Telly Savalas Looks at Birmingham

[@andzzz2]

It's funny, but there's something melancholic about it too. A kind of nostalgia for a past when there was still a future.

[@danielalexander8588]

"Mrs. Taylor, I'm sure somebody loves you, baby"...... Pure gold, Telly.

[@anonUK]

Mr. Taylor?

[@cacampbell1989]

"This is one of the most sophisticated traffic control units in the world" a single car rolls out of the driveway

[@esmeephillips5888]

That is the same kind of bragging rights as when a one-horse burg in the States calls itself 'the Chemical Toilets Capital of the World'.

[@peterwilliamallen1063]

@@esmeephillips5888 What Bragging rights, it was a tourist film of Birmingham in the 70's

[@janeclarkson8471]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 a policeman answers a telephone 📞 world breaking!

[@Bigwave2003]

2:30 An over 40 disco contest is one of the cultural highlights of Birmingham. All you need to know.

[@sospiroso]

😂😂😂

[@charlesjmouse]

What an actor, give that man a posthumous Oscar!

[@airfixx_8952]

This is my new favourite thing ever.......... "An over 40's disco competition...... It was incredible"

[@slspillo1]

Great stuff! And if Telly had actually visited the place, he would have been even more enthusiastic!

[@fastidioussloth6013]

This is the view that nearly took my breath away 0:51

[@frankshailes3205]

Yes, gasping "how could they?"

[@mattcritchlow1769]

‘Nearly’ being the operative word here

[@sporkfindus4777]

Nice that Telly pronounced it Birming'um, not BirmingHAM. That's a nice touch. What a pro!

[@danw1374]

Telly Savalas delivering a masterclass on how to polish a turd!

[@user-np8nr5uw3r]

He’s be appalled now lmao

[@dark108x]

Although it takes a real stretch of the imagination to picture Telly Savalas shopping in the Bull Ring, it's not so hard to imagine him supping a pint in one of the 'British pubs'.

[@scarfhs1]

"Multi carriageway motorway" So much better than those pesky single carriage motorways.

[@anonUK]

There was one, in Carrington near Manchester. It was downgraded to the A6144.

[@tetsbristol]

Ha Ha Ha. I think it was the smog taking his breath away. It certainly wasn't that view.

[@homeone4054]

Oh come on, Corporation Street is breathtaking

[@MrL1mey]

Now, with this, Birmingham can claim to have both more miles of canal than Venice AND more Cheese than France!

[@michael2703]

Never laughed so much in all my life, born 'n' bred here!

[@danielrose1984]

Barry Glendenning brought me here, and I'm glad he did.

[@desoi]

The owner of this and other 'Telly visits...' films has confirmed to me that Telly never set foot in Brum, Aberdeen or Portsmouth. I doubt he'd even seen the footage before doing the commentary. Looking forward to full coverage of the over 40s disco at some point

[@fireballichiban]

yes he says ' i walked on the streets' etc but hes not in a single shot of film!!

[@johnafirth]

Telly Savalas looks at Birmingham is definitely accurate. He's looking at it on a screen, wondering how he ended up narrating travelogues for British industrial cities.

[@frankshailes3205]

"Telly visits... Grab-A-Granny Night"

[@frankshailes3205]

@@fireballichiban Birmingham Alabama presumably

[@peterwilliamallen1063]

@@frankshailes3205 No Birmingham UK

[@Made4Television]

A film classic in anyone's book.

[@JohnSmith-it6hj]

You just know that Telly never set a foot in Birming-um. He was offered a wedge to say nice things about it and said that's groovy baby.

[@mrpsychodeliasmith]

The only Birmingham Telly Savalas has been to, is Birmingham, Alabama.

[@ZardozSpeaks]

I feel as if I've been... projected into the Twentyfirst Century.

[@mrinman7407]

Which is ironic, given that the music and general style of the film says late '60s/early 70's, but looking at the traffic, it couldn't have been filmed before about '78 and might possibly be as late as 1980!

[@fireballichiban]

ha ha

[@frankshailes3205]

@@mrinman7407 "You have landed at Birmingham International Airport Please put your watch back by ten years".

[@frankshailes3205]

Those dual-carriageway/expressway shots positively reek of lead.

[@paintnamer6403]

I want to see him driving around Birmingham in that brown Buick that he had in Kojak.

[@darryllharden9141]

That would be a sight to behold.

[@paulhanson5164]

He should have walked past the old HP Sauce factory, that would have took his breath away. As cringe inducing as this is it also makes me nostalgic for my childhood, I always found a day out in town back in the 60s and 70s to be exciting, loved a trip to the open spaces like the Lickey Hills and Cannon Hill or been left outside The Upper Grounds pub with a Vimto and Bag of crisps while my uncles were inside enjoying a few pre match pints.

[@martynback1]

This is wonderful. Brings back memories of my first ever ride on an escalator in a department store in Birmingham in the 60s (my grandparents lived in Harborne, where the air smelled of chocolate from the Bourneville factory nearby). I was terrified of the Bull Ring though.

[@s1opp]

He's right, shopping in Birmingham was always an adventure, just not in a good way

[@gmf121266]

When I'm feeling bad I just come here and laugh my bloody head off!

