THE NORFOLK MURALS OF JOHN MORAY-SMITH

After a visit to Cromer Museum earlier this year to see the John Moray-Smith seaside mural (detail above), a subsequent Twitter conversation with the museum prompted me to look for some of Moray-Smith’s other murals around Norwich.

Moray-Smith was an Italian traveller who married a Norwich woman, Katrina Moray-Smith and took her name, after coming to England as a prisoner in the First World War. He worked for Watney-Mann’s Norwich Brewery in the 1940s and 1950’s.

Cromer Museum houses three of Moray-Smith’s plaster relief artworks from 1951 including a portrait of the famous Lifeboat coxwain Henry Blogg, a mural of a 19^th century lifeboat launch, and the aforementioned beachscape. The two murals were taken from the Ship Hotel in Church Street, Cromer, which closed in 1984.

Detail from Cromer seaside mural

Henry Blogg

I’ve only included some small details of the seaside mural here, as I recommended you to visit the museum itself to fully appreciate the scale and quality of the work.

Three of Moray-Smith’s artworks can be found at pubs in the centre of Norwich, which I visited this summer. 

The Coachmaker's Arms

The Coachmaker’s Arms, St. Stephen’s Road, NR1 3SP, has a representation of St. Stephen’s Gate and dates from 1937.

The Berstrete Gates

The Berstrete Gates, Ber Street, NR1 3EN, similarly shows a picture (1937) of some long-gone city gates from Norwich’s city walls.

Grazing sheep in The Woolpack

The Woolpack in Golden Ball Street, NR1 3EH, houses the most impressive collection of Moray-Smith plaques (from 1938). There were originally six pictures illustrating different aspects of the wool trade from sheep grazing, to shearing, market trading and export, five of which can be found in the pub today. Go and have a look at them whilst supping some local Woodforde's beer.







I later returned to Norwich and went to look for the mural at the Prince of Denmark, Denmark Road, NR3 4JQ. The size of this mural presents an impressive figure which can be seen easily from across the road and from the path outside the pub. 

Information taken from Cromer Museum and the Norwich Society.

The Queer Postcards of Donald McGill

In his well-known essay on the comic postcard, Orwell highlights a number of recurrent themes which McGill’s cards are reliant upon, namely: sex, home life, drunkenness, W. C. jokes, inter-working class snobbery, stock figures, and politics. Obscenity plays a large part in the humour of these cards, in the double entendres of the written text and in the visualisation of voluptuous women with ‘grossly over-emphasised’ breasts and buttocks, which he claims, are ‘caricatures of the Englishman’s secret ideal’ (Orwell, 2000: 198).

However, the McGill postcard museum at Ryde on the Isle of Wight reveals another theme that Orwell’s essay chooses not to highlight: homosexual stereotyping and androgyny. The short crop hairstyles of 1920s/’30s women and dandification of men, and the subsequent blurring of genders appears to have prompted most of these comic images.

Here are a few amusing examples...

Masculine women and feminine men

Seaside peepers take a closer look...

A woman golfer puts the men's noses out of joint

A postcard from the daring resort of Great Yarmouth!



The dandy



Link to the McGill postcard museum

Further reading: Orwell, George, 2000, Essays, London: Penguin

The Film Star Dolls of Vina Cooke

Note: Sadly, since I posted this blog in Spring 2012 the doll museum has closed and the premises are for sale. If I find out any more details about what has happened to Vina's collection, I'll post it here.

In a quiet corner of Nottinghamshire you'll find an almost-secret treasure. This is the Vina Cooke Museum of Dolls in the village of Cromwell... A staggering collection of dolls, dolls houses, and antique fashions housed in a grand Georgian house. Vina and her husband have spent several decades putting this collection together. Some might call it an exercise in British eccentricity, others will call it a labour of love.

The most interesting items are the pieces created by Vina herself. These aren't dolls per se, but reproductions of historical figures and film stars dressed in fantastic miniature costumes. Henry VIII and his wives, and Dame Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev are some examples. 

Dorothy, Tin Man and Scarecrow modelled from The Wizard of Oz (1939)

The Cowardly Lion looks just like Bert Lahr!

