Arnold Ridley

Speaker 10:00

Hello, I'm Kirsty Young, and this is a download from the Desert Island Discs archive. For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music.

Speaker 10:08

The programme was originally broadcast in nineteen seventy three.

Speaker 10:12

Desert

Speaker 30:12

Island discs.

Speaker 10:16

This is a recording as it was being broadcast rather than the studio recording, and for that reason you may hear some interference and some degradation in the sound quality.

Speaker 30:29

As usual, the castaway is introduced by Roy Plumley.

Presenter0:33

This week, our castaway is the actor and playwright Arnold Ridley.

Presenter0:38

Arnold, could you put up with solitude for a while? I flatter myself that I could, but I I wouldn't like to try it really, because we always think we can do things and when we come to the point you find it very different to what you imagine. Imagination, reality are very, very different things.

Presenter0:53

What would you be happiest you got away from? Noise. Noise in all shapes.

Presenter0:58

tiddly noises of jukeboxes and uh

Presenter1:01

Children screeching and uh uh dogs barking and things like that. I'm afraid you might get parrots or something on the island. Oh, well yes, but that's the island.

Presenter1:12

Are you a musical person? No, not at all, I'm afraid. No, I've no knowledge. I have a liking for music, but no knowledge at all. What was your first principle in choosing your eight records? Uh

Presenter1:23

Nostalgia

Presenter1:25

I know people are apt to sneer at nostalgia, but when you get to an old man, and I am an old man, I've got to face that fact, there's not much good thinking of what you're going to do in the future, so you may as well go back and revive the happy things that have happened to your past. My life's been a very happy one. It's had many ups and downs.

Presenter1:44

Change the fortune. But on the whole, looking at it, I wouldn't have it altered anyway. Good. What's the first record? I think the Overture to Tannhuizer would would be my first record.

Presenter1:55

Paul was thrilled, may not always will.

Presenter2:59

The Overture to Wagner Stannhuizer, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by George Schulte.

Presenter3:06

Let's go on to your second record, Arnold. What's that?

Presenter3:09

At an old ballad I hear you calling me.

Presenter3:12

In those days, prior to television and and radio,

Presenter3:18

Saturday night concerts were great things in my boyhood. I went to these concerts and there was always the great person was the ballad singer and the people who recited and it was all very innocent and all and all very cheap, otherwise I wouldn't have been there.

Presenter3:33

And I think this record is a

Presenter3:35

Typical one of those days.

Arnold Ridley3:39

But destiny to music of your voice.

Arnold Ridley3:57

I hear you.

Presenter4:09

I hear you quoting me sung by John McCormick.

Presenter4:13

Any precedent for the theatre and the family? I had a distant uncle on my father's side who was reputed to have something to do with the stage, but not directly. I went into the theatre entirely through the amateur dramatic societies, chiefly at the Bristol University Dramatic Society, which I... What were you reading at Bristol University? I was reading history and English.

Arnold Ridley4:30

Which I

Arnold Ridley4:34

Mm-hmm.

Presenter4:35

And they got you into the amateur dramatic society. Well, I was in the society there and then for some reason, I don't quite remember how, I walked on in the old Theatre Royal in a in a repertory company there and I was asked to stay on. I was paid a pound a week for played small parts. Actually, it was a professional engagement. Yes. I think it was the...

Presenter4:56

Alice Intervenes by John Hastings Turner, I think.

Presenter5:00

And uh in those days the theater was very live and had a

Presenter5:05

Which I regret very much losing it. The live orchestra, two or three fiddlers and people in front of a curtain.

Presenter5:11

And there was a great thrill always b before the curtain went up, you you heard the music coming through the curtain and that sort of distant blur of an of an audience behind it, which I think sort of made your heartbeat much quicker.

Presenter5:23

Um to this.

Presenter5:24

I remember some of those those things very much indeed.

Presenter5:27

Especially this one, which was the first one I ever heard in the theater. It was Peu de Meur, I think it was. A Little Love, A Little Take. Yes, that's the one, yes.

Speaker 15:36

Okay, that's it.

Presenter5:38

Well here it is played by the Palm Court Trio.

Presenter6:11

A pour d'amour.

Presenter6:12

Um you'd made your professional debut at the Theatre Royal.

