Open All Hours - s02e04 - The New Suit

Open All Hours
Season Two, Episode Four - 22 Mar. 1981
Tired of being seen around with the shabby Arkwright Nurse Gladys Emmanuel gives him an ultimatum and tells him that he must buy a new suit...or else.

[@johnshields6852]

Born in 1960 things have changed so much, not all for the better, but I enjoy this series, something innocent and old fashion. Thank you so much.

[@hana.the.writer5074]

70’s here and I totally agree.

[@ogloc8522]

I was born in 2002 and I love this show

[@backupintheday9710]

Agreed. The Present time is not a patch on these times.

[@joethorpe6885]

It’s shit now

[@JaniceWright-rv9oj]

I was born in 1960 😂🎉, he looked ridiculous hopping around on the street.of course he looked stupid hopping Down the street,

[@martinhardcastle9970]

The good old days before supermarkets in a small town. Bakers for bread, butchers for meat, Vege shop for veges and fruit etc. A true community.

[@nancya.nelson5810]

Right. Less choice, good meals and social interaction.

[@SamuelBlack84]

Wasn't it more expensive?

[@Happyheretic2308]

@@SamuelBlack84far less wastage. You ate everything.

[@TheTruthKiwi]

It's almost like going back in a time machine watching this series. I know it's probably only about 10% what it was really like to own a corner shop but I think it captures the mood of the time. If I was Arkwright"s assistant I would've been in histerics all day. 😂

[@daynasmum529]

I did my mechanics apprenticeship in an old mower shop in Gisborne - the guy that owned the place was a spitting image of Arkwright in his manner - tight as they come& yeah, there were plenty of laughs not unlike when watching open all hours!

[@TheTruthKiwi]

@@daynasmum529 ok, maybe it's more accurate than I gave it credit for. 😁

[@stantonmagid4126]

I thoroughly enjoy these British Sitcoms

[@aldershot5100]

I was born in 61 and remember those shops.The smell of Bread. Getting a Jamboree Bag or a Zoom ice lolly.

[@kenlane6655]

Gotta love the old comedies.

[@outlookesp]

the "singing in the rain" sequence was hilarious.

[@josephdunne8223]

Best show ever.

[@michaelyoumans7856]

I'M FAIRLY CERTAIN... OR IT IS AT VERY LEAST MY HOPEFUL INTENTION THAT I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE AWARE OF HOW TRULY SOOTHING COMFORTING AND RELAXING THE RAIN THIS EPISODE IN THE OPENING ESPECIALLY

[@hana.the.writer5074]

The dance, too 👌🏻👌🏻

[@jonhohensee3258]

WHAT IS LESS SOOTHING IS WHEN SOMEONE FEELS THE NEED TO USE NOTHING BUT CAPITAL LETTERS.

[@TheTruthKiwi]

I hope you've found the caps lock/shift key by now.

[@Happyheretic2308]

The brass version of “Singing in the Rain” - glorious!

[@jdrancho1864]

So you like brass versions, eh?? Then check out the brass version of Guns 'n Roses Sweet Child o'mine. Thank me later.

[@bollocksoplenty1161]

RIP Nurse Gladys.

[@tomatenpaprika6323]

this series is my daily medicine

[@johnhanson5943]

Ronnie Barker and David Jason. True genius!

[@hrtdinasaurette3020]

My granddad’s “best” suit spent most of it’s time in the pawnshop, had to be “bought” back for weddings n funerals n returned shortly thereafter. Thanks for the upload 😊❤

[@danielroche114]

" iv taken the liberty of putting your rice in it" gets me every time

[@muskndusk]

The 'Free Gift' of the paper bag is so ironically prophetic. All bags have to be paid for now, even paper ones which are fast disappearing from all shops. In fact many supermarkets make you buy a 'reusable' plastic net bag for veg and fruit. So by today's standards the Free Gift is worth quite a lot. I can even remember when there were corner shops which would pack a free shopping bag for me. These were reused by me as bin liners. Now I have to buy rolls of thin bags which break when there's anything in them. Oh, the good old days of service. Sigh . . .

