Hancock's Half Hour
Hancock's Half Hour is a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy, series of the 1950s and 60s written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sid James; the radio version also co-starred, at various times, Moira Lister, Andrée Melly, Hattie Jacques, Bill Kerr and Kenneth Williams. The final television series, renamed simply Hancock, starred Hancock alone. Comedian Tony Hancock starred in the show, playing an exaggerated and much poorer version of his own character and lifestyle, Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock, a down-at-heel comedian living at the dilapidated 23 Railway Cuttings in East Cheam. The series was influential in the development of the situation comedy, with its move away from radio variety towards a focus on character development. The radio version was produced by Dennis Main Wilson for most of its run. After Main Wilson departed for his television career, his role was taken by Tom Ronald. The television series was produced by Duncan Wood. The distinctive tuba-based theme tune was composed by Wally Stott.
Hancock spends the whole episode alone in his room reading and thinking
Hancock plays a 'Walter Gabriel' type character in a radio show called 'The Bowmans' His role is to be killed off due to falling ratings but thanks to public demand the character is to resurrected
Hancock becomes a radio ham and talks to people all over the world One night he picks up an S.O.S. from a sailor but Hancock is so inept that it takes him all night but he still cannot locate the sailor's position The sailor gives up and another radio ham hears the call and the sailor is rescued
Hancock gets caught up in a lift that is stuck between floors After several attempts to free themselves they are rescued by the BBC officials
Hancock decides to become a blood donor but he doesn't understand how much he has to give When the doctor explains Hancock refuses until he is told that he has a very rare group After he has given the blood he is insistent on knowing where and to whom it has been given
Hancock looks for a girl to marry so he can produce a son and heir After meeting a succession of women he decides to stay single
Hancock has caught a cold and after trying all sorts of cures finds nothing works Finally he goes to the doctor only to find that the doctor has the cold as well In the end Sid takes him on a training run and he ends up fit again
When Hancock finds the last page of a book missing he starts a search for the ending After several false starts Sid suggests the author would know the ending but when they find his house a surprise is in store
Hancock decides to emigrate but to his astonishment finds that no country will accept him so in desperation he turns to Sid and asks him to smuggle him out but Sid has other ideas
Hancock holds a reunion get together for his old army buddies but it has been so long since he has seen them that they have all changed and not for the better
Sid falls in love with a clippie on the local bus route but can't bring himself to ask her out So he asks Hancock to help on his behalf but it turns out that she is married to the driver
Hancock and Sid babysit for a local couple but fall asleep. While they doze burglars break in and steal all the furniture The couple call the police and Sid And Hancock are suspects in the robbery
After seeing Sid have another success with a girl Hancock enrolls in a night school class to learn how to succeed with the ladies
Hancock takes up photography with old out of date equipment Then he decides to buy £1000 worth of brand new equipment but still finds he can't take a good photo
The local council decide to stage a pageant to celebrate 100 years of East Cheam Sid James sells the rights to the BBC while the mayor has sold the same rights to ITV
Hancock receives some hate mail in the post only to learn that they come from an unexpected source
After a holiday abroad Tony and Sid return home to find that Sid had forgotten to turn off the gas and electricity cancel the milk and papers and has left the TV on Appalled at the waste Hancock decides to go on an economy drive much to Sid's discomfort but the result is not what Hancock wanted
Sid wants to borrow some money but Hancock wants nothing to do with Sid's shady business deals Sid threatens to get the money somehow but Hancock takes that as a threat to his life and sets out to protect himself
While decorating the house Hancock finds some poems written underneath the wallpaper Thinking that they are genuine Hancock hopes to open the house to tourists in order to finance the rebuilding but unknown to him They are Sid's handiwork Later when more poems turn up They are painted over
Hancock is the foreman of a jury who disagree on the verdict of the defendant Hancock thinks he is innocent when all the other jurors including Sid James think he is guilty After convincing them to change their votes Hancock suddenly switches to a guilty decision
Sid as Hancock's agent gets him a job in a Shakespearean play in a remote theatre in Yorkshire They travel up by train but meet such a boring bunch of fellow travellers they decide to come back by coach only to meet the same people that they met on the way up
Sid persuades Hancock to go on a cruise but he loses control and tries to persuade the captain that the ship is lost Hancock is arrested and held in his cabin After the ship has docked the two of them fly back home only for Hancock to cause trouble again
SID & HANCOCK ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO A GOOD SAT NIGHT OUT. THEY START TO GET READY ,ONLY TO FIND,THAT THEY HAVE NO CLEAN CLOTHES.SO HANCOCK MAKES HIS FIRST TRIP TO A LAUNDERETTE.
HANCOCK GOES TO A SHAREHOLDERS MEETING, & DREAMS THAT HE IS A FINANCIAL WIZARD. HE PLAYS CARDS WITH THE RICHEST MAN IN THE WORLD & SID JAMES TO CONTROL THE WORLDS MONEY, NO GUESSES THAT SID WINS,THEN HANCOCK WAKES UP TO REALISE THAT HE WAS DREAMING.
Unable to find work in England Sid persuades Hancock to go to Spain until they realize they don't speak Spainish Then when the local bullfighter quits Hancock gets the job
While checking his pools coupon Hancock realizes that he has got 7 draws and has to wait for a late kickoff for the final result Unable to wait They both go to the match to cheer for a draw
Hancock's TV breaks down and he feels lost without it He goes to all lengths to see another set even calling on relatives that he hasn't seen for years
Hancock's date makes fun of his nose so he goes into hospital for an operation Then the girl on his first date after the op finds something else to laugh at
When Hancock learns that the old oak tree in his garden is to be chopped down he starts a campaign to save it only to change his mind when he is made an offer he can't refuse
Hancock decides to give up comedy and get into straight acting so he can gain a knighthood He applies to the Old Vic but the job they have in mind is not what Hancock envisaged
Hancock takes a job as an Air Steward but he soon learns that he is afraid to fly On his first flight he meets Sid James who blackmails him into smuggling money out of the country.
Hancock defends Sid James on a charge of robbing a jewel shop. After a brilliant speech by Hancock, Sid is found not guilty, but Hancock is implicated, and gets sent down.
Hancock spends most of his money and time buying newspapers and entering all the competitions When he finally wins the pools Sid tricks him into signing over all his winnings which, of course, Sid loses.
Hancock goes on a skiing holiday and after a mix up ends up sharing a room and a police cell with Kenneth Williams
Up-and-coming artist Hancock buys some old canvases to paint over, little realizing that one of them is a stolen Rembrandt.
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Language | English |
Release | 1956-07-20 |
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