Licking Hitler
Encyclopedia
Licking Hitler was a television play about a black propaganda
unit operating in England during World War II
, broadcast by the BBC
on 10 January 1978 as part of the Play for Today
series. Written by David Hare
, it featured performances by Kate Nelligan
and Bill Paterson. Photography was by Ken Morgan and the producer was David Rose
. It won the best single television play BAFTA award for 1978.
Hare intended the work as a companion piece to his stage play Plenty
(staged at the Lyttelton Theatre
in April 1978) and he wrote Plenty as he was editing Licking Hitler, scene and scene about. Its theme is similar to that of Plenty: the effect of war on individuals' private lives and treating their experiences as a metaphor
for the England of the present.
, Warwickshire. Hare himself directed and this was his first experience behind the camera. He notes that, as writer, he had a clear idea of how scenes would relate to each other and he made no spare footage to allow for any adjustments while editing: a "highly dangerous" method.
The play's theme is the cruel relationship between Archie, the chief writer for an isolated black propaganda unit broadcasting to Germany in World War II, and his assistant Anna. With the war won and the unit disbanded, neither Anna nor Archie can reconcile themselves to their new, mundane life. Anna longs for her violent and abusive former lover and for the excitement and meaning of her former work. Some critics have found this aspect of her character unrealistic, but Hare quotes poet Alan Ross
to explain the spirit of the era: "The sadness and sexuality and alcohol were what everyone was wanting ... war was suddenly real and warm ... worth all the suffering and boredom and fear". To this he added his own romantic view of the period, with its undercurrents of violence and sexuality. Feminist writers have attacked the depiction of Anna, the wartime heroine, as flawed in that she passively continues to submit to Archie. Hare dismisses this view as "a clamour for a simpler morality" that fails to take account of his characterization: a naive, vulnerable woman for whom sensuality is totally strange. It is in this abject predicament that she becomes "the conscience of the play". After the war she establishes herself as a successful advertising copywriter but resents lying for no higher purpose than profit, a situation she comes to look upon as symbolising the post-war political life of England. Archie, formerly a campaigning documentary film-maker, becomes a writer and director of derivative and poorly regarded feature films.
, a former adviser to Churchill
and wartime broadcaster to Germany. Delmer's book Black Boomerang provided the factual basis for the play but, using the same techniques he was to develop for his later verbatim theatre
pieces such as The Permanent Way
, Hare travelled Britain interviewing former propagandists and broadcasters to enhance his script.
Black propaganda
Black propaganda is false information and material that purports to be from a source on one side of a conflict, but is actually from the opposing side. It is typically used to vilify, embarrass or misrepresent the enemy...
unit operating in England during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, broadcast by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
on 10 January 1978 as part of the Play for Today
Play for Today
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted...
series. Written by David Hare
David Hare (playwright)
Sir David Hare is an English playwright and theatre and film director.-Early life:Hare was born in St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings, East Sussex, the son of Agnes and Clifford Hare, a sailor. He was educated at Lancing, an independent school in West Sussex, and at Jesus College, Cambridge...
, it featured performances by Kate Nelligan
Kate Nelligan
Patricia Colleen "Kate" Nelligan is a Canadian BAFTA award winning stage, film and television actress.-Early life:Nelligan, the fourth of six children, was born in London, Ontario, the daughter of Josephine Alice , a schoolteacher, and Patrick Joseph Nelligan, a factory repairman and municipal...
and Bill Paterson. Photography was by Ken Morgan and the producer was David Rose
David Rose (producer)
David E. Rose is a retired television producer and commissioning editor.Following war service as a RAF pilot of Lancaster Bombers on 34 missions, he trained as an actor at the Guildhall School of Drama, but following graduation pursued a career in stage management...
. It won the best single television play BAFTA award for 1978.
Hare intended the work as a companion piece to his stage play Plenty
Plenty (play)
Plenty is a play by David Hare, first performed in 1978, about British post-war disillusion. Susan Traherne, a former secret agent, is a woman conflicted by the contrast between her past, exciting triumphs—she had worked behind enemy lines as a Special Operations Executive courier in Nazi-occupied...
(staged at the Lyttelton Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
in April 1978) and he wrote Plenty as he was editing Licking Hitler, scene and scene about. Its theme is similar to that of Plenty: the effect of war on individuals' private lives and treating their experiences as a metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
for the England of the present.
