Hollywood hasn't a chance of producing anything as real as this. It would be beyond its capability. I have recorded many of these glorious one-off plays and still prefer to re-watch them 40 years later, rather than sit through the drivel coming out of Hollywood today.
You are talking about two entirely different cultures. The actors, directors and audiences hold different beliefs. Every age represents itself. Is the degeneration due to zeitgeist, dumbing down , both or neither ? Bring back "humour" ? Well only if it does not offend against Hate Speech Bring back drama ? For an audience that watches Marvel films ?
@@johnhagan-zr4pm dumbing down is in large part, the problem. Also, human stories are almost non-existent as it's all special effects and stunts. Humour doesn't necessitate use of hate speech. Well-written stories are enjoyable decades beyond their release dates. I've always preferred UK programmes because they're generally better scripted (in my view) plus I prefer the British style and sense of humour. Unfortunately, these days, both the UK and USA films and television shows are similar - graphic in the extreme and cruder than ever. I still enjoy Australian films.
I know everyone else has already said it, but this was truly awesome. I was gripped from the minute it started. Peter Bowles was a class act. The delivery, the dialogue,the pacing and the twist at the end which completely floored me! What way to spend a wet and miserable morning in August!😂
*SPOILER* ALERT . I'm guessing I know what it is. I had to skip from opening scenes, after his car was stolen ... it looked then it was going to be one disaster after another. Truly, *a test for a soul!*
Indeed - I knew there would be a twist only by the scene with the banker; fully expected the police, but was expecting a very different set-up whereby his wife colluded with others he had hurt to teach him a lesson.
Bowles,always good, is superb here. This play(one of Gray's best), in many ways a one actor one off, makes great demands on the protagonist. Bowles never fails. Credit too to the always spot-on Roshan Seth-the bank manager.
Great comments on this wondrous piece. Peter Bowles is just mesmeric in his George Grant role; totally believable, convincing and compelling in a film where each character is not quite as they seem. A rare film that will be re-watched in case you missed anything! Check out the taxi scene with actress Renee Asherson; priceless.
Well written with an excellent performance from Peter Bowles and the supporting cast. The unexpected ending gave me cause for reflection when I realized not only perhaps how he treated his wife, but how he treated others as well. I recall an early exposure to Bowles as A in the episode "A, B, and C" of The Prisoner (1967 - Dir.: Pat Jackson). Thank you.
Thanks for posting. I saw it when it was originally on and it's really stuck in my mind. Never thought I'd be able to see it again. (I really miss the swearing we had back then, am I the only person who still says bloody and bugger?!)
Ii seem to be swearing a lot more as I get older.. I'm trying to substitute legitimate words Instead like bollards & pollock & schist. If you say any normal French word with enough feeling it sounds like you're swearing.(serviette) Probably works for other languages too.
I think this is the greatest, bar none, film I have ever watched. Such depth, innovation, the trend lines of energy, the voices (Roshan Seth, my gosh what beauty!) --- too much to praise!
Wow. Thanks for this. I remember watching this when it was first broadcast. I also remember it got reviewed on the old "Review" program on BBC 2, and they mentioned the similarity to the John Cleese film : "Clockwise". Good performance from the late Peter Bowles. RIP.
Ah interesting. Yes the Clockwise similarities are hard to miss. If I have that edition of Did You See..? (Which is what it probably was) then I'll upload
@@IanGreavesTV Ah - "Did You See" - yes, I think that was actually the review program that this was featured on. If you have it, then that would also be interesting to see. Thanks again.
A full on drama where ' George Grant ' ( " I'm sure I've seen him somewhere...? " ) has a close brush with death. He's a high pressured well paid interviewer, who sets such lofty standards until his wife decides their marriage is beyond repair. Well written, very engaging & so quick paced to watch.
EXACTLY LIKE MY ATROCIOUS BROTHER THAT HAVE BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH NOT TO SEE OR HEAR FROM SINCE 2014 I HAVE ENJOYED THIS ITS GREAT VISUALUSING THE IDEA OF THIS HAPPENING TO HIM
No, I was so immersed by the acting and clever writing that I thought I must have missed a clue as to what had actually occurred. But I have to admit that the ending was disappointing imho. E.g. if the near accident had happened and he'd just got taken to hospital briefly with what they thought was concussion, it would have made more sense.