 Film buffs however, will be drawn to the display cabinets housing Hollywood stars in authentic reproductions of costumes by the likes of Irene Sharaff (Liz Taylor in The Taming Of The Shrew 1967) and Cecil Beaton (Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady 1964). Cooke is particularly good at painting eyes - Bert Lahr is very accurate! - and  the way she has captured the movement of Brigitte Bardot dancing is also very good. 

Elizabeth Taylor in The Taming of the Shrew (1967)

A selection of film star dolls can be found in this room including Brigitte Bardot and Yul Brynner.

Cromwell is a short drive or bus ride away from Newark, so I recommend a quick excursion to see the dolls if you are in the area, but phone first to check for opening times. There's also a doll repair service available if diddum's is falling apart!

Tel: UK 01636 821364 

British Pathe film of Vina and her film star dolls

 

http://www.aboutbritain.com/VinaCookeMuseumOfDolls.htm
 
http://www.vinasdolls.co.uk/

HOLIDAY FILMOGRAPHY PART 7 (1969 - 2011)

Charles Hawtrey, Betty Marsden and Terry Scott in Carry On Camping (1969)

1969:

Carry On Camping, Adder (RFD). Produced by Peter Rogers, Directed by Gerald Thomas. Cast: Sidney James, Kenneth Williams, Hattie Jacques, Barbara Windsor. Comedy. Devon. Camping holiday.

What’s Good For The Goose, Tigon. Directed by Menahem Golan. Cast: Norman Wisdom, Sally Geeson. Comedy. Assistant bank manager falls for amorous teenager during seaside conference.

All At Sea, Anvil (CFF). Directed by Ken Fairbairn. Cast: Gary Smith, Steven Mallett, Stephen Childs, Norman Bird. Children. Boys on holiday cruise catch painting thief in Tangier.

1970:

And Soon The Darkness, ABPC (WPD). Directed by Robert Fuest. Cast: Pamela Franklin, Michelle Dotrice. Crime. France. Nurses on cycling holiday in France become involved with sexual murderer.

Pamela Franklin and Michele Dotrice in And Soon The Darkness (1970)

1971:

Carry On At Your Convenience, Peter Rogers Productions (RFD). Directed by Gerald Thomas. Cast: Sidney James, Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims. Comedy. Brighton sequence.

1972:

Carry On Abroad, Peter Rogers Productions (Fox-Rank). Directed by Gerald Thomas. Cast: Sidney James, Kenneth Williams, Barbara Windsor, Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques. Comedy. Package holiday to Mediterranean island.

1973:

The Best Pair Of Legs In The Business, Sunny/Anglo-EMI (MGM-EMI). Directed by Christopher Hodson. Cast: Reg Varney, Diana Coupland, Lee Montague. Comedy. Holiday camp comedian discovers his wife is having an affair with the owner.

That’ll Be The Day, Goodtimes/Anglo-EMI (MGM-EMI). Directed by Claude Whatham. Cast: David Essex, Ringo Starr. Musical. Seaside and holiday camp scenes.

The Sea Children, Pan (CFF). Directed by David Andrews. Cast: Earl Younger, Lesley Dunlop. Children. Malta. Holiday children discover strange world beneath sea.

Summer Holiday, Pacesetter. (CFF). Directed by Philip Leacock. Cast: Ivor Bowyer, Jill Gibbs. Children. Adventures on a school holiday.

Carry On Girls, Peter Rogers Productions (Fox-Rank). Directed by Gerald Thomas. Cast: Sidney James, Joan Sims, Barbara Windsor. Comedy. Brighton. Women’s Lib group tries to foil bathing beauty contest.

The dance class in Holiday On The Buses (1973)

Holiday On The Buses, Hammer (MGM-EMI). Directed by Bryan Izzard. Cast: Reg Varney, Bob Grant, Doris Hare, Wilfred Brambell. Comedy. Wales. Pontin’s at Prestatyn.

1974:

Swallows And Amazons, Theatre Projects (EMI). Directed by Claude Whatham. Cast: Virginia McKenna, Ronald Fraser. Children. 1929. Children on holiday in the Lake District play pirates.

1975:

Tommy, Stigwood (Hemdale). Directed by Ken Russell. Cast: Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed. Musical. Holiday camp sequence.

