Uncorked: Eric and Ernie’s drink-drive ad
Morecambe and Wise look to laughs to warn of perils of being drunk at wheel in unscreened TV campaign
ERIC MORECAMBE and Ernie Wise used their irreverent humour to warn of the dangers of drink-driving in a previously unseen Christmas advert.
The public information advert is among the earliest made on the subject of drink-driving, dating back to the early Sixties, and has been described by the British Film Institute (BFI) as “90 seconds of pure comedy genius”.
It is previously unknown, according to Morecambe’s son Gary, who said: “I thought I’d seen every possible recording of Morecambe and Wise, so was both surprised and delighted.”
In the footage, the duo, then in their 30s and having recently found fame with their ITV series Two of a Kind, discuss a Christmas party.
Trying to remind Morecambe that he will be drinking there, Wise asks: “Do you know what you’ll be doing at that party?”
Outlining a shapely woman with his hands, Morecambe replies: “Looking for a nice little blonde.”
Wise adds: “What else?” Morecambe responds: “Well, that all depends on the nice little blonde, doesn’t it?”
Morecambe finally agrees that he will indeed be drinking, which prompts Wise to say: “I knew you were wise.”
Morecambe quickly corrects him: “No, I’m Morecambe. Aren’t I?” He then turns to the camera to deliver the message: “If you want to be wise, don’t drive if you’ve been drinking.”
The BFI describe the 35mm footage as an “incredible comedy find”.
It is believed to date from 1963, partly because it was found in a box of 35mm cigarette adverts from that year. Drink-drive film campaigns started to be screened in 1964, when thousands were being killed or injured each year at the hands of drink-drivers.
The discovery was made by Chris Perry, the chief executive of Kaleidoscope, which works alongside the BFI’s Missing Believed Wiped campaign, BBC Treasure Hunt and ITV’s Raiders of the Lost Archive in helping to find, preserve and catalogue the nation’s television heritage.
He said the footage emerged after he was contacted when Ulster Television was moving to new premises.
He said: “Kaleidoscope’s biggest successes are often when people don’t know what they’ve got. There was a large amount of film and videotape that they [Ulster TV] wouldn’t be able to take with them. ITV said, ‘Would you like all the stuff? We don’t know what it is.’”
Mr Perry waded through 26 large packing crates of material before finding the Morecambe and Wise footage. He said: “I knew straight away that it had to be important. As a film, it’s fantastic. It’s very funny. I’ve been doing [archival work] for 30 years, and this is the first time I’ve come across missing Morecambe and Wise footage. Finding it on beautiful 35mm film in the original can is a very rare find indeed.”
The BFI said it is assumed that the ad was broadcast, but there are no records of it in relevant archives, including the Central Office of Information (COI).
The film will be brought into the BFI National Archive.
It will be shown on August 11 as part of a screening programme of Kaleidoscope’s television finds at BFI Southbank in London to celebrate the organisation’s 30th anniversary.