Churchill (star of Charlotte Peters' 2020 television movie 'Cinderella Live') is Robin Hood, Zoe Nicholas plays Maid Marian to Davidson's Sir Richard Dangler, Sheriff Of Nottingham (aka. Big Dick Dangler - booooo!!!!), in a cast that includes Kenny Baker and Peter Mandell performing as convicts in a double act.

Where I part from my work colleagues is how I view the actual material. For me, the quality of Davidson's writing is atrocious. He also constantly breaks himself with his own hilarity, so part of the pleasure is in how much the audience is beside itself whenever he laughs, mugs or throws them a nudge and a wink. Every rude word is greeted with howls of laughter and there's plenty of sex talk. But that's just me.

So check it out for yourself, especially if you're a Jim Davidson fan, though his 'Sinderella' shows are generally more highly rated by critics for their jokes and overall quality of writing. To me, 'Boobs In The Wood' is easily the show that works best on camera.