@@candicebowden4123 I agree. There is no explanation for any of it, as it stands. Also the end words don't fit. I get it, with the Bank Manager, but we don't really understand how we get there.
The music is a bit much - like having to listen to a news theme on a loop. I feel like the writer was trying for something Kafkaesque, but it has come out more like _Clockwise_ .
Enjoyed this one, although the twist has been done elsewhere before. Was Renee Asherson the slightly dotty singing lady in the cab? And he was so bloody rude!
Unfamiliar with this actress, pictorial research it seems its her. Although no mention of 'Running Late' on Wiki. Born 2015 - 2014 aged 99. Rude was his middle name.
A CLEANSWEEP removals truck nearly knocked him down outside the Pinnocho Club then along time later a CLEANSWEEP removals truck nearly knocked him off the bicycle !! Ain't that a co-incidence?
I had an idea it was coming. There are several clues. I was waiting to see how it played out I wasn't expecting How it came, and I find the actual last scene totally out of place. It just didn't fit. In fact None of it fits. In a certain film with the same twist it is Obvious from the start because the protagonist only communicates with One person. At times others act as if he is not there. (I am trying not to give too much away) Here it is through subtler things. A certain re appearing vehicle for example. You Can explain it ,through the Bank Manager, but it is a bit convoluted. It is all very Kafka-esque. Still excellent acting and production and the pacing is perfect.
====================== Above average to begin with, ====================== then the screw begins to turn. The bank manager scene is the highpoint, and very good piece of writing. / The ending was "interesting" but weak. After the river journey, and being placed in a cab, I was rather expecting him to be taken somewhere, where everyone he knows is present, who cheer him as he enters on hell of a party. On which - maybe - he has a heart attack and dies. Or - they each tell him what an awful man he has become, and this was put together in order to make him REALLY think about who and what he is, and how he affects others. /
Hilarious! Wouldn't it be fun to be like this for a day! Excellent script and love Peter Bowles. Typical of a cheating man, doesn't like it when someone might take a fancy to his wife he's been neglecting for years!
No human can diagnosis suicide, its cause, in another or would desire to entertain the same. Only God can see the human heart, not a supposed demigod on Earth. The hearts of most men are dead planks of wood by the age of 7. The temptation of the evil one, not to live HIM WHOM IS LOVE within them. The cost is too much, so we chose a cheaper exchange. The focus on the self, the opposite of Humility.
Mrs Richards: " I paid for a room with a view!" Basil: (pointing to the lovely view) " That is Torquay, Madam." Mrs Richards: "It's not good enough!" Basil: "May I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? the Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically past?..." Mrs Richards: "Don't be silly! I expect to be able to see the sea!" Basil: "You can see the sea, it's over there between the land and the sky." Mrs Richards: "I'm not satisfied. But I shall stay. But I expect a reduction." Basil: "Why?! Because Krakatoa's not erupting at the moment ?"
In 1992 I was working in Russel Square and I remember seeing Peter Bowles sitting in one of those director's chairs on the film set.
Great play. The scene with the Bank Manager is remarkable.
RIP Peter Bowles, who is characteristically wonderful throughout.
An absolutely superb piece of drama, wonderfully written and anchored by an actor playing entirely against type. Oh that was more as good as this.
Peter's face when the Bank Manager insists on being called "Bertie..."🤣🤣🤣
Great play . Much needed tonight. Bring back acting, writing, drama and humour
Hollywood hasn't a chance of producing anything as real as this. It would be beyond its capability.
I have recorded many of these glorious one-off plays and still prefer to re-watch them 40 years later, rather than sit through the drivel coming out of Hollywood today.
You are talking about two entirely different cultures.
The actors, directors and audiences hold different beliefs.
Every age represents itself.
Is the degeneration due to zeitgeist, dumbing down , both or neither ?
Bring back "humour" ?
Well only if it does not offend against Hate Speech
Bring back drama ?
For an audience that watches Marvel films ?
@@johnhagan-zr4pm dumbing down is in large part, the problem. Also, human stories are almost non-existent as it's all special effects and stunts.
Humour doesn't necessitate use of hate speech. Well-written stories are enjoyable decades beyond their release dates.
