The Great Bank of England Robbery (VG)

"The Great Bank of England Robbery"
The Goon Show episode
Episode: no.	Series: Vintage Goons Episode: 11
Written by	Spike Milligan
Based on	The Great Bank of England Robbery
Announcer	Wallace Greenslade
Produced by	Charles Chilton
Music	Orchestra: Wally Stott Geldray: Once in Love with Amy Ellington: It's All Right with Me
Recording Number	T2/AG/4043 / TLO 65472
First broadcast	20 October 1958 (1958-10-20)
Running time	30:37

The Great Bank of England Robbery is an episode from The Goon Show, although it was first announced as 'Open Casebook' and then later by its official title. It is the eleventh show in the Vintage Goons series and was based on the series 4 episode 29 show: 'The Great Bank of England Robbery'. There was a pre-recording rehearsal show at 2pm Sunday 2 March 1958, but the show was actually recorded (T2/AG/4043) later at 5.15pm. Both the pre-recording and recording was done at The Camden Theatre, London.

The first British public broadcast was on the Home Service on Sunday 20 October 1958 at 8.30pm (TLO 65472).

Story

'Tis not such a far cry from the respectable Bank of England to a hovel in the Street of a Thousand Dustbins (in London's Chinatown) in whose sinister atmosphere the seeds are planted for the crime of the century — The Great Bank of England Robbery! The trail leads from Chinatown to the bed of one of London's famous underground rivers which runs directly beneath the bank. What happens next is unfolded in this gripping tale.

Music

• The BBC Orchestra was conducted by Wally Stott
• Max Geldray plays Once in Love with Amy (Frank Loesser)
• The Ray Ellington Quartet plays It's All Right with Me (Cole Porter)

Technical

Originally recorded on T2/AG/4043 (Agfa FR tape stock at 15 ips ¼" tape recorded at St. Hilda's, Maida Vale). This tape survived almost intact at TS. The Anton Walbrook gag was cut and lost, presumably during editing for the PotG issue, but this was restored from the Vintage Goons disc (10" TS LP). This restoration was used for the CD Compendium Vol 9 and CD Vol 26.