[@peterwilliamallen1063]

For what reason

[@rulebritannia8438]

​@@peterwilliamallen1063 Well, for a quick reason, look up "Happiest Man in Birmingham"

[@tetsbristol]

Any more? Frank Sinatra Looks at Slough....

[@tetsbristol]

Oh Yeah. Portsmouth and Aberdeen. Someone didn't pay their taxes and needed to come up with some cash.

[@ian_b]

Sadly, Al Pacino had to cancel his visit to Telford.

[@DasTubemeister]

Frank Bough went to Ilford.

[@anonUK]

​@@DasTubemeister In costume?

[@IndieMaximus]

I know where I'll be spending my next vacation... anywhere but Birmingham.

[@peterwilliamallen1063]

Great mate glad you did not come.

[@mariawildman1299]

Have a nice holiday. You're missing out!

[@esmeephillips5888]

"Now remember, Mr Savalas, you are still under oath. Did you really spend hours in the Birmingham Botanical Gardens"? "I refuse to answer on the grounds that it might incriminate me, baby."

[@MatlockJack]

They showed the full half-hour version of this today on Sky Arts 2 HD. Whatever your opinion of Birmingham, it was nostalgic to watch it all again and it was a regular cinematic feature of the early and mid 1980's.

[@NxDoyle]

I just don't get what they were thinking. And then, the 'view that nearly took his breath away', I can just imagine the guy who shot it thinking, 'Oh fuck me, they can't use this!'

[@michaelmuldowney8]

Apparently these films made a lot of money for their producers. Cinema owners were always crying out for quality shorts to run before the main feature. As Savalas was on the Number 1 TV show in the World - it was an easy sell.

[@esmeephillips5888]

Coming up: Banacek checks out Barnsley. B.A. Baracus takes a freewheelin' look at Bognor Regis.

[@RinpochesRose]

🙂😀😆🤣

[@homeone4054]

He must have run out of time before getting to Balsall Heath

[@psiakrew5650]

Doesn't everyone? 🤔

[@fireballichiban]

ha ha priceless!

[@richardbrown1189]

Great memories. Pity it's not the whole film. Quite a lot of it is about Broadway, the well known Birmingham suburb. I've always wondered what Dee Birmingham and her family were like....

[@davedogge2280]

Someone just spiked Kojak's lollipop AND/OR he did it for the money.

[@jasons2023]

It's Blofeld, he injected something in that tootsie roll and made Kojak talk funny.

[@Jabberwoc]

*Home of the Cup-a-Soup!!*

[@marcj3682]

Wish the roads were like that now.

[@mortdewerewolfe691]

Someone should edit this into Gangsters at random intervals.

[@frankshailes3205]

Now THAT is a Birmingham I enjoyed, and actually felt nearby when I used to visit. Great series.

[@crc778Hypnodoc]

well, that clears up any doubts about his acting ability, anyone who could make Birminghan even interesting, deserves an Oscar

[@mesmarriott127]

I know!

[@peterwilliamallen1063]

@@mesmarriott127 Well before make crap comments about Birmingham try visiting it and see how it has changed and modernized, at least foreign tourists appreciate Birmingham

[@Liam2621]

Wow that looks an amazing city, it seems very cultured

[@livelongandprosper70]

next week, Karl malden looks at Cumbernauld

[@richardanderson8696]

Love.... this...... SO.... much!! ahhh!

[@danielalexander8588]

Easily one of my favourite videos on KZbin! Why would Telly Savalas even do this?

[@LateNightKaiju]

Money, dear boy!

[@aemelnick]

No New Yorker has ever voluntarily used the phrase "dual carriageways."

[@frankshailes3205]

Or "British pubs".

[@user-np8nr5uw3r]

This is what inspired the bald brummies skit on Coogan’s Knowing Me Knowing You.

[@mrsrowdy]

This is awesome!

[@an0nym0us68]

...my home town i was born in 1974 and this is the Birmingham i remember growning up in ❤ ... Memories, i prefer it to the horrible selfridges and That eyeball train station entrance... vile !!! change it back

[@Len_J_]

Birmingham. Suffered the same fate as London. A sprawling mess - overcrowded, rubbish and graffiti everywhere. I can't believe people pay such high prices to live in such a muck of a city.

[@steveblog1]

Just one more reason to *like / loathe / hate / love the 70's. He wasn't laughing hysterically though the voice over, so I'm assuming he didn't actually visit the place. Unintentional comic genius :) *Delete as applicable

[@mesmarriott127]

This is hilarious if you have lived in Birmingham.

[@psiakrew5650]

' Lived ' 😅

[@frankshailes3205]

Did you go to the art gallery and museum?

[@WillScarlet1991]

Well this is rather surreal.

[@garystyles4151]

Even Kojak would be shit scared of Birmingham now

[@user-np8nr5uw3r]

Camera version included

[@proghead122]

Dad dancing of the highest order on show!

[@racefaceec90]

am currently watching this whilst an episode of kojak is on itv4 atm. who loves ya baby

[@englishguy2010]

Next Week, Telly looks at Middlesborough. "Da first thing that hit me baby, was all that polluted air and the views.....of industrial chimneys, crumbling streets, and Muslims everywhere."