[@zerotoleranceforsataniceli4794]

Precisely. We're being scammed. They will charge for the air we breathe soon.

[@susansherlock6934]

I go to my local co operative health shop and buy unpackaged handmade vegetarian/ vegan soap and get it wrapped in a small paper bag ( free) ...

[@hana.the.writer5074]

I hear you.

[@infernalstan886]

The 2 major supermarkets in Aus replaced their paid plastic bags with paid paper bags

[@viperexpress305]

You could actually leave items out in front of your store & would be there the next morning ! 🤔

[@larrythompson2116]

Why all the padlocks on the door then???

[@johnnavarro9169]

To keep em safe from that hungry till..

[@johnniethepom7545]

Lynda Baron was a fine looking lady . I don't think they make em like that anymore .

[@Maisiewuppp]

She was also a trained ballet dancer, hence the trim calves.

[@tomvecchione3475]

Ronnie Barker is so believable in all the roles I've seen in him. Truly a fine actor.

[@user-et6pj4db9s]

Yes he could really disappear into a role, when you watch this you totally forget he was fletch, I also saw him play a Welsh character perfectly too.

[@Happyheretic2308]

The hypnotist played Basil in ‘Waiting for God’, alongside Stephanie Cole (the Black Widow) 😊

[@charmainet5955]

One of the most enjoyable things to do during the show (now that I've watched it a few times) is looking at Arkwright's shelves and picking out brands that are still around today whose packaging hasn't changed much if at all (e.g. PG Tips, Heinz, Kellogg's rice crispies)

[@angelkotilainen]

Lol i do the same, and also i like looking at the prices. everything seems so much nicer when it's 19p.

[@thebrainpimp136]

As an American it is a great reason to watch. Most of that stuff I've never seen

[@danielf1313]

It’s equally enjoyable to plane-spot the various pictures Granville has up of fighter and bomber aircraft as well as his model kits that make an appearance in the odd episode. He even had a box of the Matchbox 1/32 scale Spitfire Mk.22 kit on a shelf in the kitchen once and a box of the Airfix P-51 Superkit in 1/24 cropped up in the shop in an earlier episode. What a bunch of anoraks we all are 😂

[@FrancoiseBonnefoy1]

As a former coop-worker and whose father had a small neighborhood butcher shop, I do and enjoy the same thing.

[@hana.the.writer5074]

@@FrancoiseBonnefoy1 That’s nice.

[@lindamcdermott2205]

So funny the foibles of living and working close to others...so many things to laugh about!.😊

[@clivehammond3213]

I was born 1965 wat great comedy

[@jonevans6446]

Its almost 2020 and i have started re watching these again its still brill even though i have seen these loads of times

[@DILLIGAS-GAMING]

its almost 2023 and still rocking Jon 😀

[@jonevans6446]

@@DILLIGAS-GAMING don't blame you they will always be a classic

[@SteveJDM-tw9tx]

It's very weird watching ghosts but I'm still grateful for the laugh's it brings me

[@joeappleton6849]

Old school Comedy. Good stuff

[@katewebber1131]

These shops are part of my just got married time. Memories oh memories. 😅😅

[@stephaniemurria5534]

I'm watching this classic show in 2019. Thanks!

[@janettaylor4380]

Also in 2020, classic comedy far superior to the vulgarity and bad language of current comedians.

[@lewisbale1]

Stephanie murria 2020

[@HA-in1me]

2024 and will watch it again sometimes....just so much simple fun!

[@user-rh5rl5eb6t]

I have watched open all hour,s for as long as Ì can remember and I think it is fantastic

[@hana.the.writer5074]

I come to watch open all hours through thick and thin. It picks me up gently. It’s perfectly woven to heal and celebrate at the same time. 🥹

[@jmccallion2394]

Great fun, honest and cheeky fun, no smut etc!

[@malcolmclements9254]

Proper Lucozade with the orange paper on.

