Bio[]
Carmen is a French opera presented by Fred Scuttle at the International Television Festival. The act presents the story of discourse between a man, his wife and her lover. The husband and wife are the only ones who talk, their voices lip-syncing to re-recorded dialogue with captions on screen.
In the plot, the husband (Benny Hill) wanders home carrying an apple which he gives to a man in the stocks (Henry McGee). His wife (Helen Horton) comes out of their villa to give him dinner which he quickly criticizes. After he strikes a match for his cigarette off the head of the guy in the stock, his wife starts criticizing him for smoking. As she starts giving news from other married couples, he responds with short comments about each of them, This starts off with an exchange of insults as the husband takes back his apple and takes a bite from it. When a young beauty (Louise English) arrives to admire their baby, it slips out that the child was the product of the woman's lover. It turns out her lover is the dashing Don Jose (Jackie Wright) who soon shows up, his hair coming off with his hat. The husband is stunned he could even sire one child, and in a jealous rage, he murders Don Jose in the street as his wife calls her children close. As they gather round, she reveals that Don Jose was their father as well.
Trivia[]
- The sketch is a spoof of the famous opera by Georges Bizet.
- The children in the sketch are named Pedro, Paco, Maria, Dorita and Maneula. They are played by Roger Finch, Sue Upton and three unidentified cast members.