I've always preferred UK programmes because they're generally better scripted (in my view) plus I prefer the British style and sense of humour. Unfortunately, these days, both the UK and USA films and television shows are similar - graphic in the extreme and cruder than ever. I still enjoy Australian films.
Profound, funny, dreamlike, disturbing, and underrated. Tour de force for Peter Bowles
Try the novel The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien -this reminded me of it.
I know everyone else has already said it, but this was truly awesome. I was gripped from the minute it started. Peter Bowles was a class act. The delivery, the dialogue,the pacing and the twist at the end which completely floored me! What way to spend a wet and miserable morning in August!😂
Please God, hand Simon Gray a typewriter. We need him down here more than ever.
Brilliant television.Harder and harder to find these days.
If think that Mr Bowles should be remembered by this little masterpiece 🙏
Very entertaining and the end was as twist I didn’t expect. Peter Bowles has been a favorite of mine since Rumpole. An expat watching in S Florida.
*SPOILER*
ALERT
.
I'm guessing I know what it is. I had to skip from opening scenes, after his car was stolen ... it looked then it was going to be one disaster after another.
Truly, *a test for a soul!*
Indeed - I knew there would be a twist only by the scene with the banker; fully expected the police, but was expecting a very different set-up whereby his wife colluded with others he had hurt to teach him a lesson.
The bank manager part was almost Pythonesque. @@jamesportrais3946
Bowles,always good, is superb here. This play(one of Gray's best), in many ways a one actor one off, makes great demands on the protagonist. Bowles never fails. Credit too to the always spot-on Roshan Seth-the bank manager.
Also a great supporting cast with a lovely cameo from David Ryall as the car hire manager.
Brilliant. Peter Bowles in a role like I have never seen before. All the acting was so good. And the script was great.
I saw it coming from the moment with the lorry
But it was still superb writing and a great performance from PB
And no adverts !!!
Some great moments of acting! That was a real pleasure.
Very clever plot. Mr. Bowles wonderful as ever...
Great comments on this wondrous piece. Peter Bowles is just mesmeric in his George Grant role; totally believable, convincing and compelling in a film where each character is not quite as they seem. A rare film that will be re-watched in case you missed anything! Check out the taxi scene with actress Renee Asherson; priceless.
Well written with an excellent performance from Peter Bowles and the supporting cast. The unexpected ending gave me cause for reflection when I realized not only perhaps how he treated his wife, but how he treated others as well. I recall an early exposure to Bowles as A in the episode "A, B, and C" of The Prisoner (1967 - Dir.: Pat Jackson). Thank you.
Just a fabulous play !. Peter and others great actors. Thanks for this. Dave
Thank you for this opportunity to see such talent. Enjoyment!! 😊
Wow Great performance by Peter Bowles great tv vewing great storey Never seen Peter Bowles in this type of Acting Role before. As to the maner born um
Excellent script and acting - superb entertainment. Always liked Peter Bowles. Great actor.
Simply brilliant, thank you.
peter bowles. a great actor.
Thank you for posting, this was awesome, cleverly written and very well acted!!! I loved it
Amazingly marvelous, thank you. Great writing, casting, acting.
Very well done and funny. Thank you.
Peter Bowles is always fun to watch 🙂
Excellent. Many thanks
Excellent entertainment. Brilliant film - Peter Bowles being outstanding as usual...
Echoes of 'Clockwise' (John Cleese). Love dark comedies...
I noticed in the credits that Peter Bowles also co-produced it.
Proper acting, how refreshing.
Very well acted by all. Won't spoil by saying anymore.
Off-kilter, and most enjoyable! Thanks for uploading this.
Thanks for posting. I saw it when it was originally on and it's really stuck in my mind. Never thought I'd be able to see it again. (I really miss the swearing we had back then, am I the only person who still says bloody and bugger?!)
😂😂no i do often, much nicer than some other vile swear words ive heard!
When you hear light swearing from someone well spoken, it comes across in a funnier way.
@@tillydown3358 "flaming Nora!" is one I use! 😆
Ii seem to be swearing a lot more as I get older..
I'm trying to substitute legitimate words Instead like
bollards & pollock & schist.