[@nathanlucas6465]

As a kid, I was always given that when I was ill. Just the taste of it makes me feel ill now 😆

[@samhenwood5746]

Fantastic great show & good to see old fashion comedy 🎭

[@Tony-hx2fj]

I enjoy this show so much plus it helps increase my vocabulary with words like reticule, Antirrhinum,embrocation, and terpsichore which I haven't heard before!!

[@dannywestern831]

Imagine Arkwright trying to say those words..🤣

[@claireb4259]

In that time people had a richer vocabulary. I learned a lot while reading classical fiction and looking up the words in a dictionary. It's something I still do.

[@zerotoleranceforsataniceli4794]

@@claireb4259 I'm not sure people did have a better vocabulary, but rather used different words which are no longer used.

[@susansherlock6934]

@@claireb4259 the same here...I was 18 in 1981

[@SamuelBlack84]

All those contrafibularities

[@johnharvey2850]

Heart-warming ♥

[@jatindersahans9620]

You’ll be sorry snapping your legs open like that 😂😂😂

[@neildunstan1561]

Pure genius

[@dereksmith4177]

Granville I can't hear you moving about I don't pay you for not moving about l used to work for a boss like that

[@claireb4259]

"Doctors and nurses all playing doctors and nurses."

[@christianaspel3857]

Grand show.👍🌹

[@charmainet5955]

Those were the days that tailor-made suits were commonplace.

[@saxongreen78]

'Mrs. Tur-tuh-tur-tuh-titterTattersall' 😂😂😂

[@debsdavitt5592]

Aww it’s just that tune 🎉 wow timeless ❤❤❤ this was a gem 💎

[@bluebyyou7504]

Love all the Ronnies.😍😍😍😍😍😍

[@sajamor0811]

The sausage scene never fails to crease me up!

[@guitarzan5328]

5:29 I wonder if David Jason actually knew about this prank before the scene was shot? His and Ronnie Barker's reactions seemed very genuine 😂😂

[@EditorOfSL]

I think that.

[@martipowell2878]

Re: His and Ronnie Barker's reactions seemed very genuine > They R actors

[@EditorOfSL]

@@martipowell2878Even the best actors can’t react genuinely to a scene! So they throw in tricks like that to get realism! D’uh!

[@paulday6875]

Took me a while to figure out where I have seen the hypnotist. The second part of are you being served, grace and favour. That's young mr. Grace's attorney!

[@bluebyyou7504]

Thorp..😄

[@bluebyyou7504]

I hate to admit it, I like Grace and Favour, better than Are You Being Served...which I only found recently...I grew up on Are you being served.....I'm free.😘

[@ericadavenport2039]

Thorpe, Thorpe, and Thorpe. He's the junior partner. He also Basil the Bonker in Waiting for God. Mrs. Featherstone is in that program as well. 🙂

[@miroslavtomic7038]

When Granville and Arkwright are eating breakfast, Granville is reading his book (Curse) you can see Granville is wearing the "D for Del" 9k gold chain that Del Boy wears in Only Fools and Horses. This episode was broadcast on March 22 1981, just five months before first episode of OFAH was broadcast.

[@EditorOfSL]

D for…David? Maybe? 🤦‍♀️

[@benjaminlumsden]

@@EditorOfSL It was bought by the OFAH costume department specifically for Del Boy.

[@bluebyyou7504]

Good eye😊

[@wandertree]

What is the book "Curse"? I can't find it anywhere. I was curious to read the plot.

[@Theswerethebestthebest]

This is a funny ass show,,,, him complaining about the slit in the back of his jacket to his suit and then going from a button fly to a zipper fly, where his suit was supposed to be from World War II so funny no clean funny, something that you never see anymore thanks again to the chaps for the ladies that has provided these great shows

[@nickphillips3799]

It’s got a …..swish swish. 😆

[@janettaylor4380]

Far superior to present day comedians. These are classic.

[@231rosslyn]

Also, well written. You couldn't survive today by writing this way - "no conflict", see how all situations are resolved amicably.

[@wizzwamf]

its got a a fwish fwish , what the hells a whish whisht you know a fwish fwish fwish a zip fly lol hysterical

[@ericadavenport2039]

Aw! It's Basil the Bonker!

