Despite the fact that many posters seem to think Rising Damp was guilty of racism, the reverse was actually true. Don Warrington's character Philip was often the target of boorish remarks by Leonard Rossiter's landlord Rigsby (not really malicious by the standards of 1970s England, just ignorant: a real 1970s racist wouldn't rent a room in his own house to a black man anyway), but it's Rigsby that we find ridiculous, not Philip. Throughout the series, Philip is consistently portrayed as the most intelligent, charming, attractive, sophisticated and grown-up of all the characters, and he's certainly no deferential Uncle Tom. ... that's not racism, is it?
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that_ealing_feeling10 May 2009
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ikedy9 April 2015The sitcom was indeed one of the best from Uk. A lot of people in Britain will be surprised to learn that the sitcom is often on TV in countries in Africa. I fell in love with it a long time ago when I first saw an episode in Africa. Just watched an episode on ITV today (2015) and could not stop laughing. Rigsby got into a boxing match with Philip. The plot was hilarious. I can understand why some people find the comedy racist in today's PC world.
In my view the writers were using the sitcom to educate people with views similar to those of Rigsby back then. If they succeeded in changing the thinking a few such people then they achieved a lot. That crusade is still relevant today.
I don't find it racist even after years in the Uk as a black man. Art is a great way to initiate change and in my view to seek to remove from TV anything that we perceive as controversial or uncomfortable is a wrong approach. -
beresfordjd31 March 2016Apparently Leonard Rossiter was a complete perfectionist and very difficult to work with. It was his obsessive perfectionism that made Rising Damp so much better than it's actual content. Of course the casual racist remarks would not be tolerated today, but funny is funny and it was very funny. Eric Chappell's creation of Rigsby was a work of genius and the casting of the show was ideal - it is always what makes a sitcom really work. Francis de la Tour's Miss Jones is played perfectly and Don Warrington's Philip was sophisticated and urbane and much more intelligent than Rigsby as was Richard Beckinsale's Alan. They revolved around Rigsby and had great lines which they delivered wonderfully. It is a great series and I appreciate the decision to show it again , even in these PC times. As a black man I guess I am supposed to be horrified at it but as I said before funny is funny - my dad always loved it way back when too.
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Sleepin_Dragon12 February 2018It is one of the funniest shows ever made, I can watch Rising Damp and instantly lose a bad mood, if I'm honest it's down to the sheer hilarity of Leonard Rossiter. I am aware that the show comes in for stick for being racist, Rigsby was definitely ignorant, and seemed to hate everyone in equal measure, a victim of the 70's class society, but a Racist, I don't think so. Rigsby was always the butt of the joke, always made to looks idiotic by Philip, who was intelligent, cool and charming, all that Rigsby was not. Miss Jones was a delight, so prim and proper, but underneath strong passions burn, and of course Alan, played with such innocence by the wonderful Richard Beckinsale.
So many funny episodes, Pink Carnations, The Permissive Society, Moonlight and Roses, to name a few, but all time funniest episode must be Things That Go Bump in the Night, which stands up to this day as one of the funniest things I've ever seen.
The scripts are superb, but it's the comedy timing and sense of awareness from the entire cast that gets me every time I watch it, I always moan about modern day sitcoms, and why they're not funny, maybe it's not just the scripts, perhaps it's the comic actors. If you want to watch comedy masters at work, then watch Rising Damp. -
ShadeGrenade11 August 2006'Rising Damp' was recently repeated on I.T.V.-1 in an afternoon slot, and some chump wrote an angry letter to 'Teletext', claiming that the show 'was axed due to its racist content'. Nobody bothered to correct him. 'Rising Damp' ran for four successful seasons in the '70's, only coming to an end because it had reached the end of its natural life. Yes, 'Rigsby' is ignorant when it comes to foreign cultures, but a racist? I think not. If he were, he'd never have tolerated Philip in his house, son of a chieftain or not. Besides, the complainant seems to have overlooked Frances De La Tour's wonderfully prissy 'Ruth', Don Warrington as the clever and charming Phillip, the late Richard Beckinsale as naive medical student 'Alan' and, of course, the magnificent, much-missed Leonard Rossiter as the seedy landlord 'Rigsby'. This superb cast, combined with the fabulous scripts by Eric Chappell, made 'Rising Damp' a classic, one that has not diminished with age. I pity those unable to appreciate its greatness.
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'Rising Damp' is shown pretty regularly on TV all these years after production ceased on the series, which must be a testament to its staying power.