Carry On Behind, Peter Rogers Productions (Fox-Rank). Directed by Gerald Thomas. Cast: Elke Sommer, Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims, Jack Douglas, Windsor Davies. Comedy. Caravan park. Archaeologists cause trouble with their excavations behind a holiday camp.

1976:

The Likely Lads, Anglo-EMI. Directed by Michael Tuchner. Cast: Rodney Bewes, James Bolam, Brigit Forsyth. Comedy. Includes caravan holiday.

1977:

Are You Being Served? Anglo-EMI. Directed by Bob Kellett. Cast: John Inman, Mollie Sugden, Frank Thornton. Comedy. Department store personnel take a holiday in Spain.

Grace Bros. staff take off for Spain in Are You Being Served? (1977)

Confessions From A Holiday Camp, Swiftdown (Col). Directed by Norman Cohen. Cast: Robin Askwith, Anthony Booth, Doris Hare. Sex. Entertainment officer’s exploits at a holiday camp run by ex-prison officer.

1979:

That Summer, Film In General (Col). Directed by Harley Cockliss. Cast: Ray Winstone, Tony London. Drama. Torquay. Ex-Borstal boy enters swimming contest and is framed for burglary by Glasgow youths.

1980:

The Great British Striptease, Amaranth (Target). Directed by Doug Smith. Cast: Bernard Manning, Su Pollard. Sex. Blackpool. Sixteen women compete for £500 prize for best striptease act.

1985:

She’ll Be Wearing Pink Pyjamas, (Pink Pyjama Productions/Film Four (Virgin). Directed by john Goldschmidt. Cast: Julie Walters, Anthony Higgins. Comedy. Lake District. Assorted women on an Outward Bound course.

1987:

Wish You Were Here, Zenith/Working Title/Film Four (Palace). Directed by David Leland. Cast: Emily Lloyd, Tom Bell, Jesse Birdsall. Sex. Worthing, 1951.

1988:

A Summer Story, ITC (Warner). Directed by Piers Haggard. Cast: Imogen Stubbs, James Wilby. Romance. Dartmoor. Holidaymaker recalls his youthful affair with farmer’s niece.

1989:

Shirley Valentine, Gilbert/Russell/Paramount (UIP). Directed by Lewis Gilbert Screenplay (Play) Willy Russell. Cast: Pauline Collins, Tom Conti. Housewife flies to Greece for sexual adventure.

Tom Conti and Pauline Collins in Shirley Valentine (1989)

1992:

Blame It On The Bellboy, Bellboy/Hollywood (Warner). Directed by Mark Herman.  Cast: Dudley Moore, Richard Griffiths, Patsy Kensit. Comedy. Venice.

Dirty Weekend, Scimitar (UIP). Directed by Michael Winner. Cast: Lia Williams, Rufus Sewell. Sex. Brighton.

1993:

Bhaji On The Beach, Umbi/Channel 4 (First Independent). Directed by Gurinder Chadha. Cast: Kim Vithana, Jimmy Harkishin, Lalita Ahmed, Shaheen Khan, Zohra Segal. Drama. Birmingham women take a day trip to Blackpool.

1996:

Small Time, Big Arty Productions/BFI. Directed by Shane Meadows. Cast: Mat Hand, Dena Smiles, Shane Meadows. Drama. Includes trip to Skegness.

Gallivant, Tall Stories/BFI/Channel 4/Arts Council of England. Directed by Andrew Kotting. Cast: Gladys Morris, Eden Kotting, Andrew Kotting. Travelogue. Semi-documentary journey taken by a family around the coastline of Britain.

1999:

Hotel Splendide, Filmfour/Toc Films/Renegade Films. Directed by Terence Gross. Cast: Toni Collette, Daniel Craig, Katrin Cartlidge. Drama. Crumbling spa hotel peopled by eccentrics.

Guest House Paradiso, Universal/House Films/Vision Video. Directed by Adrian Edmondson. Cast: Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, Vincent Cassel, Bill Nighy, Fenella Fielding. Comedy. Voyeurs run seaside guest house adjacent to nuclear power station.

Paddy Considine dancing at Chapel St Leonards in A Room For Romeo Brass (1999)

A Room For Romeo Brass, Alliance Atlantis/BBC Films/Arts Council of England/Company Pictures/Big Arty Productions. Directed by Shane meadows. Cast: Andrew Shim, Ben Marshall, Paddy Considine. Drama. Includes day trip to Chapel St Leonards.