Presenter6:16

Bristol, what year was this? That was 1913. Just before the first year. Before the war, yes. And you went into the army? Yes, I was in the... I had three years of War I. Yes. You were wounded several times, and indeed it died. I was in the diet in 1917, yes.

Speaker 16:29

Uh

Arnold Ridley6:29

You will

Arnold Ridley6:30

Yeah.

Presenter6:35

Did you go straight back to the theatre? No, I did a little bit of schoolmastering. I was supposed to have been a schoolmaster at one time. I never really took it up.

Presenter6:42

And then I'm very lucky.

Presenter6:45

I managed to get into the Birmingham Reputary Theatre Company with in the days of John Drinkwater and Barry Jackson, those glorious days of the of the old Birmingham Rep. Yes.

Presenter6:54

You were at Plymouth too, weren't you? Yes, that very shortly. Well, but Birmingham is what I really considered. I had my training in the centre. Yes. You had to give up for health reasons. Yes, I had rather a breakdown in health. And also young men fitter than myself were coming out of the army. And I sort of felt it was not much good going on with it for a bit. And so I went back to Bath and managed a boot shop for my father.

Presenter7:22

Except a thing I did for four years. It seems about four minutes now. I've been to act for four years. Was it then you started to write plays? Yes, I suppose the theatre had to had to come out in somewhere or other and I wasn't acting. I started writing.

Speaker 17:26

Uh

Presenter7:35

Play after play.

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Were they performed? Um very fe no, none of them, none of the early ones were there.

Presenter7:41

And actually

Presenter7:43

I don't consider a play as a play until it is performed and

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And it

Presenter7:48

Actually the the first one that ever uh I had before not was the ghost train. The ghost train, which is a classic among comedy thrillers.

Presenter7:56

Was it accepted by the first management you offered it to? Yes, the first management who read it was Arthur Boucher, and he took an option on it, but he couldn't do it himself, and it passed through lots and lots of managers who couldn't get it on for various reasons. And then it did go on on a provincial tour and died an absolute death. Nobody paid a penny to see it. And then the second tour was even worse. And it will absolutely finish with wiped out and

Presenter8:24

And then by an absolute fluke it went on in the West End. I went to the fact of a manager having a theatre and nothing to put in it. And they heard about this play was hanging around and they put it in just as a stop yap. And after flopping twice on the road it became a great West End success. Yes it did. A very long run, 18 months. There was the spectacular sequence of the ghost train roaring past the waiting room windows, all done with light and sound. Oh yes, and the effects I think the effects were very largely instrumental in the play being a success. They were very brilliantly done and...

Presenter8:59

It gave us the publicity value, which is so essential beginning of any play. How many men were involved in the sound effects? I think about 11, 10 or 11 used to work various things. You could always get people to join in that. I don't know why. People get quite quarreled about it sometimes. Say, give me that, messing that drum up, give it to me, I'll do that. You can always get volunteers. And doing those sound effects live made a much more exciting noise than you could ever get nowadays by tapping a few bits of tape together. Oh, yes, I think it's the real vibrations, the vibration you miss with the tape. Well, the ghost train has been revived countless times. It's still playing today, isn't it? Yes, most of the reps do it. It's probably playing somewhere tonight, either in England, Scotland, Ireland, or Wales. And I expect it's probably playing in Germany somewhere. It plays in Germany quite a lot.

Arnold Ridley9:42

Yeah.

Presenter9:46

Um h how many languages has it has it been played in? I've been told it's been performed in seventeen languages. Seventeen. And taught in Japanese. And it played in in Nazi Germany, I believe, actually during the war. It did, yes, and they paid my royalties to me.

Presenter10:01

We came to a bank in Hamburg.

Presenter10:03

The British government wouldn't let me have them until the market was devalued.

Arnold Ridley10:06

Next. Uh

Presenter10:06

So you've got only a fraction. I've got a tenth of it. And there have been several film versions? Three, yes, altogether. There was a silent version and then two versions in England. Last one with Arthur Askard was the last one. And then there was another one with Sister Courtnick and Jack Holbert, which was quite a successful one.

Presenter10:26

And uh heaven knows how many times you've played that old station master, Saul Hodgkin.