Production
The film was shot during the Summer of 1977 at Compton Verney HouseCompton Verney House
Compton Verney House is an 18th century country mansion at Compton Verney near Kineton in Warwickshire which has been converted into the Compton Verney Art Gallery....
, Warwickshire. Hare himself directed and this was his first experience behind the camera. He notes that, as writer, he had a clear idea of how scenes would relate to each other and he made no spare footage to allow for any adjustments while editing: a "highly dangerous" method.
Characters
| Role | Performer |
| Anna Seaton | Kate Nelligan Kate Nelligan Patricia Colleen "Kate" Nelligan is a Canadian BAFTA award winning stage, film and television actress.-Early life:Nelligan, the fourth of six children, was born in London, Ontario, the daughter of Josephine Alice , a schoolteacher, and Patrick Joseph Nelligan, a factory repairman and municipal... |
| Archie MacLean | Bill Paterson |
| Will Langley | Hugh Fraser Hugh Fraser (actor) Hugh Fraser is an English actor and theatre director.-Early life:Born in London but raised in the East Midlands, Fraser studied acting at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art... |
| John Fennel | Clive Revill Clive Revill Clive Selsby Revill is a New Zealand-born British character actor best known for his performances in musical theatre and on the London stage.-Early life and stage career:... |
| Eileen Graham | Brenda Fricker Brenda Fricker Brenda Fricker is an Irish actress of theatre, film and television. She had appeared in more than 30 films and television roles... |
| Karl | Michael Mellinger |
| Herr Jungke | George Herbert |
| Allardyce | Patrick Monkton |
| Lotterby | Jonathan Coy Jonathan Coy Jonathan Coy is a British actor born in Hammersmith, London on 24 April 1953. He has worked since 1975 largely in television, notably as Henry in the long running legal series Rumpole and as Bracegirdle in the television series Hornblower, adapted from the books by C. S. Forester... |
Theme
As with Plenty, the events Hare places in the context of war are intended as a metaphor for the post-war betrayal of the collective ideals of pre-war society, with the necessary deceits of Archie's unit a representation of the corrupt values of modern England.The play's theme is the cruel relationship between Archie, the chief writer for an isolated black propaganda unit broadcasting to Germany in World War II, and his assistant Anna. With the war won and the unit disbanded, neither Anna nor Archie can reconcile themselves to their new, mundane life. Anna longs for her violent and abusive former lover and for the excitement and meaning of her former work. Some critics have found this aspect of her character unrealistic, but Hare quotes poet Alan Ross
Alan Ross
Alan John Ross, , was a British poet, writer and editor. He was born in Calcutta, India, where he spent the first seven years of his life...
to explain the spirit of the era: "The sadness and sexuality and alcohol were what everyone was wanting ... war was suddenly real and warm ... worth all the suffering and boredom and fear". To this he added his own romantic view of the period, with its undercurrents of violence and sexuality. Feminist writers have attacked the depiction of Anna, the wartime heroine, as flawed in that she passively continues to submit to Archie. Hare dismisses this view as "a clamour for a simpler morality" that fails to take account of his characterization: a naive, vulnerable woman for whom sensuality is totally strange. It is in this abject predicament that she becomes "the conscience of the play". After the war she establishes herself as a successful advertising copywriter but resents lying for no higher purpose than profit, a situation she comes to look upon as symbolising the post-war political life of England. Archie, formerly a campaigning documentary film-maker, becomes a writer and director of derivative and poorly regarded feature films.
Sources
Hare's immediate inspiration for the work was a chance encounter with Sefton DelmerSefton Delmer
Denis Sefton Delmer was a British journalist and propagandist for the British government. Fluent in German, he became friendly with Ernst Röhm who arranged for him to interview Adolf Hitler in the 1930s...
, a former adviser to Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and wartime broadcaster to Germany. Delmer's book Black Boomerang provided the factual basis for the play but, using the same techniques he was to develop for his later verbatim theatre
Verbatim theatre
Verbatim theatre is a form of documentary theatre in which plays are constructed from the precise words spoken by people interviewed about a particular event or topic.-Definition:...
pieces such as The Permanent Way
The Permanent Way
The Permanent Way is a play by David Hare first performed in 2003.In 1991 the British government decided to privatise the country's railways. David Hare recounts the development through the powerful first-hand accounts of those most intimately involved...
, Hare travelled Britain interviewing former propagandists and broadcasters to enhance his script.