2000:

Last Resort, BBC Films. Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski. Cast: Dina Korzun, Paddy Considine, Artiom Strelnikov, Lindsey Honey. Drama. Margate. Muscovite asylum seekers are held at seaside resort.

Dina Korzun at the Dreamland Amusement Park, Margate, in Last Resort (2000)

Some Voices, Filmfour/British Screen/Dragon Pictures. Directed by Simon Cellan Jones. Cast: Daniel Craig, David Morrissey, Kelly MacDonald. Drama. Includes seaside excursion to Hastings.

Kevin and Perry Go Large, Icon/Tiger Aspect Pictures/Fragile Films. Directed by Ed Bye. Cast: Harry Enfield, Kathy Burke, Rhys Ifans. Comedy. Teenage boys become star DJs and lose virginity on holiday in Ibiza.

2001:

The Martins, Icon Entertainment International/Tiger Aspect Pictures/Icon Productions/Isle of Man Film Commission. Directed by Tony Grounds. Cast: Lee Evans, Kathy Burke. Comedy. Man robs wealthy couple of holiday tickets and takes his family to the Isle of Man.

Arthur’s Dyke, Evolution Films/Quirky Films. Directed by Gerry Poulson. Cast: Pauline Quirke, Brian Conley, Dennis Waterman. Comedy. Walking holiday on English-Welsh border.

2006:

London To Brighton, LTB Films/UK Film Council/Steel Mill Pictures/Wellington Films. Directed by Paul Andrew Williams. Cast: Lorraine Stanley, Johnny Harris, Georgia Groome. Drama. Prostitute and child flee to Brighton to escape gangster.

Venus, Channel 4/UK Film Council/Venus Pictures/Free range Films. Directed by Roger Mitchell. Cast: Peter O’Toole, Jodie Whittaker. Drama. Includes journey to Whitstable beach.

2008:

Somers Town, Tomboy Films/Mother Vision/Big Arty Productions. Directed by Shane Meadows. Cast: Thomas Turgoose, Piotr Jagiello. Drama. Two boys dream of holiday to Paris on Eurostar.

2010:

Brighton Rock, BBC Films, Kudos Film and Television. Directed by Rowan Joffe. Cast: Helen Mirren, John Hurt. Crime. Brighton, 1964. (Filmed at Brighton and Eastbourne).

Never Let Me Go, Film 4, DNA Films. Directed by Mark Romanek. Cast: Keira Knightly. Drama. Includes seaside scenes at Clevedon and Holkham Beach.

2011:

The Inbetweeners Movie, Film 4/Young Bwark. Directed by Ben Palmer. Cast: Simon Bird, James Buckley, Blake Harrison, Joe Thomas. Comedy. Group of youths on sexual adventure to Crete.

The Inbetweeners Movie (2011)

Bibliography:

Gifford, (2001), Catalogue of British Film

BFI Database

IMDb

HOLIDAY FILMOGRAPHY PART 6 (1956 - 1967)

1956:

Fun on a Weekend, Carlyle. Produced and Directed by Oliver Negus. Cast: Chris and Jennifer. Children. Cornwall. Children rescue boy stranded on beach.

A Touch of the Sun, Raystro (Eros). Directed by Gordon Parry. Cast: Frankie Howerd. Comedy. Hotel Porter inherits £10,000 and has staff pose as guests to impress prospective purchasers.

Three Men in a Boat, Remus (IFD). (Novel Jerome K. Jerome) Directed by Ken Annakin. Cast: Laurence Harvey, Jimmy Edwards, David Tomlinson. Comedy. Boating holiday.

Three Men In A Boat (1956)

1957:

Small Hotel, Welwyn (AB-Pathe). Directed by David MacDonald. Cast: Gordon Harker, Marie Lohr, John Loder. Comedy. Old hotel waiter refuses to be replaced by young girl.

Not Wanted On Voyage, Byron/Ronald Shiner (Renown). Directed by Maclean Rogers. Cast: Ronald Shiner, Brian Rix. Comedy. Stewards thwart jewel thieves on cruise to Tangiers.

