On the Buses

[28XX]

Did anyone else enjoy the screening of the 'On the Buses' films yesterday? Lots of glorious townscape details to see. My overall impression was how tidy and clean everywhere was. I can't imagine Hammer Films (on their tight budgets) would have bothered to arrange this, it must be an accurate reflection of how things really were in 1972 - 4.

 

Discuss?

[Colin]

Did anyone else enjoy the screening of the 'On the Buses' films yesterday? Lots of glorious townscape details to see. My overall impression was how tidy and clean everywhere was. I can't imagine Hammer Films (on their tight budgets) would have bothered to arrange this, it must be an accurate reflection of how things really were in 1972 - 4.

 

Discuss?

 

Didn't see the films myself but I know what you mean. No stupid graffiti "tags" everywhere for a start - any graffiti you saw at the time tended to be slogans about sport (eg WHUFC rule), politics/current affairs (Ban the Bomb etc) or local characters (G Davis Is Innocent), and there wasn't that much of it, at least by todays standards.

Could it just be that there were more police officers out and about in 1973 to discourage vandals and litter louts?

[Ron Ron Ron]

Maybe those parts of Borehamwood were spruced up specially for the filming ?

 

Here's another question...

Have you known or seen any woman who looks just like Olive and you've made that comparison known to someone else?

I bet a lot of people have.

Oh! Arthur......

 

 

Watch out...here comes Blakey !

 

 

.

[Colin]

Maybe those parts of Borehamwood was spruced up specially for the filming ?

 

Here's another question...

Have you known or seen any woman who looks just like Olive and you've made that comparison known to someone else?

I bet a lot of people have.

Oh! Arthur......

 

 

Watch out...here comes Blakey !

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

Yes Ron, definitely! A distant relation of Mrs W bears a terrifying resemblance (both physically and in her demeanour) to Olive (who now occasionally turns up in Eastenders as some awful foul-tempered chain smoking Mitchell relative I believe).

Ironic that Anna Karen (Olive) was allegedly a stripper before becoming an actress....

 

We also have a bloke at the office who looks incredibly like Blakey - he's known by all as "Inspector" (and no, he's not a policeman).

[david_barrett]

A comment that I have often passed on the condition of our streets is that back in the '60s and early '70s many places that we visited were dirty with industrial grime but kept tidy, whereas in later years the grime producing industry had been greatly reduced (or even removed altogether) but those same towns and cities had become untidy and seemingly uncared for.

[RANGERS]

The buses were painted specially for the filming, after that, I doubt they could afford any more sprucing up!

[bertiedog]

Did anyone else enjoy the screening of the 'On the Buses' films yesterday? Lots of glorious townscape details to see. My overall impression was how tidy and clean everywhere was. I can't imagine Hammer Films (on their tight budgets) would have bothered to arrange this, it must be an accurate reflection of how things really were in 1972 - 4.

 

Discuss?

From my experiences with filming, even Hammer Productions, were picky about where they shot outdoor scenes, the views were very chosen carefully not to distract, and filming was often done after rain, which does give a nice clean look, a set-up would be arranged, it usually rained, so the filming in the UK tends to look clean! Roads would be swept by the Council, and gangs of juniors would be sweeping up etc., prior to the shooting.

 

Also it is forgotten as part of filming the image is a bit soft, the resolution does not record fine details.

 

When "Gritty" dramas, and comedies, came in fashion in the late 50's/60's, many directors spent ages dirtying up outdoor scenes to get more "realism". In Billy Liar for instance, flour dust was scattered to get the right look to pavements etc., soot was added to background roofs, leaves added, waste paper etc., dropped in the streets prior to filming. Windows were sprayed with oily glaze to attract dirt and make it show on the film!

 

When David Lean filmed "Hobson's Choice", he was due on outdoor filming at a location chosen months before, an abandoned building, suitable rough and ready, and to his horror when they got there the land agent had it all cleared up for the film,and was ready to re-develop the site, so Lean had to build the sets in the studio to get the look he wanted!!!

 

Stephen.

[bertiedog]

The buses were painted specially for the filming, after that, I doubt they could afford any more sprucing up!

Have a look at the "buses" on the TV studio shots, they are hanging canvas painted sheets, and occasionally move in the breeze!!!

 

Stephen.

[bertiedog]

Also try the search on youtube for "On the Buses" locations.....there are lots of clips like

 

 

The mind boggles a bit at people trying to trace the exact location of Stan's logon machine!!!! or particular houses!!!.. all a bit of mischievous fun, as were the programs, Reg Varney never had a better role again.

 

Stephen.

[DavidBelcher]

 

When "Gritty" dramas, and comedies, came in fashion in the late 50's/60's, many directors spent ages dirtying up outdoor scenes to get more "realism". In Billy Liar for instance, flour dust was scattered to get the right look to pavements etc., soot was added to background roofs, leaves added, waste paper etc., dropped in the streets prior to filming. Windows were sprayed with oily glaze to attract dirt and make it show on the film!

 

 

I wasn't aware of that, although as everything comes out in shades of grey, I guess they could get away with a good few such tricks if filming in B&W. Ironically a good few of the either brand spanking new or part finished buildings in Bradford city centre that featured in the location filming have since been pulled down whilst much older ones still remain!

As this is a bus-themed thread, I guess it's sort of on-topic; has anyone else noticed that during any scenes in Billy Liar that feature road traffic, there don't appear to be any trolleybuses, although the Bradford network was still pretty substantial at the time it was filmed? Wonder if there was a particular reason for this (maintenance, power cut, etc.) or just a question of timing?

 

David