What a wonderful comedy show this is, British comedy at its best. Ronnie Barker is undoubtedly one of our greatest ever comedians his timing and delivery is almost perfect and who can forget his role in that other gem of British comedy, the Two Ronnies. We lost a master of his craft when Barker died but can take great comfort in knowing that his legacy remains as we watch and remember his brilliance. David Jason is the perfect foil for Barker's comedy sketches. A wonderful actor in his own right, Jason delivers endless fun and nonsense in this wonderful comedy show. The whole cast is worthy of a mention, sadly many of them no longer with us. Thank you Messrs Barker and Jason and Co for the memories.
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gibbs-1817225 July 2019David Jason stars in 2 of the top 10 best ever Brit Sit Com's Ever.
He's got another star roll here with Granville but Arkright will remain one of if not the best sit com character in history. I know that's a big call and perhaps you like myself can name others but if your looking for a referance I guarantee that every episode he will make you chuckle if not spit out any tea you may be drinking.
A top ten comedy -
studioAT3 July 2011Two great comedy legends Ronnie Barker and David Jason come together to produce one of the greatest British sitcoms of all time.
The plots may seem a little twee compared to the more action packed sitcoms of today but there is something so charming about the simple shop set up combined with the writing talent of Roy Clarke that sets this show apart from anything that has been produced since. There is a timeless appeal about Open all hours.
Barker and Jason have fantastic chemistry and make the characters of Arkwright and Granville so iconic and loved that we get to know them so well over the four series run.
Comedy like this will live on forever while the so called modern classics of today will soon be all but forgotten and the cries of "Granville - get yer cloth" will generate laughter across the world forever. -
GrantCAGE28 April 2001This is a great comedy where all the characters are perfectly cast and the gags are inventive. It's a fantastic comedy! Ronnie Barker is really funny in this with his s-s-sss-s-stutter and David Jason is great as Arkwright's nephew Granville. Although overall I prefer Only Fools and Horses, this is light-hearted, down-to-earth, everyday fun with plenty of double-meanings and an overall bright sense of humour in which you'll really delight. Great fun!
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e-b-nichols21 October 2007Open all hours is one of my favorite Roy Clarke shows. I have every episodes and replay them all the time. I also have all of the episodes of "Last of the Summer Wine". I also have most of the episodes of "First of the summer Wine". I am a fan of Roy Clarke and I hope he goes on forever. The so called comedy in the USA does not take up any of my precious time. Thank the LORD for British Comedy and British Mysteries. We have three PBS stations in my area of Arlington Virginia. They all show British Comedy and mysteries. This gives all of the Brit fans a nice weekend of TV watching. It is worth the small fee we pay to be a member and get all of the latest news. Liz Nichols
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naseby2 July 2008The old English little shop on the corner, serving a little community, focuses on tight-fisted Arkwright (Barker) and his put-upon nephew, Granville (Jason). Arkwright also has a stutter, but this has always seemed to work with the funny scripts nonetheless. ("Good morning my ber-ber-belov-ed!"). A lot of characters (customers) obviously are at at his mercy, prising them of money for things they didn't come in for anyway. Buxom Nurse Gladys Emmanuel (Lynda Barron) is his engaged 'p-person' and always the butt of his sex-related remarks, but reminds him that he'll have to extend his spending power to finally land her. 'G-G-Granville' is always under his thumb, wanting to better himself, enjoy life with the ladies and his belated adolescence but thwarted one way or the other by the miserly grocer ("I've a good mind to take this suitcase back for a refund - trouble is, they were bombed out during the war!"). Another facet is the 'spring clip' on the till, which, of course, isn't repaired by the meanie, but free to take the duo's fingers off! A lot of regular characters - Mrs fer-fer-Featherstone (sorry, can't resist saying it as he does!) Mrs Ber-Ber Bluett and various other customers all add to the sitcom's popularity. With Gladys, the comedy preserves the British postcard humour that typified the '70's - '80's but there were plenty of other good lines nonetheless. On seeing a youngster smoking: "You shouldn't be smoking at your age - not if you're not buying them from me you shouldn't!"
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Having had older relatives that turned to being stingy and thrifty due to general economical failures and crises, it was easy to recognise their small mannerisms in this sitcom, as well as their tragic ways of putting material things above their own families and friends, because that's what plain survival instincts do, when society does not take care of its weaker members.