Set in a grimy house where landlord Rigsby and his tenants (the refined Miss Jones, object of his affections; Alan, a long-haired student of medicine who never seemed to do anything useful; and Philip, a black man of tribal descent, possibly ...) rubbed along together week by week, with new lodgers coming and going, and Rigsby continuing his relentless pursuit of Miss Jones, 'Rising Damp' was pretty much perfect.
Not dated at all when viewed recently, these are genuinely comic characters (especially the excellent performance of the peerless Leonard Rossiter as Rigsby) in amusing situations. Rather like Rigsby's cat, Vienna, we sit back and watch with interest as events unfold and entertain us.
I loved it. Laurels all round (Frances de La Tour, who is an accomplished dramatic actress on stage aside from her comedy work here, as Miss Jones; Don Warrington, still around and not looking much older, as Philip; and lovely Richard Beckinsale, who sadly died in his early thirties at the end of the 1970s, as Alan) and long may the brown door and that tinkly pub piano theme grace our screens. -
DavidYZ11 July 2017This is an ITV sitcom which ran from 1974 - 1978. It is about a landlord - Rupert Rigsby (played by Leonard Rossiter) - and his lodgers - Alan Moore (Richard Beckinsale), Philip Smith (Don Warrington) and Ruth Jones (Frances de la Tour).
It is well-written and well-acted. It appears to be set in Yorkshire, although the location is never stated.
This was followed in 1980 by a film. -
Howlin Wolf14 May 2007This is what sometimes happens when you're a student and you've only got enough money to live in a dingy hovel... you get a landlord like Rigsby. What few standards he has are outdated, so sensitive lads with long hair and intelligent young black men are almost too much to take. Leonard Rossiter's portrayal of a character who could easily be completely beyond redemption is absolutely pitch-perfect. The more episodes you watch, the more you find yourself becoming strangely endeared to his mannerisms and tics, despite the fact that his attitude makes him a thoroughly unpleasant man. Aside from superb comic timing, Rossiter was also a master of the pratfall, so some of the most memorable sequences owe a lot to slapstick (I'm thinking particularly of the arranged boxing match.)
It isn't quite a one man show though. All of the supporting parts were perfectly cast, so even when someone like Don Warrington pops up in more modern fare such as "Red Dwarf", he's still likely to be instantly associated with playing "Phillip" in "Rising Damp". I can't think of a bad episode in the bunch that I've seen. All of the scripts are so polished that they gleam, and this combined with the acting talent is what makes the show stick in the memory as the loved favourite it is. -
dgrahamwatson6 July 2006Rigsby was the third of the golden trio of bigots on British TV sit coms in the 70's, the others of course being Alf Garnet and Eddie Booth. Alf Garnet was an obnoxious and overbearing loud-mouth who never knew when to shut up ( he mellowed a bit by the 1980's in the revamped IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH). LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR was a comedy centered at all times on blatant "in your face" racial goading as well as infantile boorish insults that even back then was tiresome .
I can't say this about RISING DAMP or the main character Rigsby. Sure racial remarks were part and parcel of Rigsbys repertoire.For example in one episode you only had to look at the expression on Rigsbys face to see what he was thinking when Philip said he did not like the color of an ashened face sick tenant, or the episode when Rigsby mocked hunger and poverty in Africa!
However, by contrast with RISING DAMP you could also laugh at Rigsbys Scrooge like and eccentric behavior over money and his shortcomings when dealing with women; i.e his narcissistic obsession over Miss Jones is point in case. No matter how hard he worked he couldn't get this man hungry spinster to take an interest in him! In addition his pre WWII upbringing and social values were often at odds with the social changes in 1970's, i.e long haired students living on a grant. Also his insensitivity and impatience towards his tenants and their problems provided an extra dimension of comedy.
In one episode he was trying to reason with a suicidal tenant to come down off his roof rather than jump then asked him while up there if he could straighten the TV aerial to improve the reception. This was a real party piece that had a Tony Hancock style of incompetence to it rather than it being mean spirited.
He was not well educated but he was likable and despite obvious flaws in his character, when forced to, often displayed loyalty towards Alan and Philip despite there different values. For example in the episode PERMISSIVE SOCIETY he stood up and confronted an irate father of one of Alans girl friend's also, in the episode NIGHT OUT he stood no nonsense and made a fool of the waiter and insulted the owner.