Presenter10:32

I wouldn't like to think how many times last time I played was eighteen months ago. I played it at Guilford and

Presenter10:38

I know I said on the I had to make a speech, I said when I first played this path I just put on a very heavy makeup to look old enough.

Presenter10:45

Now I have to put on a much heavier makeup to look young enough. Let's have another record, number four. Ah, well.

Presenter10:54

I think I'd like to go back to bittersweet.

Presenter10:57

Bittersweet. Yes, I was the first night of that and I always had a warm spot for

Presenter11:03

Especially for the talent to amuse, which I think describes cards so much. Yes, yeah. That comes in the number If Love Were All. Love Were All, yes, yes.

Arnold Ridley11:13

What?

Arnold Ridley11:14

I believe what sink my life began.

Speaker 111:16

Uh

Arnold Ridley11:18

The most I've had is your face tatters too long.

Presenter11:41

Ivis and Helia singing If Love Were All from Bittersweet.

Presenter11:45

Now you followed the ghost train with another railway play, The Wrecker. Yes, that's right. I did that in collaboration with Bernard Merrivale. We did several plays in collaboration. How many plays have you written altogether? Adaptations and uh collaboration, things like that, I should say.

Presenter12:01

Just about 30, I've just rounded about 30 actually. Yes. And when you haven't been writing, you've been acting. You played Walter Gabriel on the stage once. Yes. That's how I... my first association with the archers. There was a stage version.

Presenter12:16

My dad on the tournament. And you've been playing. I've been playing your Stoing Hood the Baker off and on ever since. And you were a pioneer in television?

Speaker 112:18

We haven't played yet.

Presenter12:23

Yes, I was one of one of the

Presenter12:25

The early days when all television was run by an office and the radio times built in.

Presenter12:30

He worked for Alipalae up the hill.

Presenter12:33

With all sorts of extraordinary things happening.

Presenter12:35

floor managers running around and with helmets on and

Presenter12:39

You'd be very careful not to trip over anything because you couldn't get to the next set. It was all very exciting in those days. And of course your current and great television success, Dad's Army.

Presenter12:51

Um you were indeed in in in the army in the Second World War. You were also a home guard afterwards, weren't you? Uh I was pre-Home Guard, I think. It was when I came out of the Army, Second War. I came out uh during the summer of 1940.

Presenter13:05

And I got mixed up with the the Fence Corps and the side of the L D V. L D V Z right.

Speaker 113:10

The L D V L

Presenter13:13

And at that time, the Battle of Britain was on it. It was all pretty real in those days.

Speaker 313:19

Yeah.

Presenter13:20

The parachute troops were expected every moment and you really didn't know when you heard a noise in the garden whether it was the milkman or a

Presenter13:26

A tank's arriving from high air.

Presenter13:29

Private Godfrey is a glorious character. Is he based on anyone in particular?

Presenter13:35

No, I don't think so. No, I think he just sort of liked Topsy. He just grew with him. The company gives the impression of being a very happy one. Oh, it is. It's excellent scripts. It's been a very good team thing altogether.

Presenter13:52

Any idea how many programmes you've done now? I think it must be round about fifty, I should think. We've been doing it for over five years. There's a new series just starting, and I hope there are going to be many more. Well, sir, we've had a a great blow in the

Presenter14:05

In losing private walk, I was Jimmy Beck's death. It's been very upsetting for us all, a great blow to everybody. Yes, to lose one of the teams, yes.

Presenter14:14

Especially such a young one.

Presenter14:17

Let's have record number five.

Presenter14:20

Oh yes, well I I'd rather like to hear again Lucien Boyer singing Parlemois de Mour.

Arnold Ridley14:27

Aureim wadamu, or ditom wades overthrow.

Arnold Ridley14:37

Bar of old he thought, girl upon all the world.

Arnold Ridley14:46

Oh because I won't give away.

Arnold Ridley14:56

That's over with the

Presenter14:59

Lucien Boyer.

Presenter15:01

Now, let's go straight into record number six.

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Have

Presenter15:05

I should like to hear a showpagnoon. I think it's number 18 in E major.

Presenter15:11

Apart from the fact that I'm devoted to the Chopin.

Presenter15:16

M.