Aside from the dramatic underlining of the setting and story, the sitcom is brilliant to almost every little detail. And enjoyable. The actors make a great duo, and they keep it right in the middle, as if playing a ball game all the time, passing the ball between the two of them with a mix of fairness and fierce competition... -
'Open All Hours' is one of the few programs that deserves the epithet of 'classic British comedy'. The small world of the stammering Arkwright and his possibly Hungarian "assistant manager" is a microcosm of northern England and its distance from modernity and 'The Smoke' (London).
While the pilot aired as far back as early 1973, it was to be three more years before the first series arrived on our small screens in February of 1976.
The story plays through the random thoughts of shopkeepr, Arkwright. He's a mean, small-town, grouchy grocer, Granville is his unfulfilled nephew and nurse Gladys Emmanuel is the well fulfilled object of his fancy.
American viewers of Sunday night PBS television will be familiar with this. It was a constant fixture on the British comedy playlist.
What really made this series so successful were the ongoing characters who came into the shop to buy something. (Even a young Keith Chegwin popped his head in once, to play a paper-boy.)
Stephanie Cole was particulary memorable as the uptight Mrs Featherstone. And who can forget the scatty and indecisive Mavis, played by Maggie Ollerenshaw? Even the violent and aggressive cash register had an unforgettable personality!
There were several threads that kept the show together, too. The ongoing fantasy that Granville might be of Hungarian descent. The disparaging comments Arkwright makes about his sister (Granville's mother) and of course the flirtatious relationship between Arkwright and the nurse who lived across the street, and Granville and the milk delivery woman.
Each episode ended with the musings of Arkwright as he gets ready to close up for the night.
Even today (2018) this ageless 'classic' is something that can be enjoyed just as much as it was back then, nearly half a century ago... in large part because a lot of that world still exists today. -
alexanderdavies-993823 September 2017Ronnie Barker was at the top of his game when he was making the sitcom, "Open All Hours." He added a new comic character to his increasing gallery in the form of stuttering shopkeeper Arkwright. He never spent much money if it wasn't necessary and tended to treat his employee - his nephew Granville - as a slave most of the time. He was courting the local nurse, Gladys Emmanuel but showed no inclination toward marrying her (it would cost him too much money). In spite of the above, Arkwright was a likable character and the viewers soon took to him. The sitcom lasted for four seasons and they are mostly very funny. The episodes usually revolved around Arkwright's corner shop, trying to make Granville a better worker and the attempts at wooing nurse Gladys. Each episode began at the crack of dawn as the shop opened and finish as the shop closed. For the closing scene, Arkwright would be musing to himself over the day's highlights as he would be taking his stock indoors. Ronnie Barker recorded a separate voice-over. David Jason gives great support in one of his first regular television roles.
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keithstout-6607626 October 2018Arkwright sausage.........👋👋 ... top top show .......BBC please keep it up
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TheLittleSongbird9 September 2009Open All Hours and Last of the Summer Wine are my favourite British sitcoms. Why? They are absolutely hilarious, and often very relaxing to watch. The camera-work was fine, considering it was made in the '70s. The scripts were expertly written, and hilarious all the time. As for the performances, who better to play Arkwright than late comedy genius Ronnie Barker. He was perfect for the role, and made the most of the material he was given. A nice contrast is in the form of David Jason, and he was great in an early role. Granville is seen as very naive, and is perhaps under-appreciated by Arkwright. All the episodes I saw had something that put a smile on my face, whether it was Arkwright trying to win the affections of Nurse Gladys, and wearing a very tight pair of trousers to try to impress her, or Granville wearing one of the most ridiculous outfits you'll ever see on British comedy. All in all, Open All Hours is a wonderful comedy, though if anything I wish it lasted longer, it was so fun to watch, and much better than most of the stuff put on today. 10/10 Bethany Cox
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G,gggranville, very capably played by the very naive David Jason, playing as the assistant to Ronnie Barker, playing the tight fisted, finger on the scales "Arkwright" whose life revolved around nurse Ggggggladys and cast with the most amazing cash register come man trap the producer could find. The series showed northern England in its Blackest humour. Granville's dreams about even hold a woman in his arms were so sensitively acted. Good clean fun with no violence, filth or malice. A great show.