[@turdfergeson9452]

Granville!!! Fetch ye cloth!!

[@SUPER_WOLFMOON]

Thanks!!!!

[@crajumeira]

Better days then!

[@cBearTV-]

I wonder if bickerdyke could have been Granville's birth father, as he implies he knew his mum rather well before Arkwright stops him. I think that's the biggest clue to who his father was that was ever given in all the episodes ❓

[@AminTheMystic]

H-H-H-Hungarian!

[@nathaniliescu4597]

No. You are overthinking it.

[@EditorOfSL]

I think he’s just implying that Granville’s mother was actually promiscuous. Arkwright always jokes about it but I don’t think he wants Granville knowing that his mother practically had sex with everyone in the street.

[@Emma-ex8gx]

I think you'd call him biological father not birth father

[@zerotoleranceforsataniceli4794]

I doubt if either of them know but there is the possibility that the tailor is the father, as the implication is that Granville's mum & the tailor were " active" together in the time before Granville was born. Neither Arkwright nor the tailor want to know if it's true or not because of the scandal that would lead to. As Granville's mum was "active" with a lot of men, they feel it is best to let sleeping dogs lie. Very different to today.

[@johndearden7931]

I love documentaries like this.

[@AshleyTheWolf259]

Is it weird to say I actually like this version of "I'm singing in the rain" then the original? =P

[@iamironclaw]

"Is it weird to say I actually like this version of "I'm singing in the rain" *more than* the original? =P"

[@davebournemouth]

I dont know whos idea it was, but the "singing in the rain" sketch is pure genius.

[@Genevathistime]

Nah it's awesome

[@Trev359]

Paddington Bear's version was even funnier.

[@billybean8911]

Ashley Potter morcombe and wise has a better version lol

[@aldershot5100]

Bickerdyke, such a Northern name

[@Classictv90s]

The New Suit was the episode - where Ronnie Barker caught his finger in the till at 21:12 watch his reaction.

[@stephenderbyshire7849]

David Jason noticed the till had caught Ronnie Barker's fingers, too.

[@andree824]

Ouch!! That sure would have hurt.

[@therenewedpoet4292]

Great for Ronnie to carry on and use it.

[@thefog7067]

5:12 😄😄😄 5:20 😂😂😂 5:29 🤣🤣🤣

[@pennymorrissey4462]

I now see where Rowan Atkinson draws his inspiration from, for his Mr. Beans character

[@ericadavenport2039]

Who? Arkwright? Granville? Bickerdyke? Emmanuel? Gloria? I don't see Bean in any of them.

[@fjccommish]

4:32 Granville's finally gone pooo....po...po...pooo...over the bend.

[@andrewphippsphillips1455]

27.18- its old Ned from To The Manor Born

[@bryanreed8591]

One of my favorites

[@francesbernard2445]

I can spend time in the past any time I want to like for example when watching reruns of Open All Hours instead of any current day recommended by KZbin things to watch. Quite the new fangled display of magazines on this Open All Hours episode eh? And the inviting dance for milk maid delivery girls to attend too eh? While being thought of as not being lazy while maybe disobeying the Bosco boys further out west - Both at the same time.

[@steviemaidenhead6720]

21:10 the only time the till actually gets him 😅 Just look at Sir David's face He see's it But they continued The show must go on ...

[@andrewjones-productions]

In a moment of frivolity, I just imagined Arkwright in the Dragon's Den convincing all the Dragons to impart with their money and walking out with triple what he asked for from all Dragons for 0% equity.

[@maxwellmorse9027]

In a moment of frivolity who even speaks like that lmao 🤣 🤣

[@Happyheretic2308]

@@maxwellmorse9027 people with a decent vocabulary.

[@maxwellmorse9027]

@@Happyheretic2308 wow Andrew I think you've pulled mate 👍 🤣

[@wizzwamf]

good evening lord cher cher cher cher john cauldwell der do come again i beh believe thats my executive cher chair your sitting in

[@user-vp8ln6yr3w]

Bickendyke could have freed himself by holding the suits in one arm, slipping his other arm out of his jacket, transferring the suits to his free arm, and then slipping completely free from the situation.