[@user-np8nr5uw3r]

He filmed this birds eye view with the help of Roger Bond on a helicopter. Plot twist: Bond accepted the deal for a delicatessen in stainless steel.

[@theblackstoneproject9917]

Lol to think with all that footage, and all the different parts of the city he remembers, they still couldn’t get one shot of him in this film.

[@raymonddillon3016]

Modern day Birmingham 2021 to 2022. Tom Cruise actually visited and filmed scenes for one of his blockbuster MII movies there! He turned up!

[@codswallop321]

Peter Sellers: "Bal-ham, Gateway to the South!"

[@macgaming001]

0:45 ...Wow! Just WOW!

[@henners9747]

😆 this is hilarious

[@TheGenreman]

03:18 Look at Mrs Taylor go.

[@ACNC1]

Give it some welly Mrs Taylor..

[@martinjones8216]

Telly lied more about Birmingham than shaving his head

[@gazzab3224]

I have lived in Birmingham all my life. But there are parts of the city that are terrible. I always try to avoid them areas.

[@psiakrew5650]

Well well

[@WillScarlet1991]

Just like any other city then.

[@CosgroveNotts]

Yep we know you were there Telly

[@patchesdf]

If he was there they would have filmed it. I promise you he recorded the whole thing in a sound studio in LA.

[@frankshailes3205]

Maybe he was holding the camera.

[@malaiseexpert-]

at :52 there are some beauityful brutalist buildings

[@frankshailes3205]

If you enjoy brutalising people.

[@pmrose18]

Bet he never even set foot there

[@crumblingbuttercookie4871]

Does anybody know what's that music that is playing over the title card at 00:30 and then again at the end starting from 04:20?

[@crumblingbuttercookie4871]

And I guess I can answer my own question: The music is by De Wolfe, they've helpfully provided this playlist with the music from this film (www.dewolfemusic.com/search.php#/?id=4757738&code=e1dCvO ) and that particular piece is called Giant Dwarf.

[@carlryderiselvis]

I had to press "Pink pussy" lol it's a great track too!

[@fudgis2572]

"This is the view that almost took my breath away!" 🤣 I'm sure many would agree, just not for quite the same reasons!!!😏Telly Savalas has clearly had a fair bit to drink to get beer-goggles for Brum!! The cheesy 70s soundtrack does its best to inject excitement and drama into 'inspiring' scenes of motorways, flyovers and endless expanses of concrete, but just makes the whole thing even more unintentionally funny!!!🤣

[@axelsteel21]

I love how scripted this sounds, and yeah i'd say i doubt he ever actually visited the city

[@immaterialimmaterial5195]

Telly vision!

[@Blade1962]

Comedy Gold

[@xx-dl6pk]

Anyone else now want to see Deadpool versions of these "Looks at" cities?

[@cosine303]

I'd like to believe Telly visited.. but is there any proof he wasn't just in a london studio doing a voice over ;-)

[@LordPosho]

is it true that he never actually set foot in the place? am sure i heard that.

[@arsenal10141014]

The over 40’s disco comps in Birmingham. Kojak couldn’t drag himself away from this or the traffic NORAD centre.

[@jonwizard3989]

I wonder how much he was paid to narrate this?! ...or he was stoned!

[@billyshears1273]

Love to see what he thinks now ffs 👍💪🤣🤣🇬🇧

[@user-np8nr5uw3r]

I bet it wouldn’t be his kind of town now lmao

[@speakfreeley4473]

Did Kojak ever go to Birmingham? Driven through it a few times & the driving there is absolutely terrible despite what Kojak says about its 'revolutionary' road system.

[@frankshailes3205]

He probably got mugged on the outskirts and ran away.

[@bagpuss170363]

Should say "THIS TOWN HAS BEEN PASSED" U

[@peterring2714]

A classic

[@tutornick]

good for Mrs Taylor

[@bruthead]

YES BIRMINGHAM

[@psiakrew5650]

NO

[@user-np8nr5uw3r]

So he was the Greek bearing gifts was he? 😂

[@anonUK]

Stockport only got a song...

[@christophergordon7433]

I bet Telly never set foot in Birmingham.

[@user-np8nr5uw3r]

So he’s a bullshitter? Doubt that.

[@NebulaRasa]

This makes '1917' look like a pile of old shit.

[@glowandin]

😂😂😂😂

[@tac0mauz]

Born in this town in late 90's, gotta say it looks nice and still does, but 'certain' people have just ruined parts of it.

[@sidarthur8706]

yea i know what you mean. too many white nationalists

[@frankshailes3205]

@@sidarthur8706 They'll soon be out!

[@timpriddy349]

Heeeeeeeeey

[@Handel9000]

O_O

[@hannosolo]

The colours look a bit faded. If it was recorded now the colours would be more prominent.

[@pakk82]

how could you complain about birminghand have you been to arizona?

[@camdentownjohn]

He manages to focus on all the worse things about Birmingham, much of which has been improved since then.

[@patscott8612]

SOTV