HOW THE FILM WAS MADE

The writer/director – Charles Wallace – and Eric first worked together in late 1979 when Charles was making Betjeman’s Britain, the acclaimed musical dramatisation of poems by Sir John Betjeman for Anglia Television (ITV Network).   Someone was required to play a ‘funny uncle’ in ‘Indoor Games Near Newbury’.  Charles found that ‘names’ were attracted by the chance to do something different.  He had already got Peter Cook to play the golfer in ‘Seaside Golf’, and was therefore not all that surprised when Eric agreed to play the ‘funny uncle’.  What did surprise him was when at the end of filming Eric said “Anything you ever want me to do Sunshine, just give me a call”.  For a director in his twenties to have gained the confidence of Britain’s biggest star was quite a break.  The problem was that at the start of the 80’s, British TV had turned the corner and begun its sad decline. The old guard who had made it the envy of the world were being eased out by the asset stripping generation who knew how to market something, but didn’t know how to make it in the first place. Their attempts to do anything new more often than not ended in disaster, and they quickly reverted to the ‘play it safe with more of the same’ philosophy that prevails today. As a result, they couldn’t see beyond ‘Morecambe & Wise’ and didn’t want Eric to do anything that might distract from that golden goose. 

Charles and Eric put together projects ranging from Eric on ghosts, to Eric on the history of music hall.  All were turned down.  As with The Full Monty – passed on by all British companies until Rupert Murdoch’s Twentieth Century Fox picked it up - it was a foreign company who came to the rescue in the form of Paramount Pictures.  They had seen Betjeman’s Britain and invited Charles to make a cinema short version for them.  And so almost a year to the day, Eric Morecambe and Charles, along with Susannah York and Beryl Reid, were filming Late Flowering Love for Paramount.   Eric’s role – that of ‘Major Maxton-Weir’ - required only a day’s filming, and as Eric departed he said “Same time next year sunshine?”  Of course Charles agreed.  

Late Flowering Love went out with Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark and several other Paramount hits, and was described by the then head of UIP (the world’s largest distributor) as the best short film they’d ever had.  However Charles’s optimism couldn’t have been more misplaced.  Channel 4 had just started with the ITV companies being financially responsible for it. This potential liability was the perfect excuse for ITV not to do anything adventurous, and Channel 4 was only interested in feminism, homosexuality and racial minorities - Eric Morecambe and Charles didn’t really qualify!  The British film industry was going into another of its endless love affairs with meaningful period pieces that win awards but few bums on seats. What can now be seen as the beginning of the BBC’s terminal decline had started, and in any event Eric was barred from doing anything for them under the terms of the Morecambe & Wise contract with ITV.  Nonetheless, with the confidence, or foolhardiness, of youth, Charles started putting together their biggest and most ambitious project. 

The Passionate Pilgrim was designed to be a story in three parts, with each part set in a different era, and each story revolving around successive generations of eccentric Lords in a castle (each Lord played by Eric Morecambe) and each trying to woo a damsel while repelling the advances of a rival suitor.  The idea was to join the three stories together into a 75 minute feature.  To add to the period feel, the first story was to be shot largely as a silent movie - with music, effects and the odd caption card telling the story. 

For months Charles pitched the project far and wide but got absolutely nowhere. TV didn’t want to know for the above reasons, and Eric & Ernie’s previous ventures into cinema had sadly not worked, so the film industry was perhaps understandably hesitant.  By the summer of 1982 Charles realised he was not going to be able to get backing to make the project that year.  Eric would have to be told. Charles put it off as long as possible and then made the call.  Eric answered: “Hello Sunshine, when are we filming?”  Charles had no answer. His carefully rehearsed explanation went out the window.  He fumbled. “I was just calling because I thought as I hadn’t been in touch you might have made other commitments.”  “No Sunshine, I’m looking forward to it. When do you want me?”  Charles fumbled some more.  “I’ll work on dates and get back to you next week.”  In a daze he put down the phone. Short of Eric telling him to ‘go jump’ things couldn’t have worked out worse.  There was no way out, he couldn’t ring Eric back and tell him the situation, something was going to have to be filmed. 

