At Last The 1948 Show Monday: Four Yorkshiremen

by Mallory Ortberg · September 21, 2015

This isn’t the State, obviously. Matter of fact, I’ve had a devil of a time finding State clips online at all, and am going to have to find a new title for “Mallory finds comedy clips, generally from white male citizens of the British Commonwealth Mondays” soon enough.

“Well, we had it tough. We ‘ad to get up out of the shoebox at twelve o’clock at night, and lick the road clean. We’d have half a handful of freezing-cold gravel, work twenty-four hours a day at the mill for fourpence every six years, and when we got home, our Dad would slice us in two with a bread knife.”

Please consider the following, as you watch:

1. TINY BABY MARTY FELDMAN

2. those VARYINGLY SUCCESSFUL ACCENTS

3. how difficult it is to relate to this concept for those of us who spend a lot of time online, as none of us have ever been guilty of this [stares dead into camera]

Mallory is an Editor of The Toast.


17 Comments

    1. builtahouse +8

      MIRANDA MONDAYS.

      (also the link isn’t working, but pleeeeeeaaassee tell me that last link is John Finnemore and his delightful “all countries in a bar” metaphor to explain the Eurozone crisis.)

      EDIT: IT IS. YOU ARE MY FAVORITE PERSON.

    2. BellaG +3

      I so wish Horrible Histories was available on DVD in the US. (There’s an American version, but the “Horrible” in the title refers to the quality of the show.)

      (And that said, while I love HH — British version — it’s not always accurate. There’s at least one “bet your teacher never told you!” item that your teacher never told you because it’s been thoroughly debunked.)

      1. daisymerolling +2

        yeah the American HH was all types of horrendous.
        Im in love with the entire cast…
        Mathew Baynton especially. yum yum.

  3. houblonchouffe +15

    MALLORY IS THIS A WEDDING PRESENT TO ME

    (and my native-bred-Yorkshireman fiance, I mean, clearly)

  5. builtahouse +17

    🙂 Graham Chapman’s adorable failure to suppress his posh voice is fantastic.

    MORTY FELDMAN AAAAHHH.

  7. The Long Sea +24

    I’m from Yorkshire and can confirm this 100% accurate. The last time I was home, I sat through an impromptu 25 minute long discourse on the art of ferreting delivered by a man like this in the village pub.

    1. houblonchouffe +15

      I’m looking forward to the Yorkshire family’s arrival on Thursday. Anticipating at least one good conversation about the outdoor privy they used when MrChouffe was a little lad.

  9. Slugs +4

    Hah, so happy to see his here, when I was 13 me and three friends did a rendition for a school ‘talent show’. In hindsight not sure what our talent was supposed to be…

  10. Gzortenplatz +9

    Mallory you are an angel, this is one of my favourite sketches of all time! I frequently use the line, “you try and tell that to young people of today, will they believe you?” in my best (not good) Yorkshire accent, to the mystification of pretty much everyone under 50.

  11. Jen_Birren +9

    Everyone is correct to squee over Baby Marty Feldman, but also TIM! Wee Tim Brooke-Taylor on the left, the voice of Lady Constance de Coverlet, John Cleese’s favourite person ever to bully on screen. In one sketch in the 1948 Show he felt Cleese wasn’t showing enough rage in rehearsals, so he stamped on his toe just before the camera started rolling. TIIIIIIM.

  12. Interrobang13

    I've never seen this performed! Good heavens. I did this sketch for my third grade and eighth grade variety shows, claiming the John Cleese role each time because of the excellent final one-up. Now that I think about it, the fact I opted to do this at age eight probably explains so much about me… and my mother, who suggested it.