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It took the BBC a couple of years after the end of "Porridge" to find another suitable sitcom for the considerable talents of Ronnie Barker, and so in 1976 they reunited him with producer Sydney Lotterby and "Last of the Summer Wine" creator Roy Clarke to portray "Arkwright", the stammering Yorkshire store keeper whose miserliness could give "Scrooge" a run for his money. He is enamoured of the well-endowed local nurse "Gladys" (Lynda Baron) whilst trying to keep his live in nephew/dogsbody "Granville" (a wonderfully skilful series of performances from David Jason) from succumbing to the evil - and extravagant - ways of the world. With a few additional contributions from Barbara Flynn as the lady who delivers the milk - and sends "Granville" into spasms of sexual apoplexy at the same time; the equally frugal Stephanie Cole ("Mrs. Feathestone") and Kathy Staff ("Mrs. Blewett") the tightly cast team play well off each other, with strong, amiable, characterisations that thrive off the back of the Northern (English) stereotypes upon which the stories are based. Nowadays, the humour falls a little bit foul of changed attitudes, but Clarke never wrote from any perspective other than one that ridicules sexism, racism and agism in a thought-provoking fashion, whist still allowing both Barker and Jason to do what they do best - elicit a laugh. This was must watch television for almost ten years, and is still great today.
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ygwerin120 November 2018Open All Hours IMDB Rating Post
Thankfully even with the relentless spread of the ubiquitous supermarket, there are still many towns with streets just like these with similar shops as Arkwright's.
Arkwright is the kind of shopkeeper who replete with a gift of the gab, pride themselves at being able to sell anything to anybody. Who's aim in life is to get as firm a grip,on his customers wallets and purses, as the spring on the shops till.
Shops like this are invariably family concerns run by the overbearing patriarch, endeavouring to keep as strong a hold on his shop as on his family. They're likely to have had a life of their own, and be hell bent on preventing younger family members from having one of their own.
Of course Granville hasn't got a cat in hells chance of getting anywhere, in life with his miserly old uncle around. He's doomed to ending up like Arkwright without even a Gladys Emanuel around to console him.
This show has a dream comedy pairing of Ronnie Barker and David Jason on top form, gelling together perfectly. -
pokemon_trainer_lucas21 June 2019If you love Ronnie Barker and David Jason's style of comedy, then you get the best of both worlds with this comedy classic. I used to watch it a lot, less so nowadays because I've seen them all so many times, and it would never get old. Many of the jokes are quite dated and so I didn't understand all of them, but some of them were timeless and made me laugh out loud! It's definitely worth a watch.
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tcwaterford10 April 2022On paper, this looks extremely boring and no doubt, wouldn't have been brought to our screens, but for Ronnie Barker.
The interaction between Ronnie Barker and David Jason is truly exceptional!. Even though there were some other great actors in this series, most will remember the hilarity between the two.
The script writing is of the kind, which created the Great British Comedy style. It genuinely is comedy at it's best!.
To Conclude, simply a laugh a minute, between great actors. A comedy style which made the show such a great success!. -
The B.B.C. switchboard was jammed recently with complaints following the transmission of a sketch guying the Oscar winning film 'The King's Speech'. Bad taste, huffed an irate viewer. From the corporation's grovelling apology, I take it then that repeats of 'Open All Hours' are not likely to be scheduled in the foreseeable future. Next to 'Last Of The Summer Wine', it is probably Roy Clarke's best remembered sitcom. Yet it nearly did not turn out that way. The pilot - transmitted on 25/3/1973 - was the first in the anthology series 'Seven Of One'. Ronnie Barker played 'Arkwright', the stuttering, skinflint, lecherous Northern shopkeeper, with David Jason as his nephew 'Granville' whom he works like a carthorse whilst paying him peanuts. Granville dreams of a better life, hopefully in the company of some beautiful young woman. The situation here is slightly similar to that of the Ronnie Corbett show 'Sorry!', only with a domineering uncle instead of a tyrant mother. Granville is not short of lady friends - there's 'Jelly Tot Julie' ( Helen Cotterill ) and that red-hot milk-woman ( Barbara Flynn ) - but nothing ever seems to happen with either of them. Arkwright has his own object of desire - the buxom Nurse Gladys Emmanuel ( Sheila Brennan in the pilot, Lynda Baron in the series ) whom he tries to court but is unwilling to do anything serious to win her love - such as spending money.
A series followed three years later, but was screened - rather oddly - at 9 P.M. on Friday nights on B.B.C.-2, where it unsurprisingly flopped. That seemed to be the end of that. However, in 1980, it was repeated in the more comedy friendly slot of Sunday evenings on B.B.C.-1 at 7.15. It caught on, and a new series got on air a year later. Four seasons were made before the B.B.C. closed Arkwright's shop for good.
