At miss sophies 90th birthday dinner, her butler james must fill in for her four departed friends and that includes lots of drinks before every course. Germanys cult british classic to air on uk tv for first time. This documentary examines the phenomenon that is dinner for one, a sketch starring freddie frinton and may warden which since its television premiere on german tv in 1963 has conquered a place as part of annual new year traditions in. Dinner for one freddie frinton and may warden youtube. In dinner for one, he played the manservant of an eccentric old lady who invites all her friends round for dinner, unaware she has outlived them all. He played in the successful tv serial meet the wife 6366. The 18minute slapstick sketch, acted by freddie frinton and may warden, has become the. Scene from dinner for one with freddie frinton as james, and may warden as miss sophie. Dinner for one or the 90th birthday is set in a large dining salon with a table set for five people, including. Freddie frinton walking london one postcode at a time.
During the war, freddie performed with stars in battledress and was described in one report as the kingpin of comedy who reached great heights in his comedy sketches. Freddie frinton, born frederick bittiner coo, 17 january 1909 16 october 1968 was an english comedian, and music hall and television actor. Dinner for one serves up the lighter side of german. While americans watch the clock wind down and break into auld lang syne to ring in the new year, germans turn on the tv and watch dinner for one. A very old woman wants to have dinner with her friends. Dinner for one original with freddie frinton and may warden. Watch dinner for one, the short film that has become a. Freddie frinton 1909 1968 was an english actor and comedian who became famous in many european countries except the uk with the comedy sketch dinner for one where he played the butler james serving at the 90th. He is listed as lance bombardier freddie frinton on a 1942 programme. Han fik en smule succes i vaudeviller, hvor han antog kunstnernavnet freddie frinton.
Es handelt sich um einen etwa 18minutigen sketch des englischen komikers freddie frinton mit seiner partnerin may warden. Dinner for one english book your seine river visit. An afterthought of fame dusty wrights culture catch. Filmed in black and white, it stars freddie frinton as james, an elderly butler serving may wardens miss sophie on her 90th birthday.
Ahead at the junction with other paths you will see a world war one monument and just to the left is a small monument with a little dog statue. The 1963 film dinner for one starred grimsbyborn comedian freddie frinton and is a recording of the routine he first performed in the music halls. Freddie frinton, born frederick bittiner coo, 1 2 17 january 1909 16 october 1968 3 was an english comedian who remains a household name in germany and scandinavia because of his performance in dinner for one frinton was born in grimsby, lincolnshire, the illegitimate child of a seamstress, florence elisabeth coo and was brought up by foster parents. Gerburstag oder dinner for one the 90th birthday or dinner for one english comedian freddie frinton and may warden played james. Download harrogate local red booknew colour version. And dont you know the original scetch by lauri weyliefreddie frinton. Classic comedy with freddie frinton and may warden colour version report. It depicts miss sophie may warden and james freddie frinton toasting each other in classic black and white. Initially it hugs the perimeter wall and then it curves off to the left. Germans ring in the new year with dinner for one everyone has their favorite movie for the holidays. In 1963, germanys norddeutscher rundfunk television station recorded a sketch entitled dinner for one, performed by the british comics freddie frinton and may warden. Frinton acquired the rights to the play in the 1950s. Forty years later, in 1962, british actors freddie frinton and may warden performed the farce in. It would be nice to think that jim and freddie are now enjoying dinner for two together.
He refused to allow a germanlanguage version to be made. Beloved freddie frinton skit to air on uk tv for first time television. Geburtstag oder dinner for one 1963, thicker than water 1968 and comedy playhouse 1961. Dinner for one freddie frinton intro in german the rest. The behindthescenes story of dinner for one is more bittersweet. About 1951 freddie frinton bought the rights for dinner for one because till then he had to pay authors fee after each performance and now he was the owner of the play. A british comedy short that has become a perennial part of germanys new year celebrations is to be screened in the uk for the first time. Sir, your berlin correspondent writes scathingly about freddie frintons not particularly funny sketch dinner for one, which is barely known in britain yet has been shown 230 times. Geburtstag oder dinner for one ist eine fernsehproduktion des ndr aus dem jahr 1963. Dinner for one original with freddie frinton and may. In germany, millions gathered around their tv sets to watch a halfcenturyold british comedy.