Lastly, women were not spared Rigsbys rudeness, the episode WINE AND ROSES he runs into an old battle-axe who he mistakingly thinks is his blind date. "I've never been so insulted in all my life" she barks, "well you should try to go out more often!" Rigsby snaps -- utterly hilarious. I.e. he spread his ignorance and rudeness evenly across class and gender boundaries! Politically incorrect? Of course, what isn't nowadays, yet, certainly watchable today which I can't say for TILL DEATH AS DO PART or LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR. -
jeffsultanof19 December 2010Until I saw a documentary on Leonard Rossiter as a bonus on the video of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (one of my favorite British series), I knew nothing about Rising Damp. Based on the clips, I knew I had to see this series if it was available. Thankfully, all four series and the motion picture are on DVD. The writing is sensational and the cast is wonderful; the chemistry between them is as good as can be imagined. But as good as they all are (and it is particularly good to see some of the work of Richard Beckinsale), Rossiter is the star without question. He is brilliant; one cannot imagine anyone else playing this part. He took me totally by surprise. As good as he was in Perrin, his timing and delivery here are just amazing; he is clearly one of the great actors of his generation. These words are not written lightly.
While it is possible that this series is not seen on U.S. television because of Rigsby's racist statements, one has to look at this in the context of the seventies, when television was exposing many different realities to audiences, and they were loving it (remember the Jeffersons and Good Times?). If Archie Bunker is still to be found on television, there is no reason why Rigsby shouldn't be seen either. Another possible reason is that this is not a BBC or Granada series. At least it lives on DVD in the U.S., and if you are a British comedy fan, this is way up there. -
shadylanes15 September 2008My wife and I recently re watched this show after many years, and although it has all the markings of a great sit-com - hilarious story lines, superb acting etc - I really could not sit through more than a handful of episodes. The reason? It is just cringingly racist. Although Rigsby is supposed to be the bigot, I found myself inwardly cringing at some of De La Tour's and Beckinsale's lines too.
I'm not an overly politically correct type of person - 'Till death do us part' is, in my opinion, a hilarious comedy and my personal favourite from this era is 'On the buses', a show which often featured jokes that could be described as questionable by todays standards.
I can only think that a large proportion of the jokes in this show used racism as a replacement for good writing. -
naseby2 July 2008This deservedly rates as ten-out-ten. Sure, it only ran for 27 episodes, but when you mention this to anyone, they can't believe it only ran for that amount - that's a sure sign that in its short run over four years it had the desired impact. Leonard Rossiter was at the top of his game in this/the '70's. Miserly landlord Rigsby (Rossiter) is always at odds with his regular tenants, Alan (Richard Beckinsale), Phillip (Don Warrington)and Miss(Ruth)Jones (Frances De La Tour). Phillip, being a black African chief especially incurred Rigsby's bigoted racist wrath.
Strangely, Phillip's African chief was exposed as a sham in the film version. (Which it has to be said, included scripts from the series and wasn't too good, especially with another character filling the void for the late Beckinsale). Wherever there's debate, or another new tenant to either criticise, or get on the good side of, it created a classic comedy situation. Rigsby constantly tried to bed the unimpressed Miss Jones (as he always called her), who, ironically for him, was sex-starved and seeking attention.
The excellent Henry McGhee played a suave, posh 'conman' tenant named 'Seymour' in one episode, whom Rigsby played up to but fell foul of. (So much so, that although McGhee was already a stalwart from 'The Benny hill Show', he mentioned that more people called out to him in the street "Hey, Seymour!" remembering his role in 'RD'). Rigsby's selfish, bigoted attitude provided some great slanging matches between him and the regular tenants. Temporarily with Ms De La Tour's departure for a few episodes, Canadian actress Gay Rose provided the younger character, Brenda for us all. Although pretty non-descript and not a replacement, she still held her own against Rigsby, whilst finally making Alan come out of his shell with the opposite sex. Richard Beckinsale was absent for one series, but it still made its mark. (A popular comedy actor, he was starring in the excellent 'Porridge' prison comedy in the '70's as well).
Everyone has a favourite episode, but while they may have a least favourite, that and others are still great in their own right. Writer, Eric Chappell excelled with this comedy and although he had other successes, this has to be his finest. It has to be said that the PC brigade have got their teeth in to the series when repeated (cut), at least on British channel ITV3/4 which misses the point, especially as it wasn't originally shown in this edited version - however offensive to some, to display Rigsby's right-wing and bigoted views and to have him brought down to earth. A good episode which demonstrates this, to check out, is 'Food Glorious Food', on the subject of poverty, charity, race - perfect fodder for Rigsby's ranting! I just had to buy the DVD box set of this, and so should any situation comedy fan. -
jsouth-327 February 2007Looking back now it is clear that most of the great comedies of the 1970s were made by the BBC. The commercial ITV network often had hit shows but few seem to have stood the test of time. In addition its nature as a patchwork of different companies perhaps made it difficult for comedies to grow and find an audience. Rising Damp is an exception to this; a comedy made by one of the ITV comedies that approached moments of pure genius and is just as funny now as when it was made.
