Daniel Farson’s Guide to Britain: Volume 1 – BFI

Presenter: Daniel Farson

Director: ‎ Various

Country: UK

Running time: 3 hours and 35 minutes

BBFC Certificate: 15

Daniel Farson has aptly been described as the Louis Theroux of the 1950s, a comparison the BFI have embraced while presenting a variety of his wonderful documentaries in ‘Daniel Farson’s Guide to Britain: Volume 1.’ These include a series of charming vignettes which explore British 1950s and 60s life, warts and all, with topics including witchcraft, UFOs, strippers, and pop stars, interracial marriage, cats and the London stock exchange. Catching the sight of not one, but three pairs of breasts in a smutty 50s Soho nightclub is just one of the many surreal pinch-yourself moments you’ll experience while watching this collection.

Farson was radical for his time, shrugging off the deferential formal broadcasting style of the era and giving down-to-earth, sharp and inqusisitive interviews. The investigative reporter was a known figure in the Soho scene, befriending artists and running a bar. Later, he became more well-known as an author, writing a series of memoirs about that era and about his friend and artist Francis Bacon. He was the great-nephew of Dracula author Bram Stoker who he also wrote a book and made a documentary about.

In the BFI’s collection, Farson gives a platform to a variety of delightful and peculiar characters, and puts them to task in a friendly and easy-going manner.  The interview guests respond really well to Farson, opening up and being candid with their responses. It feels like Farson’s amiable, if assertive, interview style gives us a real unvarnished glimpse into what these people and their contemporaries were truly like.  In each documentary, he seems  eager to break down traditionally held beliefs on each of the topics, so you feel like you’re really getting into the weeds with him when he’s firing off his questions.

These films are incredible, not only because it feels like staring through a time portal, into the 50s and 60s humdrum, but, also, for the sheer fact they exist in the first place with so many old programmes, and indeed, most of Farson’s work, either destroyed or lost forever. There’s a heartbreaking moment when two of the film’s commentators, a pair of BFI archivists, reel off the titles of the Farson films that we’ll never get to see. They sounded amazing, particularly an episode on Blackpool which I would have very much liked to have seen. Nevertheless, the BFI have given us plenty to get our teeth stuck into, already.

In these films, we get an insight into that long dead black-and-white epoch, before the social revolution of the 1960s really began to flourish. We are welcomed into the grey post-war recovery of Britain. The era of dark stuffy suits, bowler hats, a stiff upper-lip and a deference to authority, allbeit with a wry chuckle and a wink, and a scorching cup of tea to wash down all the twee nostalgia.

Farson’s films were broadcast on prime time telly, on ITV Granada, and made by production company Associated-Rediffusion – back when there would have been only two television channels (the horror!). The fact Farson managed to get these uncovnentional and in some cases, divisive, topics on prime-time television in that era is what makes these films truly remarkable. Then in turn, the fact BFI have restored to the footage into a crisp 2K format makes these really special.

Most of the episodes are about 12 minutes long, with a 40-minute documentary on Liverpool’s music scene in the 1960s, after the explosion of Merseybeat, in the wake of The Beatles’ success. The collection starts out with a bang with Farson’s ‘Out of Step’ which explores British “cranks” in a wry tongue-in-cheek manner.

We see him speaking to a contemporary witch who readily admits their rituals are pretty much sex-orgies with all involved attending in their “birthday suits”. He then platforms ‘cranks’ who believe in aliens. Farson can’t hold back his derision at some of these contentious characters, and at one point, says: “If aliens are watching. Let’s assure them we will treat them most hospitably when they arrive.”

Some of the vignettes are fairly dry by comparison, with episodes on weddings, the stock market and Lundy island, but they provide a fascinating insight, and the latter included stunning scenic shots of the English coast. When interviewing the strip dancers, Farson treats them with respect and dignity, eliciting lucid responses that are fascinating to behold – I can’t imagine how these interviews would have been perceived at initial broadcast.

The episode on mixed marriages was deeply involving with Farson speaking to those in interracial relationships. It featured an interview with an extremist politician who comes out with statements representing the ugly form of racism at the time. There are also compelling interviews with young celebs popstar Cliff Richard and Northern playwright Shelagh Delaney who are exceedingly candid and baby-faced.

The most amazing moment surreal moments came from the unexpected. There’s an interview with the author behind the wildly popular Hank Janson American style dime-novels, who is at pains to keep his true identity secret in a mark, hat and long flowing trench coat, in a murky bar, all while topless dancers perform in the background; and a whole feature on cats where Farson has lovely conversations with yet more barmy characters. There’s a particularly amusing interview with a taxidermist who doesn’t seem to think highly of his own trade. Getting to watch the Merseyside bands playing in Liverpool’s most iconic era was really special, in 1080p quality, no less. Rory Storm and The Hurricanes put on a truly phenomenal performance at The Cavern Club. Watching that club, and all it punters, was truly a feast for the eyes. It’s was so fascinating to catch a glimpse of that exciting time in UK culture. All of these films make for a really joyful experience.

The audio commentaries are fantastic. Most of the features have them. They serve contextualise each documentary, shedding light on the prevailing attitudes of the time of each film and insight into what became of the people being interviewed. They have a range of narrators for each topic so it’s a strong mix of expert knowledge. The only thing really missing is a good ‘behind the scenes/making of’ style documentary. A feature about Daniel Farson’s life or the restoration process would have been fantastic – but these would have been the cherries on the cake of an already fantastic package.

The candid nature of all these interviews is what really propels these documentaries. Farson, just excellent, and such a distinctive character. I look forward to catching Volume 2.

BLU-RAY/DVD RELEASE – THE PROGRAMMES