The combination of Clarke's richly comic scripts and wonderful acting from the regulars made the show a fondly remembered classic. Who can forget that cash register which used to turn aggressive whenever Arkwright tried to put money in it? Nurse Emmanuel playing a practical joke which involved her dressing as a man? Granville on his bike, a pair of fashion shop legs sticking out of the basket? Maggie Ollerenshaw's flustered 'Mavis'? Kathy Staff's perpetually gloomy 'Mrs.Blewitt'? Or Stephanie Cole's 'Mrs.Featherstone' a.k.a. 'The Black Widow'? Or those lovely endings with Arkwright wistfully musing on the days events before retreating indoors? It was Barker's idea to give Arkwright a stammer ( based on his tutor Glenn Melvin ). The show initially attracted complaints for 'mocking the afflicted', but thankfully was allowed to continue. Watching the comedy powerhouses of Barker and Jason at work is a real treat. 'Open All Hours' is still great value after all these years. -
FilmBlokeJ26 February 2020I really wanted to enjoy this show because of it's reputation as a classic but I found it boring, stupid and down right unfunny. The idea of a skinflint corner shopkeeper isn't a bad idea on paper and a few of the characters were entertaining but in execution it was as boring as sin. Ronnie Barkers Arkwright got on my nerves very fast, especially that stutter, (before you get on my case and lecture me about discrimination, he's acting and it's used in the show for comedic effect, so in reality it's the show that's being discriminatory). I could let the stutter pass but that's his only joke. The skinflint aspect could have been developed even further, he has no redeemable aspects (so I can't feel any sympathy for him) and he's not extremely slimy either (a character you love to hate). Also I can't stand that romance plot between Arkwright and Nurse Gladys Emmanuel, she clearly has contempt for Arkwright and he is oblivious (to the point of being a peeping tom which last time I checked is a criminal offence), why hasn't she put a restraining order on him yet? Each episode was as boring as sin (each is only 30 minutes long and I felt every second of it) and the best it got out of me was a mild chuckle once or maybe twice an episode, the first time I got truly annoyed at a sitcom studio audience. The only redeemable part was Granville played by David Jason, he was the only character I felt any sympathy towards and provided most of the chuckles, although that could largely be down to David Jason. Nurse Gladys Emmanuel played by Lynda Baron was a fairly fun character but nothing remarkable. Ronnie Barker is an amazing actor and comedian from his work in The Two Ronnies and Porridge but this was by far the worst thing he ever did, (down to a combination of the writing and acting). And for the writer Roy Clarke I much preferred his later sitcom Keeping Up Appearances. There were plenty of great sitcoms produced in the 70s, such as Porridge, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, Fawlty Towers and even On The Buses (which I know a lot of people slate but I enjoy it a lot more than Open All Hours). You can come to the argument that it's not suppose to be deep and it's suppose to be clean feel good fun but it majorly fails because it's so unfunny and so boring.
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liammurphy113 September 2003a great comedy series set in the north of England about a miserly old shopkeeper who dreams of getting saucy with Nurse gladys across the road,who looks after his hapless worker nephew It's a fairly simple plot but the imaginative pairing of Ronnie Barker (The Two Ronnies) and David Jason (Only fools and horses,A touch of frost) made this sitcom what it was. It's not laugh out loud funny,the humour can be quite subtle and it's nearly always set in the corner shop which some people might find tedious,but not me, in my opinion it's one of the better sitcoms BBC sitcoms from the Mid 1970's to 1980's, and it's such a shame that Ronnie Barker retired from acting a number of years ago because his presence in this sitcom at the better Prison sitcom 'PORRIDGE' without him they would not have becomne the classic sitcoms they now are
Rating 8/10 -
Rabical-9125 August 2016This was the first spin-off of Ronnie Barker's seven part anthology series 'Seven Of One' ( the other being 'Porridge', which started life as 'Prisoner & Escort' ). The creation of the miserly shopkeeper Arkwright ( who suffered with a stammer ) was all down to the ever-reliable Roy Clarke. If ever there was a way to avoid having to spend money, Arkwright was sure to find it. He had a helper in the shape of his nephew Granville, whom he paid barely even a pittance. Arkwright was also besotted with the well-endowed Nurse Gladys Emmanuel who lives over the street from the shop. At times it seems she will succumb to his ample charms, though his tight-fistedness often over-shadows his chances.
The series took place nearly three years after the pilot, with Barker reprising his role. David Jason came in again as Granville though Lynda Baron was brought in to portray Nurse Gladys Emmanuel ( who was played in the pilot by Sheila Brennan ), however its 9PM slot on a Friday meant that it went unnoticed. It was not until repeat broadcasts a few years later that it eventually caught on. Three more series were made, the final one ending in 1985.