If you say any normal French word with enough feeling
it sounds like you're swearing.(serviette)
Probably works for other languages too.
I think this is the greatest, bar none, film I have ever watched. Such depth, innovation, the trend lines of energy, the voices (Roshan Seth, my gosh what beauty!) --- too much to praise!
Very unexpected. ❤
hilarious,, reminds me of John Cleese in Faulty Towers 😁
And in ‘Clockwise’ …
Exactly what I thought
What a pleasant surprise a real treat
Absolutely enthralling, .
Thank you. I was looking for this.
Very good. You don't know what you've got till it's gone.
Wow. Thanks for this. I remember watching this when it was first broadcast. I also remember it got reviewed on the old "Review" program on BBC 2, and they mentioned the similarity to the John Cleese film : "Clockwise". Good performance from the late Peter Bowles. RIP.
Ah interesting. Yes the Clockwise similarities are hard to miss. If I have that edition of Did You See..? (Which is what it probably was) then I'll upload
@@IanGreavesTV Ah - "Did You See" - yes, I think that was actually the review program that this was featured on. If you have it, then that would also be interesting to see. Thanks again.
Ah - just watched it, and yes, I see that "Did You See" is mentioned right at the end.
Here is the Did You See discussion. czcams.com/video/w2EjT9eu9pA/video.html
@@IanGreavesTV Thank you.
Thank you for sharing .
A full on drama where ' George Grant ' ( " I'm sure I've seen him somewhere...? " ) has a close brush with death. He's a high pressured well paid interviewer, who sets such lofty standards until his wife decides their marriage is beyond repair. Well written, very engaging & so quick paced to watch.
Wonderful 😊
Really enjoyed … thankyou !
Beautifully executed play!
Absolutely hilarious, running at breakneck speed, with Bowles playing an A1 bastard very effectively.
Utterly bonkers. Good stuff.
That was terrific--ty
EXACTLY LIKE MY ATROCIOUS BROTHER THAT HAVE BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH NOT TO SEE OR HEAR FROM SINCE 2014 I HAVE ENJOYED THIS ITS GREAT VISUALUSING THE IDEA OF THIS HAPPENING TO HIM
Very good really enjoyed this
Très apprécié, 👏 de Québec ‼
Superb cast ❤
PETE BOWLES TIGHT AND TOP MYSTERY DRAMA👍
AND TO ADD A TOP NOTCH CHARACTER 👌 ACTOR
Wonderful.
wow, what a twist in the tale! :)
Excellent👍😀🌺
Guessed the end I met him once at Waterloo train station really kind and funny
How sweet....and not at all surprising that he was kind and funny. Seemed to be a truly lovely man.
This reminded me a bit of "Clockwise" with John Cleese.
Great. Xxx❤❤❤
Brilliant
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
We really enjoyed that. Did not see the twist coming somehow.
No, I was so immersed by the acting and clever writing that I thought I must have missed a clue as to what had actually occurred. But I have to admit that the ending was disappointing imho. E.g. if the near accident had happened and he'd just got taken to hospital briefly with what they thought was concussion, it would have made more sense.
It was pretty obvious and the thing was littered with clues. The reappearing vehicle? The car hired for certain occasions?The coldness in the cab?
@@candicebowden4123 I agree. There is no explanation for any of it, as it stands. Also the end words don't fit. I get it, with the Bank Manager, but we don't really understand how we get there.
What a mad-cap romp!
Unexpected delight great acting profound surreal st times hint of John Cleese outrage
A most dreadful,dreadful life's story. A fall from grace.💝🌏
Great John Cleese impression.
This is really funny.
n being handcuffed behind your back, it happened to me once. I thought Peter Bowles did a good impersonation of John Cleese here.
Well , this was trippy😂😂
Good stuff. Before the 6th Sense. Wonder, if M.Night Shyamalan saw this on the old Beeb, one autumn Friday night😅
Great story. I knew it when he first said it was cold but then I thought otherwise rite until the end. I wonder how close to the truth this really is.
😊
The music is a bit much - like having to listen to a news theme on a loop.
I feel like the writer was trying for something Kafkaesque, but it has come out more like _Clockwise_ .
Is based on Pierce Morgan right ?
