View source for Balham - Gateway to the South

{{Short description|1949 radio sketch}}

"'''Balham, Gateway to the South'''" is a [[w:comedy sketch|comedy sketch]] that [[w:parody|parodies]] cinema [[w:travelogue (films)|travelogues]]  by presenting the [[w:South London|South London]] suburb of [[w:Balham, London|Balham]] as an exotic locale. It was written by [[Frank Muir]] and [[Denis Norden]] for the short-lived [[w:BBC|BBC]] radio series ''Third Division'' and featured in the second edition broadcast on the [[w:BBC Third Programme|BBC Third Programme]] on 2 February 1949.<ref name="barfe">{{cite book |last1=Barfe |first1=Louis |title=Turned Out Nice Again: The Story of British Light Entertainment |date=2008 |publisher=Atlantic Books |isbn=9781848877573 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Turned_Out_Nice_Again/XHbFLkrXezMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=balham+gateway+south&pg=PT49&printsec=frontcover}}</ref> The sketch's depication of Balham as a faraway, desirable location contrasted with the real area during [[w:Postwar Britain|postwar austerity]].{{sfn|Muir|1997|p=157}}{{sfn|Sikov|2002|p=46}} One memorable part of the sketch is the pronunciation of Balham as "Bal-Ham" in an American accent, instead of the British pronunciation "Bal-um".

The original sketch was performed by [[Peter Sellers]] as narrator, with others such as [[Benny Hill]] and [[Michael Bentine]] contributing other voices. The script features the narration of exaggerated claims regarding the attractions of the area. The sketch was later performed solo by [[Peter Sellers]], in a parody of the American newsreel-travelogue host [[w:James A. Fitzpatrick|James A. Fitzpatrick]], on the 1958 [[w:Parlophone|Parlophone]] record ''[[The Best of Sellers]]'', produced by [[George Martin]].{{sfn|Muir|1997|p=157}}<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/4th-july-1998/94/radio|title=The cure for SAD-ROM|last=Vestey|first=Michael|date=1998-07-04|work=[[w:The Spectator|The Spectator]]|access-date=2013-07-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Peter Sellers – The Best Of Sellers |url=https://www.discogs.com/Peter-Sellers-The-Best-Of-Sellers/release/919883 |website=Discogs |access-date=2018-09-04}}</ref> The sketch was scored by [[w:Ron Goodwin|Ron Goodwin]], and that led [[w:Alfred Hitchcock|Alfred Hitchcock]] to engage him to do the score for ''[[w:Frenzy|Frenzy]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gleason |first1=Alexander |title=Ron Goodwin |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/jan/11/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries |access-date=2018-09-04 |work=[[w:The Guardian|The Guardian]] |date=2003-01-11}}</ref>

"Balham - Gateway to the South" has entered common usage as a phrase in the United Kingdom.<ref name="newpartridge">{{cite book |last1=Victor |first1=Terry |last2=Dalzell |first2=Tom |title=The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English |date=2015 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781317372523 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_New_Partridge_Dictionary_of_Slang_an/bbcBCgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 |access-date=1 July 2022}}</ref> It has been invoked in the [[w:House of Lords|House of Lords]]; by [[w:Susan Garden, Baroness Garden of Frognal|Baroness Garden of Frognal]] in regards to tourism spending in 2011 and by [[w:Tony Greaves, Baron Greaves|Baron Greaves]] in a [[w:Parliament of the United Kingdom|parliamentary]] debate regarding [[w:High Speed 2|HS2]] in 2020.<ref name="HS2">{{cite web |title=HS2 |url=https://www.parallelparliament.co.uk/debate/2020-03-11/lords/lords-chamber/hs2 |website=Parallel Parliament |access-date=2 July 2022}}</ref>

The sketch was expanded in 1979 to form the script of a short (21-minute) color film of the same name directed by [[w:Micky Dolenz|Micky Dolenz]] and starring Danny Schiller and Judy Gridley as American tourists and [[Robbie Coltrane]] in several roles, including those originally voiced by Sellers. It was narrated, in an English accent, by [[w:David de Keyser|David de Keyser]] and was released for broadcast in 1981.<ref>{{cite web |title=Balham: Gateway to the South (1979) |url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6f14cb15 |website=BFI Film Forever |access-date=2018-09-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Balham – Gateway to the South |url=http://www.tvcream.co.uk/telly/tv-a-z/a-m/b-is-for/balham-gateway-to-the-south/ |website=TC Cream |access-date=2018-09-04}}</ref>  In 1990, the Triangle Action Group proposed the erection of a statue of Sellers in the centre of Balham due to the sketch's impact on its tourist trade. Upon hearing of this, the writers [[Frank Muir]] and [[Denis Norden]] penned a letter published in the ''[[w:Evening Standard|Evening Standard]]'', stating "for a trifling sum, we would be prepared to go along to the new shopping centre and stand there personally".{{sfn|Muir|1997|p=158}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book | last = Muir | first = Frank | author-link = Frank Muir | year = 1997 | title = A Kentish Lad | location = London | publisher = [[w:Bantam Press|Bantam Press]] | isbn = 0-552-14137-2 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/kentishladautobi0000muir }}
* {{cite book | last = Sikov | first = Ed | title = Mr Strangelove; A Biography of Peter Sellers | year = 2002 | publisher = [[w:Sidgwick & Jackson|Sidgwick & Jackson]] | author-link = Ed Sikov | location = London | isbn = 978-0-283-07297-0 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|tt0406560| Gateway to the South}}

[[Category:Comedy sketches]]
[[Category:Balham]]
[[Category:British comedy]]
[[Category:1940s in comedy]]