[@SBCBears]

The milk truck sounds as if it is electric.

[@laurenappleton9961]

Here's some info from the faq: Q: Why are milk floats usually electric? A: There are several likely reasons for this: the most commonly cited one is quietness of operation, as the doorstep milk delivery frequently occurs in the early hours of the morning, before most people are awake. However, compared with petrol or diesel engine vehicles, they are also very economical to operate under the constant “stop-start” conditions of the milk round, and directly emit virtually no pollutants into the atmosphere. Sadly, as fewer and fewer households have a morning milk delivery, the length of the rounds and distance between stops is increasing, and diesel floats are gradually replacing electric ones as the most practical choice. But there are still a lot of electric floats in daily service.

[@cyadid]

so it will not wake up people engine is less noisy

[@susansherlock6934]

They were...

[@dereksmith4177]

Milk floats in Britain are electric

[@paulkavanagh2514]

Arkwright is his mother's brother

[@staffordandy]

Count Duckula

[@Theswerethebestthebest]

But I really think this show should have been 1:00 Hour long instead of 30 : 00 minute long because as funny it is it must have had a high rating on whatever Network it was on you know what I think with today's technology speaking about the computer and the internet there should be of voting system for each show to determine the ratings of each show.

[@Emma-ex8gx]

BBC

[@TheTruthKiwi]

I think an hour would be too long. The pacing would slow as they would have to fill the time and it would get boring imho

[@benjaminlumsden]

I would have taken my jacket off...

[@HA-in1me]

of course but that tailors had two left hands it seems! :)

[@plasticbucket]

Best episode.

[@cheriebanshee2166]

The retail mind/industry is still like Arkwright today. Keep moving, suggest more, don't let them leave until signing up for store credit card!!

[@plasticmancvoguish8390]

Emrys James appeared ‘Fly You For A Quid’ - which was part of the ‘Seven of One’ series. RB thought that’d make it to series.

[@watchman4todayreloaded192]

I've never seen this bloke build an Ark yet. I don't think that he's living up to the family name.

[@JsoldierEats]

If things was them prices now the world will be easier to afford

[@happycook6737]

It is fun to see the old prices and brands

[@lunaracc914]

oh thank fuck this version retains the Singin' in the Rain scene

[@susansherlock6934]

Why shouldn't it?

[@HA-in1me]

language .....

[@rasputinsliver9092]

The book Granville's reading at 4:52 and onward. The title is clear, "Curse". But the author isn't. Neither is the dust jacket notes on the back. I've spent a little while attempting to search by title and rough publication year circa 1980. The only one that comes up is a book by that title by the author Daniel Farson, published 1980. Problem is, all I can find are paperbacks of that title and author and the cover image looks NOTHING like the hardback dust cover of the book Granville's reading. Can anyone assist in nailing this book and author down in the episode? Is it the same "Curse" by Daniel Farson? Or is it another book by that title?

[@charmainet5955]

Perhaps the author and description are deliberately blurred out and the cover is possibly fictional. It's unusual to have the author's name missing from the spine on a dust jacket.You're probably right about Farson's Curse, the title font is exactly like the one on Granville's book cover. Perhaps they couldn't present it as-is due to copyright reasons or something of the sort.

[@turdfergeson9452]

Indeed

[@jameslphoward]

why doesn't he just take his coat off when it is caught in the door

[@ampm9771]

Because tailor and his suits are one piece.

[@mamavoudou1402]

Because that wouldn't have been funny

[@Harkeilla]

I have always wondered if that tin falling off the till was some sort of inside joke. Anyone know if it is or not?

[@stephenderbyshire7849]

I guess it was just another prop for comedic effect. Like someone has already said, Ronnie Barker caught his fingers in the till for real in this episode. '

[@seamusoflatcap]

Not so much an inside joke as a running one. The till drawer was pulled shut so quickly by someone pulling on a string. Must have been mistimed to catch Arkwright's fingers on this occasion.

