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Batley Townswomen's Guild Presents the Battle of Pearl Harbour

Monty Python's Flying Circus1969Season 1Episode 11
Monty Python's Flying Circus
SKETCH-O-VISION
A VERY GOOD USE OF YOUR TIME.

The setup

A history professor introduces the Batley Townswomen's Guild's proud re-enactment of Pearl Harbour, which turns out to be a handbag brawl in a muddy field.

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Community rating

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The premise

Here’s the bit.

On his history programme, Professor R.J. Canning solemnly introduces the attack on Pearl Harbour as one of history's grandest events, restaged for viewers by the women of the Batley Townswomen's Guild. In a soggy field, organiser Rita Fairbanks explains that after their popular productions of Camp on Blood Island and Nazi war atrocities, the guild wanted something lighter this year, while five more ladies in hats wait behind her clutching their handbags. Canning wishes them luck and announces the premiere; at Rita's whistle the two sides charge, and the 'battle' becomes a sped-up free-for-all of swinging handbags, shoving and rolling in the mud, before Canning returns to name the battle once more.

The funny people

Meet the cast. 2

Say it with us

Highly quotable.

We were, of course, the first Townswomen's Guild to perform Camp on Blood Island.

Last year, of course, we did our extremely popular re-enactment of Nazi war atrocities.

This year, we thought we'd like to do something in a lighter vein.

Behind the scenes

The people who made it.

A little extra

Notes from the archive.

Rita Fairbanks and her fellow townswomen returned in series two to stage the first heart transplant, and a re-shot version of the Pearl Harbour sketch appears in the 1971 film And Now for Something Completely Different.

ScriptEnglish · 8 turns

Automatically generated script; wording may contain errors. Speaker labels are inferred.

  1. 00:07

    PULL

  2. 00:09

    Professor R.J. Canning

    Pearl Harbor. There are pages in history's book which are written on the grand scale. Events so momentous that they dwarf man and time alike. And such is the Battle of Pearl Harbor, reenacted for us now by the women of the Batley Townswomen's Guild. Miss Rita Fairbanks, you organized this reconstruction of the Battle of Pearl Harbor. Why?

  3. 00:33

    Rita Fairbanks

    Well, we've always been extremely interested in modern drama. We were, of course, the first town's women's guild to perform camp on Blood Island. And last year, of course, we did our extremely popular reenactment of Nazi war atrocities. And so this year, we thought we'd like to do something in a lighter vein.

  4. 00:53

    Professor R.J. Canning

    So you chose the Battle of Pearl Harbor.

  5. 00:56

    Rita Fairbanks

    Yes, that's right. We did.

  6. 00:57

    Professor R.J. Canning

    Well, I can see you're all ready to go, so I'll just wish you good luck in your latest venture.

  7. 01:02

    Rita Fairbanks

    Thank you very much, young man.

  8. 01:03

    Professor R.J. Canning

    Ladies and gentlemen, the world of history is proud to present the premiere of the Batley Towns Women's Guild reenactment of the Battle of Pearl Harbor. The Battle of Pearl Harbor.

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