A top rate cast worked well together to create characters that are funny and believable. In addition top quality scripts make every episode a gem.
A later film version simply did not work and should be avoided. -
richardclarke1317 February 2007Make no mistake Rising Damp is the best t.v comedy of the 70's and of all-time! The programme revolves around the most lecherous, cantankerous, nasty, racist, rude mannered person you are ever likely to see on British television. Yet despite all this it's hard not to feel sorry for landlord Rupert Rigsby (played to perfection by the late Leonard Rossiter) as you certainly get the feeling that he is a victim a circumstance and this leads to his sometimes tactless approach to life.
Rigsby was very much in love with Miss Jones (one of his tenants) and this led to some of the show's most hilarious scenes with him trying and failing miserably to get her attention romantically. Thankfully the scriptwriters didn't go the same way that most most forthcoming American t.v shows would go with the two leads eventually getting together after many mishaps (Moonlighting, 6 Million dollar man and Lois and Clark to name but few) as this would have done to rising damp what it did to them (effectively killed them off).
Another key part of the programme was the relationship between Phillip (Don Warrington playing a fellow tenant at rigsby's flat) and rigsby. Phillip used to flirt like mad with Miss Jones (mainly to annoy Rigsby) and miss Jones adored Phillip whilst Rigsby was always left being sidelined but still defiant and trying everything in his power to come between them. Also living in rigsby's place of residence Was Alan (played superbly by the late Richard Beckinsale who died far too young) who was a student with many opposing views to rigsby's. This led to many great comedic arguments (mainly about the permissive society) between them and created some of the programme's greatest moments (and there were many). A semi-regular character was next door neighbour Spooner an ex-army boxer who also from time to time would but rigsby in his place. All in all this is a fantastic ensemble comedy with marvellous spot on performances from the main leads and is a comedy that should be treasured for years to come. -
dominicwoods-3707618 June 2020Extremely funny, the whole cast are superb especially Rigsby . Always cheers me up.
It's over 40 years old and British so expect a little soft natured racism but you really have to be a mard arse to get offended. -
mujali-4867717 August 2020Brilliantly written, laugh out loud, superbly crafted. Clean gags relying on natural comic timing and acting ability. Rossiter is fantastic, as is Richard Beckinsale. These really were the glory days of British comedy, nothing of the modern era even compares.
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jpolywog1 October 2020In my opinion one of the greatest sitcoms ever made. Rossiter is magnificent in his role as Rigsby. If ever you are feeling a bit low or just want to have a laugh-out-loud evening with friends then this is the one to watch. Marvellous British comedy.
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Rabical-9129 September 2015There is not really much one can say about this show that hasn't already been said. Quite simply, it is one of the best sitcoms of all time. I was only a child when I first saw 'Rising Damp' so therefore I didn't really understand the humour. Now as an adult I can appreciate how great a show it truly is.
Starting life as a play entitled 'The Banana Box' ( which starred Wilfrid Brambell ) and then later a Yorkshire Television pilot entitled 'Rooksby', 'Rising Damp' was all about a tight-fisted landlord known to all as Rigsby ( first name Rupert if you can believe it ), who was played to perfection by the wonderful and much missed Leonard Rossiter and who ran a squalid bedsit. His lodgers include hippie-like medical student Alan Moore, frumpy spinster Ruth Jones and black planning student Philip Smith who happens to be the son of a tribal king. Rigsby often tries to woo Ruth, without success, who instead has romantic feelings for Philip.
Rigsby's attitude towards Philip has led to the show being branded as 'racist' in some quarters. True, Rigsby does not like Philip but it is not down to his colour, it is because he is jealous of Philip, jealous that Philip is all of the things that he isn't, intelligent being one of them.
While of course, it is Rossiter who shines throughout, Richard Beckinsale, Frances De La Tour and Don Warrington do a fine job in supporting him. Rossiter at this time was also to be seen in 'The Fall & Rise Of Reginald Perrin' for the BBC while Richard Beckinsale was also to be seen starring alongside Ronnie Barker in 'Porridge' ( also for the BBC ). Eric Chappell's scripts were ( for the most part ) very witty and very well written.
Beckinsale dropped out after the third series, which resulted in series four looking rather patchy. In 1980, Eric Chappell devised a feature film spin-off with Christopher Strauli from Chappell's 'Only When I Laugh' replacing Richard Beckinsale ( having died suddenly the year before ). It was a disappointment. No effort was made afterwards to make more episodes.