[@iamironclaw]

That tin is there to make it funnier and increase the effect. And yes, in this episode the register did catch him for real :)

[@davebournemouth]

I did hear that Ronnie Barker got his thumb caught in the till once and had to go to hospital, I didn't know it was this episode.

[@Theswerethebestthebest]

Are you talking about the tin- can on top of the cash register,, that was definitely ( a rig job ) with the drawer being pulled back so quickly they probably had a cable behind the cash register every time he finished changing the money out and that's why did Tin-can would fly off so many times... I love things like that the [ rig job ] on the cash register and I have done numerous things like that for Halloween, I have had many a huge Halloween outside decorations and operated displays. They moved electrically, my upright piano with a body and the head spinning and their eyes would blink, that was just a turntable from a record player motor. Where I made it created mechanical bodys that would sit up out of a makeshift coffin.. Or my life-sized Guillotine that would come down onto a dummy body,, with a spring in the neck--- then when the blade would come down made of thin wood, the styrofoam head with the mask on with fly 3 feet and the guillotine would shoot ketchup about a foot away from the guillotine towards where the head went but it look like it came out of the neck of the body... I also had mechanical zombies that would come out of trees with cables.... Same exact thing with the cash register and the drawer shutting real fast rigging things well I apologize about my very Long. comment well ,, cheers

[@Tuberesu]

I can't understand a corner shop only buying two bottle of milk a day. Wes used to buy two crates -- sixty bottles.

[@spongebobsquaretits]

maybe it was just for their personal use

[@HA-in1me]

its for their consumption not for sale!

[@thebrainpimp6779]

So obsessed with this show. Any one know why? I really need to stop rewatching these old episodes

[@hana.the.writer5074]

Why stop if you feel comfortable watching them? I play’em back to back every single night as breaks after watching Poirot. They take off stress simply by simplicity! I have many choices but I choose them again and again. Dreaming of making a comic of them or a book with colorful illustrations. Is there anything like that? Shame if not.

[@johnbull8959]

@@hana.the.writer5074 cd

[@leslierodgers2347]

Not to sure myself, lol

[@erikao9189]

Apply lemon juice directly to warts until they go away. It works!

[@jonhohensee3258]

The solution to the snapping register is so simple.

[@gedrooney9305]

Do tell Jon…

[@jonhohensee3258]

@@gedrooney9305 You just place a stick in there to keep the drawer from shutting.

[@aodhanquinn3000]

The till actually caught ronnies fingers if you slow video down 😮

[@76ersnet58]

does anyone know the author of the book that Granville is reading? I have searched for the title but there is more than one with that title

[@wandertree]

It's possibly the Daniel Farson book "Curse" which was published in 1980.

[@only257]

Hiliarous👻

[@TommyDthe3]

does anyone know the aurther of the book he is reading at 4:53

[@susansherlock6934]

No idea who the author is ...

[@shojinryori]

Daniel Farson is the author.

[@kimberlysmith8299]

What's wrong with his old suit?

[@andree824]

Exactly!

[@thenerdytiger9306]

It is a VERY old suit as emphasised by the zip fly conversation. Also nurse gladys is trying to get him to loosen up on spending money before she marries him.

[@davidbeckett3345]

Does Arkwright shut the shop while there having breakfast ? can,t see that

[@versacegang4140]

No he doesn't for any meal I don't think. That's why I think he has gotten up from the table before from memory.

[@anneroy4560]

@@versacegang4140 there is the bell so they can hear someone coming in ...

[@drcman1]

Does anyone else's knob feel numb on antidepressants? I literally can't feel anything down there..

[@jamesburt5041]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@RobertCooper-pe6tc]

P Bulova +50% 150% 100 150% yes for the season ticket for Liverpool FC at 10% shares 10%. The shares to Liverpool tracksuit entrance in large red tracksuit or Liverpool Liverpool scarf from flag and the Kylian, Mbappé, Mbappé and Harry Kane and Jackie Baxter from Liverpool FC stop😊 2:15 2:16 😊❤

[@tonipomario2948]

😊