'Open All Hours' was a safe, pleasant, good natured show with plenty of laughs to be had. It does not quite reach the standard of 'Porridge' but is miles funnier than 'The Magnificent Evans' ( which was made a year before this ended ). Barker was faultless as the stingey, grumpy, stuttering yet somehow likable shopkeeper as was David Jason as his lackey Granville. The gorgeous Lynda Baron was indeed the stand-out of the cast ( and her heaving bosom stood out even more ). Among the funniest episodes were 'A Well Catered Funeral' ( Arkwright arranges the catering for a friend's funeral ), 'Beware Of The Dog' ( Arkwright tries to protect his shop against burglars ), 'Arkwright's Mobile Store' ( Arkwright tries to branch out his business ) however the best episode of all was 'Shedding At The Wedding' in which a journey to a wedding ends in disaster.
The support cast were as much an integral part of the mix as Barker, Jason and Baron were. Stephanie Cole's Mrs. Featherstone ( known to all and sundry as The Black Widow ) was hilarious, as were Helen Cotterill as Jelly Tot Julie, Kathy Staff as the glum Mrs. Blewitt and Maggie Ollrenshaw as the indecisive Mavis. Sexy Barbara Flynn provided a romantic interest for Granville in those episodes she did as the milk woman.
Though quite a lot of the show has dated now ( in fact, it could almost be a history lesson in regards to what corner shops used to be like ), its warm hearted humour can't help but bring a smile to the face. Roy Clarke revived the show in 2013 as 'Still Open All Hours' with Granville inheriting his uncle's shop following his death. -
rteasdale-118564 June 2016I Watched the series when it was shown first time round on the telly. There was one particular episode of the show where they got hold of an Ice-cream van which showed the name "Brookes, Normanton" And if you are wondering where Normanton is well it is not that close to Doncaster, actually it is near Wakefield in West Yorkshire and not South Yorkshire. When I was young Brookes had two identical Ice-cream Vans and eventually the BBC ended up with one of them which they used and blew up in the episode.I was very proud in a way that Normanton had five minutes of fame. It is not only time, but the first time. Apparently Normanton has a well known celebrity born here, but I won't say just in case the facts are wrong. I don't like to get into bother if the facts are wrong.
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grantss13 January 2023Albert Arkwright owns and runs the corner store. His nephew, Granville, is his assistant. They have an eclectic group of customers and are privy to all the gossip in the neighbourhood. Albert isn't above doing some dodgy deals or taking advantage of his customers, leading to some interesting situations.
I enjoyed Porridge, Ronnie Barker's previous comedy series, immensely so was keen to watch this. The fact that it pairs him with David Jason, of Only Fools and Horses and A Touch of Frost fame, made this series even more enticing. In addition, Jason appeared in a few episodes of Porridge with Barker and they seemed to have a good rapport, so surely this is a slam dunk?
Well, no. Maybe it's just that it hasn't aged well, but Open All Hours is quite weak. The comedy, what there is, seems to rely on low-brow laddish jokes. Porridge was quite clever and sophisticated in its humour: this is nothing like that. The fact that a running gag and the prime source of comedy is Albert's stutter demonstrates this. That's hardly worth a one-off joke, let alone a running gag.
Very disappointing. -
wogi6 November 1999"Open all hours" is as close to real life in the north of England as it can get. Tight fisted penny pinching corner shop keepers.The acting was based on a simple formula and perhaps a low budget at the start, which may have been expanded as the series went on. The series was carried by the main actor but eventually the others became as important as Barker and Jason. Every story proved totally enjoyable.
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IridescentTranquility12 February 2005If you're an outgoing young man, always trying to impress your peers and increase your knowledge of the opposite sex, how on earth are you going to manage it with a squeaky antique shop bike, a vicious finger-eating till and a pinny?
Well, Granville's problems don't matter to his uncle Arkwright, the meanest shopkeeper alive. Meet the man to whom modern technology is so expensive that he won't even satisfy Granville's burning desire for a new till (hopefully electronic). This is the man who wouldn't even spend £222.22 (check the episode Laundry Blues for that one) just to prove to long- desired fiancée Nurse Gladys Emmanuel that his home appliances are up-to-the-minute.
There are too many classic episodes to mention (memorable ones include the cocoa tin lid, the suit with the zip fly and Granville posing as a prowler that fails to even confuse Nurse Gladys, never mind scare her). As with Fawlty Towers, small details at the beginning of each episode come together at the end to round off each story nicely. A classic comedy from the BBC that started before I was born and is still great.