Classic comedy with freddie frinton and may warden colour version. The englishman, lauri wylie, wrote the comedy for theatre in the 1920s. Miss sophie has invited her four closest friends for a celebratory dinner with just one slight problem all. It has been shown every new years eve on german tv since 1972, winning it a place in the guinness book of. This new year, order dinner for one frame rated medium. Geburtstag als ferns ep0xwb from alamys library of millions of high resolution stock photos, illustrations and vectors. Dinner for one, also known as the 90th birthday german. Dinner for one freddie frinton read the article about this sketch at. While as much as half of the german population may watch dinner for one each silvester or new years eve it is broadcast early enough for people to watch before going out for other festivities, it is virtually unknown in the englishspeaking world. Freddie frinton the friends of cleethorpes heritage. Dinner for one sketch was instant hit when it aired in 1972 and has achieved cult status. Dinner for one is a surreal confection, a delight of whimsical simplicity.
Seit mehr als 50 jahren feiert miss sophie ihren 90. Dinner for one sky arts comedy british comedy guide. I used to watch this every new year as a boy with my mom. The duo depicted an aging butler serving his aristocratic mistress, miss sophie, dinner on. Sie sind jedoch alle langst verstorben, weshalb butler james freddie frinton ihre rollen ubernehmen muss. Geburtstag als fernsehproduktion des ndr in hamburg ep0xw9 from alamys library of millions of high resolution stock photos, illustrations and vectors. Her butler james must fill in for her four departed friends and that includes lots of drinks before every course. The sketch seems to have been recorded in one take, and thats impressive given its relative complexity. Serving up the funny side of german theatre the stage version of germanys staple new year comedy sketch is but a boohiss away from becoming the nations first panto mark espiner. Jim was passionate about keeping freddies memory alive and was a huge help when i started researching freddie and set up this facebook page. Very sad to learn that jim coo, the eldest son of freddie frinton, passed away earlier today. Dinner for one original with freddie frinton and may warden icotext. British music hall star freddie frinton and may warden star in this cult 1963 comedy that has been shown every new years eve on german tv since 1972 viewers observe miss sophies 90th birthday dinner.
Frinton plays an amiable butler who is serving the birthday dinner, her 90th, to his elderly employer, a regal matron realized with serene aplomb by may warden. Language, english dialogue, with german introduction. Dinner for one the original 1963 ndr performance of the german silvester ritual, originally a british music hall sketch. Creeper for one a minecraft machinima of dinner for one. Freddie frinton was a comedian who is largely forgotten today in britain. Freddie frinton is largely forgotten in the uk, but a farcical sketch he recorded in the 1960s is a staple of new year tv in germany, where it screened every year. As they are all dead, the butler has to play the role of every guest. Referat zu fernsehgeschichte dinner for one kostenloser.
Geburtstag on youtube and skip the german introdution about 3 or 5 minutes. Banuscher, franco marazzi, heinz dunkhase, heinz dunkhase, freddie frinton, lauri wylie. The 2018 german commemorative postage stamp for dinner for one was issued 55 years after the first telecast of the now classic sketch. Freddie frinton als butler james in dem sketch dinner for. Freddie frinton, born frederick bittiner coo, was an english comedian and music hall and television actor who remains a.
The blackandwhite sketch stars freddie frinton as james, an elderly butler serving may. Classic comedy with freddie frinton and may warden colour version search. Freddie frinton was born on january 17, 1909 in grimsby, england as frederick bittiner coo. Why is germany obsessed with this obscure british film. Freddie frinton does a fine turn as miss sophies drunken butler, and rarely has a comedy drunkard been portrayed so well. Dinner for one comedy from 1963 by heinz dunkhase with freddie frinton and may warden the countess and the butler dinner for one. I have reuploaded this because it used to be here, but i couldnt find it. The duo depicted an aging butler serving his aristocratic mistress, miss sophie, dinner on the occasion of her 90 th birthday. Dinner for one staring freddie frinton was filmed by a german tv company in 1963. Acting drunk can be staggeringly difficult michael. Extremely old but still extremely funny, freddie frinton in dinner for one. In this classic british skit plays the british comedian freddie frinton on wacky servant who is compelled to act standin for the longdeceased guests, when his housekeeper, miss sophie, is celebrating his 90th birthday. He is primarily remembered today as a household name in several northwestern european countries for his 1963 television comedic sketch entitled dinner for one, a perennial national television broadcast new years eve favourite there, whilst being.
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