Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh was a comedy show broadcast from 1944 to 1950 and 1951 to 1954 by BBC Radio and in 1950–1951 by Radio Luxembourg. It was written by and starred Richard Murdoch and Kenneth Horne as officers in a fictional RAF station coping with red tape and the inconveniences and incongruities of life in the Second World War. After the war the station became a country club and, for its last season, the show became the chronicle of a newspaper, The Weekly Bind.
Among the supporting cast were Sam Costa as the officers' batman, Maurice Denham in a multitude of roles, Diana Morrison, Dora Bryan and Nicholas Parsons. Singers in the show's musical interludes included Gwen Catley, Maudie Edwards, Binnie Hale and Doris Hare. Among those appearing as guest stars were Phyllis Calvert, Richard Dimbleby, Glynis Johns, Alan Ladd and Jean Simmons.
The show followed It's That Man Again as the most popular British radio comedy and was succeeded by Take It from Here and The Goon Show. After the show ended, its two stars returned to radio in several long-running series.
Background During the Second World War radio comedy was an important feature of British national life.Foster and Furst, p. 53 The fledgling television service started by the BBC in 1936 was suspended for the duration of the war and radio was the sole broadcasting medium, over which the BBC had a monopoly.Briggs (1985), p. 175 The most prominent comedy show, It's That Man Again (ITMA), ran from 1939, and was reaching audiences of 16 million listeners by 1941.Foster and Furst, p. 36 As well as broadcasting to the civilian population, the BBC had to provide entertainment for the armed forces. From early 1940 the BBC's General Forces Programme broadcast Merry-go-Round, originally a musical show to which comedy interludes were introduced. From this the BBC developed comedy shows aimed at each of the three branches of the armed forces: Eric Barker's HMS Waterlogged for the Royal Navy, Charlie Chester's Stand Easy for the Army and, for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh, Ralph Reader and his Gang Show and Café de NAAFI. All the programmes were largely written and performed by serving members of the respective services.Took, pp. 42, 45 and 48Johnston, p. 65 The shows were broadcast in turn on a three-weekly cycle for each service, under the overall Merry-go-Round banner.Johnston, p. 95Foster and Furst, p. 79
In 1943 Kenneth Horne—a wing commander at the Air Ministry in London—was writing and broadcasting on Ack-Ack, Beer-Beer, a BBC radio show for the Air Force based on those who worked for the RAF Balloon Command.Hackforth, p. 42Johnston, pp. 50, 55–56 He was also broadcasting on other shows, including those on the Overseas Recorded Broadcasting Service (ORBS), which were transmitted to British forces in the Middle East.Hackforth, p. 49 His work with ORBS brought him into contact with Flight Lieutenant Richard Murdoch; with a great deal in common in their backgrounds and a similar sense of humour, the pair quickly formed a friendship.Johnston, pp. 58–59 Horne informed Murdoch of a squadron leader vacancy in his section at the Ministry, and Murdoch became his colleague.Hackforth, p. 50 Murdoch, a professional actor and entertainer for twelve years before the war, was well known to listeners from his pre-war role as co-star with the comedian Arthur Askey in the show Band Waggon.Took, pp. 18–21
On 4 January 1944 Horne and Murdoch appeared on a BBC programme for the armed forces, ENSA Half Hour, for a one-off show based on an idea from Horne based on life at "Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh", a fictional Royal Air Force station in remote rural England.Johnston, p. 77Gifford, p. 166 Murdoch believed the idea could be developed into a sitcom and the two men worked together to produce more material.Johnston, p. 62Crisell, p. 89 The producer of Merry-go-Round, Leslie Bridgmont, liked what they sent him and booked them to appear in the programme.Hackforth, p. 56
"Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh" drew on the name of a real RAF station at Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, along with the word "binding", Air Force slang for grumbling or complaining.Johnston, p. 76 Bridgmont pictured it as "a desolate, decrepit aerodrome with its one hangar, the solitary aeroplane, 'Cabbage White Mark II', that never got off the ground and the crude outdoor 'ablutions.Bridgmont, p. 58
Broadcasts 1944–1946: RAF station Horne's biographer Norman Hackforth writes that after the first broadcast in January 1944, the show "wasn't exactly an overnight sensation" but Bridgmont liked it enough to commission further episodes, and the show's popularity grew.Hackforth, p. 55 By September 1945 the programme was being praised in the national popular press:
Perhaps it is that Dickie Murdoch and Kenneth Horne can not only write a good script, but one which fits their own personalities like a glove. Here, obviously, are a pair of first-class scripticians (oh, my word!). Other artists might take the hint.
The show continued to be broadcast as part of Merry-go-Round until February 1946.Foster and Furst, p. 83 As the established star, Murdoch was given top billing in the new show. The 1947 billing reads "Richard Murdoch in Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh, with Kenneth Horne, Sam Costa and Marilyn Williams"; by 1954 the billing was "Richard Murdoch, Kenneth Horne and Sam Costa in Much-Binding".Listings, Radio Times, 3 January 1947 , p. 23 and 12 March 1954 , p. 24
In the first shows the only regular characters were Horne's ponderous but genial Air Officer Commanding and Murdoch's junior officer, intelligent, humorous and able to manipulate his dim-witted superior. They were joined for a few early programmes by Joyce Grenfell, and in October 1944 Sam Costa joined the cast and became a permanent fixture as the OR aircraftsman.