Barnacle Bill, USA: All At Sea. Ealing (MGM).  Directed by Charles Frend. Cast: Alec Guinness, Irene Browne. Comedy. Seasick sailor runs stationary cruise on old pier in spite of council opposition.

1958:

Next To No Time! Montepelier (BL). Directed by Henry Cornelius. Screenplay (Novel) Paul Gallico (The Enchanted Hour). Cast: Kenneth More, Betsy Drake. Comedy. Shy designer gains confidence during nightly ‘lost hour’ aboard Queen Elizabeth.

Girls At Sea, ABPC. Directed by Gilbert Gunn. Screenply (Play) Stephen King-Hall, Ian Hay (The Middle Watch). Cast: Guy Rolfe, Ronald Shiner. Comedy. Girls taken to sea on battleship must be hidden from admiral.

Further Up The Creek, Byron/Hammer (Col). Directed by Val Guest. Cast: David Tomlinson, Frankie Howerd. Comedy. Lieutenant, put in charge of old frigate, is unaware that bosun is hiding paying passengers.

1959:

The Captain’s Table, Rank (RFD). Directed by Jack Lee. Cast: John Gregson, Peggy Cummings. Comedy. Cargo captain takes over luxury cruise and gets involved with widow and adventuress.

Nudist Paradise, Reissue: 1962. Orb International. Directed by Charles Saunders Cast: Anita Love, Carl Conway. Spielplatz. American art student falls for girl and joins nudist camp to be near her.

1960:

The Nudist Story, Danziger (Eros). Directed by Ramsey Herrington. Cast: Shelley Martin, Brian Cobby. Nudist camp.

The Entertainer, Woodfall/Holly (Bry). Screenply (Play) John Osborne. Directed by Tony Richardson. Cast: Laurence Olivier, Brenda de Banzie, Roger Livesey, Joan Plowright. Drama. Morecombe, 1956.

The Entertainer (1960)

No Kidding, USA: Beware of Children. GHW. Screenplay (Novel) Verily Anderson (Beware of Children). Produced by Peter Rogers, Directed by Gerald Thomas. Cast: Leslie Phillips, Geraldine McEwan. Comedy. Couple inherit holiday home for deprived children of the rich.

1961:

Ticket to Paradise, Bayford (Eros). Directed by Francis Searle. Cast: Emrys Jones, Patricia Dainton. Romance. Italy. Travel agent and tourist fall in love, each thinking the other is rich.

Some Like It Cool, SF Films. Directed by Michael Winner. Cast: Julie Wilson, Thalia Vickers. Devon. Nudists.

Don’t Bother To Knock, USA: Why Bother To Knock. Haileywood (WPD). Directed by Cyril Frankel. Screenplay (Novel) Clifford Hanley (Love From Everybody). Cast: Richard Todd, Nicole Maurey, Elke Sommer, Judith Anderson, June Thorburn. Comedy. Edinburgh. Travel agent’s European girlfriends all arrive together.

A Taste of Honey, Woodfall (Bry). Produced and Directed by Tony Richardson. Screenplay (Play)  Shelagh Delany. Rita Tushingham, Dora Bryan. Blackpool sequence.

Nudes of the World, Miracle/Searchlight (Miracle). Directed by Arnold Louis Miller. Cast: Vivienne Raimon, Monique Ammon. Beauty queen runs nudist camp in lord’s grounds and appeases postmistress with fete for crippled daughter.

Naked As Nature Intended, Markten/Compass (Compton). Produced and Directed by Harrison Marks. Cast: Pamela Green, Stuart Samuels. Travelogue/ Cornwall nudist camp.

1962:

Carry On Cruising, GHW. Directed by Gerald Thomas. Cast: Sidney James, Kenneth Williams. Mediterranean cruise.

Carry On Cruising (1962)

World Without Shame, Mistral (Gala). Directed by Donovan Winter. Cast: Yvonne Martel, Larry Bowen. Nudist. Pools winners live naked on Mediterranean island.

Jigsaw, Figaro (Britannia). Directed by Val Guest. Screenplay (Novel) Hilary Waugh (Sleep Long, My Love). Cast: Jack Warner, Ronald Lewis. Crime. Brighton.