Enjoyed this one, although the twist has been done elsewhere before. Was Renee Asherson the slightly dotty singing lady in the cab? And he was so bloody rude!
Unfamiliar with this actress, pictorial research it seems its her. Although no mention of 'Running Late' on Wiki. Born 2015 - 2014 aged 99. Rude was his middle name.
Is not the news but a bloody business, not really journalism anymore.
Rlp
Enthralling
A CLEANSWEEP removals truck nearly knocked him down outside the Pinnocho Club then along time later a CLEANSWEEP removals truck nearly knocked him off the bicycle !! Ain't that a co-incidence?
Then a CLEANSWEEP truck ran them off the road when they were in the Morris Minor Estate !!
now what are the chances eh? 32:15 37:15 what a coincidence!
Wonderful and a throw back to times when the BBC was adequately funded.
This was very enjoyable and funny but also poignant. The lead actor was excellent. Not sure about the ending though.
I had an idea it was coming. There are several clues. I was waiting to see how it played out I wasn't expecting How it came, and I find the actual last scene totally out of place. It just didn't fit. In fact None of it fits. In a certain film with the same twist it is Obvious from the start because the protagonist only communicates with One person. At times others act as if he is not there. (I am trying not to give too much away) Here it is through subtler things. A certain re appearing vehicle for example. You Can explain it ,through the Bank Manager, but it is a bit convoluted. It is all very Kafka-esque. Still excellent acting and production and the pacing is perfect.
"what kind of a bank manager, are you"?
Courteous & polite even when the police arrived. Played by Roshan Seth born 1942 now 81 & still acting.
======================
Above average to begin with,
======================
then the screw begins to turn.
The bank manager scene is the highpoint,
and very good piece of writing.
/
The ending was "interesting"
but weak.
After the river journey,
and being placed in a cab,
I was rather expecting him to be taken somewhere,
where everyone he knows is present,
who cheer him as he enters
on hell of a party.
On which - maybe - he has a heart attack and dies.
Or -
they each tell him
what an awful man he has become,
and this was put together
in order to make him REALLY think about who and what he is,
and how he affects others.
/
The daftest story line since Othello
Only Peter Bowles could make it so watchable
Hilarious! Wouldn't it be fun to be like this for a day!
Excellent script and love Peter Bowles.
Typical of a cheating man, doesn't like it when someone might take a fancy to his wife he's been neglecting for years!
watching tv s not good for the eyes and the brain! that was a funny remark. hahaha ;)
WHY WAS HE PUT THROUGH ALL THAT ? WHY. ?
Its a john cleese character..(total bafoon.), without the vilenss, John Cleese was sweeeeeetie, he loved his wife great script 47:03
No human can diagnosis suicide, its cause, in another or would desire to entertain the same. Only God can see the human heart, not a supposed demigod on Earth.
The hearts of most men are dead planks of wood by the age of 7. The temptation of the evil one, not to live HIM WHOM IS LOVE within them. The cost is too much, so we chose a cheaper exchange. The focus on the self, the opposite of Humility.
THE CRAP WE USED TO WATCH .!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Seriously weird. Just weird.
Too deep for me. I prefer Bowles lighter tv roles
Mrs Richards: " I paid for a room with a view!"
Basil: (pointing to the lovely view) " That is Torquay, Madam."
Mrs Richards: "It's not good enough!"
Basil: "May I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? the Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically past?..."
Mrs Richards: "Don't be silly! I expect to be able to see the sea!"
Basil: "You can see the sea, it's over there between the land and the sky."
Mrs Richards: "I'm not satisfied. But I shall stay. But I expect a reduction."
Basil: "Why?! Because Krakatoa's not erupting at the moment ?"
You have the wrong programme,That was Fawlty Towers.
@@trevormcgaughran9351 NO SHIT SHERLOCK !
@@trevormcgaughran9351 YOU MUST BE ONE OF THOSE IDIOTS THAT THINK YOU ARE THE COMMENT POLICE !
@@fredflintstoner596????
@@trevormcgaughran9351 NEVER JUDGE A WORM BY HOW HE WATER SKIS
Absolute twaddle , not amusing in the slightest .
Really didn't enjoy,very silly.
He’s a good actor, but this is an unpleasant play.
The wonderful world of Hedonism....
Which is the life you live in.