Dennis Wilson wrote the show's brilliant theme tune, which suits the show so well. Four decades on, 'Rising Damp' still racks up enormous ratings even on repeat showings, and not without good reason. -
hayden-86 May 2002There is an annoying tendency among certain people, especially in my country, to gain some sort of smug satisfaction from being able to say "Oh, I love British humour" as if this somehow gives them an air of intelligence and satisfaction. Now, while I have yet to see an American sitcom that matches the subtlety and sly humour of "Yes, Minister", or the sheer inventiveness of "The fast show", in the same breath brilliant American comedies like "MASH" and "Seinfeld" could simply not have been made in England.
The aforegoing paragraph could easily have served as an introduction to a review of a truly abysmal British comedy like "Absolutely fabulous" as a means of illustrating my point, or even for a review of a silly comedy like "The Goodies" to lend credence to my contention that not all British humour is sophisticated. However, I have instead decided on a classic comedy of the Seventies, "Rising damp".
The shows two stars, Leonard Rossiter and Richard Beckinsale are both deceased, the latter at a tragically young age. Rossiter is Rupert Rigsby (as far as I know his first name was only mentioned in the disappointing 1980 film version), the tightfisted and mean spirited owner of a lodging house. Beckinsale is Alan, a student boarder. The other cast members were Don Warrington and Frances de la Tour. de la Tour is Ruth Jones, an unhappy spinster with whom Rigsby is in lust, and Warrington is Philip, an African student lusted after in turn by Miss Jones.
Most of the show's humour was derived by the witty and often biting dialogue, and kudos must go to the series' scriptwriters.
Sadly, in keeping with British tradition only 27 episodes were ever made, despite the show running for years. Those 27 episodes, however, must be savoured. -
carterkev5 January 2023This is what comedy is all about, no racism, it's fun. Back in a time when people laughed instead of being offended. When programs were popular because there were genuinely funny. The ratings were true and not fixed or misconceived. This set up of Rising damp was brilliant and all actors do so very well. The writing is witty and sharp and the characters well presented. The 70s were a great time for comedy, no offence was ever taken everyone was sensible and saw it for what it was, a joke, funny,a comedy. Something like this will never be made today the writers back then we're brilliant, today they are not. Great comedy from a great era of comedy.
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comedyfan717 April 2024Some people deem this show to be racist today, when in reality it's quite the opposite. Rigsby was a genius comedy creation; a vain, nasty, bigoted landlord who at the same time was there to poke fun at the real life people who acted like him. Philip was charming and smart, which Rigsby could only dream of being. Despite Rigsby seemingly having unlikeable traits and on paper being quite a vile individual, amazingly Leonard Rossiter was able to pull him off as eventually endearing and likeable. The acting is genuinely amongst the best I've ever seen for a sitcom, everyone is perfect in their roles and the cast have such great chemistry. The writing is also top notch, with every episode being excellent in its own right. The storylines in themselves are hysterical. Season 4 is a tad weaker than the rest, maybe because Alan had left, but it's still exceptional.
Without a doubt the greatest comedy to ever air on ITV, and surely one of the greatest British sitcoms of all time. -
lawrence-1415 December 1999Another British sitcom classic, DAMP is hilarious and must be watched. Mr Rigsby (Leonard Rossiter) has an immortal desire for Miss Jones (Frances De La Tour) and through some 20 or more episodes makes endless attempts to seduce her. With many equally funny sub-plots, the actors' performances make DAMP one of the best performed comedies ever. A classic.
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perry-219 March 1999This is a very funny classic British TV series. Though it was made in the 70s, it stands the test of time. Leonard Rossiter as RIGSBY is a classic-- RIGSBY is a cross between Archie Bunker and Al Bundy with some Basil Fawlty thrown in. Richard Beckinsale who plays ALAN, was the father of the LAST DAYS OF DISCO's Kate Beckinsale.
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geraldicus22 January 2007In light of the current Big Brother 'racist' furor raging in the UK right now, or quite frankly even with out it, it amazes me that no one ever comments on how blatantly condescending and racist the Rigby character was to Don Warrington's Philip.
I remember on more than one occasion such 'choice' lines as (Rigsby to Philip): "What the hell would you know about that, it wasn't that long ago you lot were still running around half-naked with bones through your noses". Numerous other UK sitcoms were also marred with such bigoted, racist stereotyping such as Alf Garnett (Till Death Us Do Part) and the appalling Love Thy Neighbor's "Oi Sambo".
Shame such talented writers and actors had to stoop so low for such cheap laughs.