The money Charles had made from the success of Late Flowering Love was rapidly running out, but there was sufficient left for a couple of days filming.  That would get things started and hopefully allow time to find the rest.  And so one late October day in 1982 The Passionate Pilgrim started shooting at Hever Castle in Kent, with Eric Morecambe playing the ‘silly Lord’, Tom Baker (then just out of Dr Who) the randy Knight, and Madeleine Smith the fair Damsel.  Two sunny days saw what was to be the first 15 minutes of the film in the can.  All Charles had to do now was get the remaining backing.  Despite the press cover that the project had attracted, still no one was interested.  Thus almost a year later history repeated itself, only this time Eric called Charles

“Hello Sunshine, when are we shooting?”  This time Charles was going to have to really bite the bullet.  He had already approached the major banks for funding, but their previous ventures into film had been ill-judged, so now none was willing to invest in anything that wasn’t gilt edged.  The ‘gilt edging’ took the form of a lien on Charles flat.  The thus secured £10,000 overdraft gave Charles enough for a further day’s filming.  And so the following October saw Eric Morecambe and Tom Baker back at Hever for what would have been the beginning of the second part of the story.  The filming went well and attracted more press attention, but alas no funding.  The bank starting getting edgy.  Charles sold his flat, got a bigger mortgage and moved.  However there were no funds left for further filming ventures, something would have to be made from what had already been shot.  The first 15 minutes were put together and shown to the head of UIP who had been so complimentary about Late Flowering Love.  Fortunately he liked it, but said it had to run at least 22 minutes for them to take it as a short, and UIP weren’t then in the business of advancing funds for the production of short films.  He suggested Charles stretch it out, saying ‘you directors always want to make things run too fast’.  Charles knew that the one thing you couldn’t stretch was comedy, but with his financial back to the wall he had no choice.  He revised the story and augmented the music and effects with a narration that John LeMesurier fortunately loved and agreed to do.  A few months later, a 23 minute short titled The Passionate Pilgrim was completed.  UIP licensed UK cinema rights on behalf of MGM-UA and put it out with a James Bond movie and Wargames. 

Again it was a big success, being perhaps the only short film to be advertised along with the feature that it accompanied.  Eric’s one reservation was that it was a bit “Benny Hill-ish”.  Charles realised Eric was right.  In his desperation to get out of his financial mess, there were parts of the film he had let drift in that direction.  Keen to make amends to Eric, Charles realised that the original project could still be made.  However even with the success of The Passionate Pilgrim, no backing was forthcoming.  Having pushed his financial luck once and got away with it, Charles was sufficiently confident to try again. 

Filming at Hever was planned for 22^nd May 1984. Tom Baker’s part had been completed the previous year, so it was just a matter of doing the remaining scenes with Eric, a new damsel, and Beryl Reid who was this time playing the Lord’s (Eric’s) mother.   However a few days before the shoot, everything was not quite in place. More worrying, the weather forecast was poor.  Charles telephoned Eric to ask if he’d mind postponing for 10 days.  Eric was perhaps the most cooperative and understanding person Charles had ever worked with, so he didn’t anticipate any problem.  But on this occasion Eric hesitated “Do we really have to Sunshine?”  Slightly surprised, Charles explained the reasons. With further seeming reluctance, Eric agreed to the postponement. Charles put the phone down. It hadn’t sounded like the normal Eric. Had Charles inadvertently said something to upset him? 

The following Sunday morning, Eric Morecambe left us for the great music hall in the sky.  Did he have a premonition, and not wanting to let everyone down been hesitant to agree the postponement?  Others, including Eric’s wife Joan, remember similar comments Eric made around the time.  While the film was thus lost, Charles is thankful that they didn’t go ahead as planned.  It would have been a hard days filming. If it hadn’t brought forward the fateful attack, there would have always been the thought that it contributed to it.  For there was no slowing Eric down. He always gave of his best, whether in front of the camera or off-screen, he was always Eric Morecambe. Unlike so many less talented so called stars of today, Eric had come up the hard way and knew who he owed for his success.  He was never too busy to talk to a fan or sign an autograph, always cracking a joke at the same time.  With Eric it was a two way street, and fans of all ages seemed to sense it.  His attitude is perhaps best summed up by an occasion after a day’s filming at Hever Castle.  They were staying overnight at a hotel in Tunbridge Wells.  In the restaurant, Eric was being plagued by fans seeking autographs. Charles apologised for the constant interruptions saying “Would you like me to get rid of them?”  Eric wouldn’t hear of it. “Sunshine, without them, I’m nothing.” 