The Punch and Judy Man, MacConkey (WPD). Directed by Jeremy Summers. Cast: Tony Hancock, Sylvia Sims. Comedy. Seaside entertainer, married to social climber, spoils mayor’s celebration cabaret.

My Bare Lady, Meadway/Notram Sewil (Compton). Directed by Arthur Knight. Cast: Julie Martin, Carl Conway. Nudist. Orpington. American war hero converts tourist to naturism.

1963:

Summer Holiday, Ivy/Elstree (WPD). Directed by Peter Yates. Cast: Cliff Richard, Lauri Peters, Ron Moody, The Shadows. Musical. European tour.

Summer Holiday (1963)

The Leather Boys, Raymond Stross (Garrick). Directed by Sidney J. Furie. S (Novel) Eliot George. Cast: Rita Tushingham, Dudley Sutton, Gladys Henson, Colin Campbell. Butlin’s Bognor Regis sequence.

Take Off Your Clothes and Live, Miracle/Searchlight (Miracle). Directed by Arnold Louis Miller. Cast: Ian Michael, Gino Nennan, Jenny Lane. Cannes. Nine girls and male hosts spend naked holiday searching for treasure.

Eves On Skis, Keatering (Gala). Produced and Directed by Michael Keatering. Cast: Elizabeth, Karl, Karen. Teenage London girl spends naturist holiday in the Austrian Alps.

The V.I.P.s, MGM British. Directed by Anthony Asquith. Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Louis Jourdan, Margaret Rutherford. Passengers for New York stranded at London Airport.

The Reluctant Nudist, Avon Overseas (Gala). Directed by Stanley Pelc. Cast: Annette Briand, Jeremy Howes. Nudist. Spielplatz

1964:

It’s A Bare, Bare World, Antler (SF). Directed by Stanley Lang. Cast: Vicki Kennedy, Carol Haynes, Vera Novak. Nudist. Windsor. Girls persuade friends to join nudist camp.

The System, Winner-Shipman (Bry). Directed by Michael Winner. Cast: Oliver Reed, Jane Merrow. Romance. Torbay. Beach photographer sleeps with rich holidaymaker and falls in love with her.

The Beauty Jungle, USA: Contest Girl. Rank (RFD). Produced and Directed by Val Guest. Cast: Janette Scott, Ian Hendry, Edmund Purdom. Drama. Reporter helps Bristol typist to become professional beauty contest winner.

Wonderful Life, USA: Swinger’s Paradise. Ivy (Elstree). Directed by Sidney J. Furie. Cast: Cliff Richards, Susan Hampshire, The Shadows. Musical. Canary Islands. Cruise scene.

Every Day’s A Holiday, USA: Seaside Swingers. Fitzroy/Maycroft (GN). Directed by James Hill. Cast: John Leyton, Mike Sarne, Freddie and the Dreamers, Ron Moody. Musical. Butlin’s Clacton.

1965:

Be My Guest, Three Kings (RFD). Directed by Robert Asher. Cast: David Hemmings, Avril Angers. Musical. Brighton.

San Ferry Ann, Dormar (BL). Directed by Jeremy Summers. Cast: Rodney Bewes, Wilfred Brambell, Ron Moody, Joan Sims. Comedy. Misadventures of British holidaymakers in France.

Cuckoo Patrol, Eternal (GN). Directed by Duncan Wood. Cast: Freddie and the Dreamers. Comedy. Misadventures of Boy Scouts at summer camp.

1966:

That Riviera Touch, Rank (RFD). Directed by Cliff Owen. Cast: Eric Morecambe, Ernie Wise. Comedy. France. Girl reforms and helps holidaymakers thwart jewel thieves.

That Riviera Touch (1966)

Hotel Paradiso, Maximilian (MGM). (Adapted from Feydeau farce). Produced and Directed by Peter Glenville. Cast: Alec Guinness, Gina Lollabrigida, Robert Morely. Comedy. Paris. Compromising complications of couples at disreputable hotel. (Shown 1971).

1967:

Poor Cow, Fenchurch/Vic, Directed Ken Loach, Cast: Carol White, Terence Stamp. Drama. Includes scenes of both a seaside holiday and camping holiday.




Bibliography:
Gifford, 2001, Catalogue of British Film