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by Lynton Cox - (Nov 2012)

     I must have been about 4-5 years old and I remember that part of a film was made in the village - only part - the rest was probably in the studio.  I am now 62 years of age and I thought it time to write my own story about Wheathampstead through the years of change.

     The film was called "She didn't say no" and to my surprise I found it in the online data bases  . It was produces by associated British Pathe. Here are the details:

   Cast: Eileen Herlie, Jack McGowran, Niall MacGinnis, Perlita Neilson, Wilfred Downing.   Director: Cyril Frankel.   Running Time: 96 min.

     Synopsis: In this gently humorous farce, an unwed Irish mother who has six children by some of the town's finest fathers finds herself bedeviled by the townsfolk who find her a liability to their sterling reputations. They try different ploys to get her to pack up her illicit clan and move. Then they pool their resources and buy the woman a farm far away from town, but before they have to move, mysterious Fate intervenes, and in the end all involved are happy, including the free-spirited young mother.

     Among others above in the film were Ian Bannen and Ray McAnally

     The bit that was filmed involved the leading  lady being driven up the high street in a pony and trap at great speed.  All the shops in the high street were disguised with Irish shop signs.

     A few years later a mobile cinema used to come regularly to the Memorial Hall - run by a chap from Watton who everybody called the "Colonel".   I remember it was requested that he show it and he did.  Much to people's consternation the piece filmed in the village must have lasted all of 30 seconds!  It would not be worth organising a showing of it in the village that's for sure.  It did however get banned by the Irish board of film censors as this following item in the Munster Express from 2010. 

“She Didn’t Say No”

     “She Didn’t Say No,” a film made in the 1950s and based on the book “We Are Seven” written by Luna Troy who spent many years living in Bonmahon, will be shown in The Gealach Gorm Theatre this Wednesday August 18th at 8pm. This is a heart warming and often humorous story of a single mother raising her six children in a close knit village community in an era when single mothers were ostracised. The cast includes a number of well know Irish Actors including a young Anna Manahan. The film was banned by the Irish Film Censorship Board when it was first released. This screening is being hosted by the Copper Coast Geopark. There will also be a short documentary on ‘The Fitups’ Irish Touring Theatres of the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s which includes an interview with Anna Manahan shortly before she passed away in 2009. A number of locals participated in the making of this documentary. Tickets cost €8........"

     Another example this time of a TV series was called "A Man of Our Times" with George Cole (late 60's early 70's) which used Junipers at Gustard Wood as his home but only for outside scenes. We also figured in an Anglia TV program (for which I do not at the moment remember (but I remember what I had for dinner though!) - Lesley Ivory was interviewed about her cat paintings and there were people from Ayot and elsewhere in the surroundings. 

      Blue Peter the children's magazine program had an item in the late 50's early 60's about gamekeeping. They came to Lamer and accompanied Ted Westbury the gamekeeper on his rounds, whistling up the pheasants and pointing out things of interest. 

      Not quite in the village but at the Crooked Chimney and around Brockett Hall one scene of a Morse episode was filmed.

       I do not know if anyone can remember any other examples of the village appearing in the moving pictures or on TV.

     We have been on the news though fairly often and generally for the wrong reasons!

Regards  Lynton Cox

see  www.mrqe.com

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