And so the original Passionate Pilgrim was never finished.  There were thoughts of trying to complete it with stand-ins, doubles etc, shot from behind; but no one could stand in for Eric Morecambe.  Any plans were finally thwarted when the film laboratories lost most of the remaining negative!  

After the cinema run was finished, the short film version was briefly released on video, but never to broadcast TV.  Bearing in mind Eric’s ‘Benny Hill-ish’ reservations, Charles had hoped to at some time put together a revised version for TV.  However without reference to Charles or anyone representing Eric, the BBC broadcast pirated clips from the film in their programme ‘Crumpet – a Very British Sex Symbol’ at the end of December 2005.  Not only did they without permission show the pirated material in the BBC2 programme, but seemingly recognising the uniqueness of the clips and Eric’s enduring popularity, they used them to promote the programme, a programme that was a celebration of the Benny Hill style of risqué humour – exactly what Eric did not wish to be associated with. 

As reported in the Daily Mail of March 20, 2006, the BBC with their usual unjustified arrogance refuse to admit that they did anything wrong or pay proper compensation for their illegal act.  Their attitude appears to be ‘we’re the BBC, we can do what we like’.  Although all copies of the film bore the words ‘copyright Charles Wallace’, all agreements that have ever been entered into for the use of the film e.g. by UIP and the video distributors, were made with Charles or his company, the BBC refuse to accept this.  Despite admitting that no enquiry was made of Charles, his company, or Eric’s estate, they claim they made every effort to ascertain the owners of the film before broadcasting it on an “await claim” basis.  And now a claim has been submitted, they don’t want to pay it!  They have even sought to deny they used clips from the film in promotions for Crumpet, though many saw them.  Enquiries made of BBC staff suggest that the BBC “do that all the time” i.e. use film without the owner’s permission.  As reported in the Daily Mail article, the ever increasing number of TV channels means that the film’s owner may never find out, and thus the BBC get away without paying.  It’s the equivalent of shoplifting. The difference is that if a shoplifter gets caught, they’re in trouble. If the BBC gets caught, they offer to pay a minimal fee backed up by the weight of hundreds of in-house publicly funded lawyers if the owner kicks up a fuss. And of course the authorities, who make much of prosecuting shoplifters and video pirates, won’t do a thing when it comes to the BBC.  Perhaps everyone should use the ‘await claim’ ploy with the BBC licence fee.

While the BBC’s denials of use and assertion that every effort was made to contact the owner may seem an insult to anyone’s intelligence, of perhaps greater relevance is the fact that they ignored the fundamental principles of copyright as quoted on the UK government website. It is ‘to give creators of works rights enabling them to control the use of their material and object to distortion and mutilation of it’.  The BBC failed to obtain permission, failed to identify the creator, rearranged (distorted/mutilated) the shots, and used the material in a way contrary to the creator’s wishes. They thus broke every rule.  While it would be wrong to assume that the BBC were aware of Eric Morecambe’s concerns and deliberately flew in their face, this incident shows how important it is that the laws of copyright be equally applied and respected both by the individual and by large publicly funded bodies who apparently believe they can do whatever they like.  While it may be naive to hope the BBC might return to being the great organisation it was 30 years ago, surely it’s not asking too much that they maintain a reasonable standard of decency when it comes to respecting the rights of others.  

Having read the above, we hope you will view and enjoy the DVD as Eric would have wished – as an example of one of his last works and perhaps the only one without Ernie. But those in search of a risqué romp, might be better off watching the BBC!