Presenter15:17

To Beno Mazevich, who actually plays this record, used to practice a tremendous lot at the Savage Club and

Presenter15:25

If I went in in the morning, I used to sneak into the dining room where the piano was. He never minded me sitting there listening to him, sort of private piano recitals. And this was the trickbay record I always remember of his.

Presenter16:41

Berno Moisevich playing the Chopin nocturn number eighteen in E major.

Presenter16:46

Now on this desert island

Presenter16:49

Have you done anything useful like fishing in the past? No, no.

Presenter16:53

I haven't done the useful at all. I don't think. Could you look after yourself? Oh, I think so. I can wield a tin opener. You should be lucky. You could build a shelter. Oh, yes, I think so. Yes, as far as I hear sir. Would you try to escape? Do you know anything about sailing? I don't know anything about... Navigation? No, not a thing. Would I try to escape also? You would? Yes, I'd get on a raft and hope for the best.

Presenter17:18

That's very brave of you or very desperate what to do.

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Let's have a record number.

Presenter17:26

I'd like to to go back.

Presenter17:28

To the First War, if I may go back to those dismal days.

Presenter17:33

Because

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Memory is a rather strange thing.

Presenter17:39

After a lapse of time, even the most

Presenter17:41

Miserable and disagreeable circumstances, they sound.

Presenter17:48

Roses seem to grow around them a little bit.

Presenter17:51

And these are roses, because I very much like to hear that old song I remember so well.

Presenter17:56

In the summer of 1916, when we were out on rest and in sort of tents and things behind the line and old gramophone records, the old thing of Roses of Picardy.

Arnold Ridley18:08

Rose of our shining in a pink aradine Single rosa for silver dune

Arnold Ridley18:21

Roth of our fellow ring in a picara What doesn't love are always like yours

Arnold Ridley18:34

What

Presenter18:38

Roses of Picardy sung by Alfred Picover.

Presenter18:41

Now we've come to your last record. What's that?

Presenter18:45

I'm not ashamed to say it still thrills me tremendously to hear the the alkos.

Presenter18:50

Often circumstance, land of hope and glory.

Presenter18:54

So that has been my last record.

Presenter19:53

Colin Davis conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Presenter19:57

And the

Presenter19:58

Promenaders on the last night of the proms in 1969. If you could take just one disc of the eight we've heard, which would it be?

Presenter20:06

We can take a turnheuser, I think, because

Presenter20:10

Um it's a great thing about the classics. Classics are always classics. They nothing can kill it. It'll go always be there.

Presenter20:16

And one luxury to take to the island with you.

Presenter20:19

I think I'd take a winemaking kit. I hope there'd be some fruit on the island. I could sort of with a bit of a

Presenter20:26

Luck and well, not a bit of luck, considerable amount of luck. I might be able to make some something drinkable. Good. And one book apart from the Bible, Shakespeare, and big encyclopedias. Ah, now this is well you may think it's an odd one, but I would try and get whole

Presenter20:43

of an ancient copy of Bradshaw's Railway Time Tables.

Presenter20:47

Prior to nationalization of railways, you know, all the companies had their own timetables and uh they were all bound up in the same book. And I think I better play games by rooting myself. Saying I've got to go from Torque to Inverness, and which is the best way of going. Because apart from that, uh

Presenter21:07

I'm never dull, I was an actress.

Presenter21:11

Uh because I think

Presenter21:13

When I see the names of places, if I've been there, I remember them. When I see Crewe, for instance, I always remember those touring days in the theatre where you met on Sunday afternoons and the all-night cafe. So Crewe is more than a name in a timetable. Good. A vintage copy of Bradshaw. And thank you, Arnold Ridley, for letting us hear your Desert Island Disc. Thank you. It's been very fun doing this. Kind of you to ask me.

Presenter21:41

Goodbye, everyone.

Speaker 321:52

The guest in this evening's programme was Arnold Ridley, the interviewer was Roy Plumley, and the producer Ronald Cook.

Speaker 322:00

Next Saturday at two minutes past seven, the castaway will be at the television reporter Trevor Philpott.

Speaker 122:09

You've been listening to a download from the Desert Island Discs archive. For more downloads, please visit the Radio 4 website.