In the early years Horne and Murdoch wrote in their office at the Air Ministry.Hackforth, pp. 51–52 Later they would meet either at Murdoch's house near Tunbridge Wells, Horne's flat in Kensington or the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall. They would toss ideas about and make notes of them; one of them would then turn the notes into a script to be transcribed by Bridgmont's secretary. Typically, on the day of broadcast, the show would be rehearsed from 1 pm to 2:30, with a full run-through at 5 pm. The show would be given before a studio audience, broadcast live in the evening,"Richard Murdoch", The Sketch, 6 July 1949, p. 10 and recorded for repeat transmission on home and forces networks later.Bridgmont, p. 68 Murdoch later described writing scripts with Horne as "pure joy", as the pair enjoyed the same sense of humour.Johnston, p. 78
In the early shows, under the Merry-go-Round banner, the first half, with comic dialogue and narrative, was set in Murdoch's office at Much-Binding, after which the scene moved to the canteen for a concert—a spoof of typical NAAFI entertainments. "Flight Officer Flannel"—played by Binnie Hale, Dorothy Carless or Doris Hare, according to availability—would sing, as would Costa. Murdoch would perform one of his nonsense lyrics to well-known classical tunes, Horne would play the saxophone, and the show would conclude with a lively piece from the orchestra. Later, the show followed the precedent of ITMA and other programmes by being divided into comedy sections interspersed with music. Much-Binding settled into a pattern of three comedy sections separated by two musical slots: the first for the orchestra alone and the second for orchestra with singer.Bridgmont, pp. 58–59For example Much-Binding, Series 4 Episode 10 (24 May 1950) at 8m 27s and 28m 08s
The final edition of Much-Binding-in-the-March as part of Merry-go-Round was on 1 February 1946; the characters had been demobilised, and shook hands and went in separate directions outside the camp. By the end of the war, Much-Binding, sharing the Merry-go-Round slot with other shows, had appeared for just over twenty episodes, but was on its way to overtaking ITMA as the most popular British radio comedy.Johnston, p. 100; and Briggs (1995), p. 499
1947–1950: Country Club The BBC was anxious to continue the show under its own name and with a new, civilian setting, although Murdoch was unavailable as he was about to start a national tour. They considered replacing him with either Eric Barker or Robb Wilton and moving the location from an RAF station to the "Much Binding Enterprises Ltd" factory or a crammer for backward schoolboys, but it was finally agreed that the two former Much-Binding officers, discovering their old station up for sale, should buy it and turn it into the Much-Binding Country Club.Johnston, pp. 100, 104 and 107 The first series under the name Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh ran for thirty-eight weeks from January to September 1947, and included a bank holiday special.Foster and Furst, pp. 82–83
After the signature tune (the "Much-Binding" tune, for orchestra only) and opening announcement, usually by Philip Slessor, "Much-Binding takes the air!", Horne would introduce "Your old friend, Richard Murdoch!", to deliver a monologue outlining the news—ranging from incongruous to bizarre—from Much-Binding over the past week. This would be followed by the first musical interlude, after which Horne would enter, greeted by Murdoch with "Good morning, sir. It is good to see you", and then, as Barry Johnston, Horne's biographer, puts it, "they would be off, gradually bringing in the other characters one by one".Johnston, p. 109 In the seventh episode of the series, Maurice Denham joined the cast playing multiple roles; such was his vocal dexterity that Murdoch described him as "a vocal chameleon".
The second series ran for thirty weeks, from November 1947 to June 1948. The programme was broadcast on Wednesday evenings, but for several weeks the BBC moved the broadcast times, causing many complaints from listeners. Horne wrote to the BBC management to complain and ask for a consistent time; Much-Binding was eventually set to be regularly broadcast at 7:00 pm. Between January and June 1948 Murdoch wrote six instalments of The Chronicles of Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh, a spin-off series, published monthly, in The Strand Magazine.Street, p. 183Gifford, p. 183 The cast from series one returned and were joined by the sopranos Janet Davis and Gwen Catley. Catley, an established opera performer, left after six programmes as she thought her voice was not suitable for the music.Johnston, p. 96
The third series ran for forty-three weeks, from September 1948 to July 1949.Foster and Furst, p. 84 For the recording on 28 December 1948, the queen and a party of twelve were in the audience; included in the party were Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) who was on her first public appearance since the birth of her first son—Prince, now King Charles, six months earlier—and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Several references to the royals were made during the programme and during the closing song Murdoch used his catchphrase "Good old Char-lee!"Johnston, pp. 103–104 By the end of the series, the quality of the material "began to falter noticeably", according to Johnston.