An amusing mystery set in “Spoof Norton”, which uses recognisable real and fictional characters and shows the village as it was in the mid-1990s. At that time the village had lost its butcher’s shop and the butcher’s shop in Adderbury had to be used: without it there would be no story!
The film was made by the Hook Norton Film Society, with financial aid from Cherwell District Council and many individuals. Written by Nina Daubeny, from a story by Maurice White, produced by Christopher Barry (of BBC TV fame), and directed by Judy Owen.
The production manager, John Horwood, later produced The Making of Bare Bones (1997), which was his personal (and unedited) record of the production. He apologised both for his amateur camera work in the first five minutes of the film before the professionals took over, and for his spelling of some of the titles!
127 minutes. Not currently available.
Pat Groome’s recollections, in an email to the editor in February 2017, give a sense of the fragmented and isolated process of making a film, viz.:
Auditions were held at Chris Barry’s house. I was chosen to play Farmer Brown. I only had a rough idea of the storyline and was only involved in the shooting of my scenes: an appearance at the Rural Fayre (always the first Sunday in July); and the feeding of my pigs. The pig sties were located somewhere in Wigginton. Incidentally, the butcher’s shop scene was not shot in Hooky – Horn’s had closed by then – but in Adderbury.
The following cast and credit list gives a hint of the organisational miracle that the film represented:
Cast and Credit List, compiled by Harry and Penny Smith
The film is dedicated to the memory of Jack Knight.
Mrs Peacock Marianne Puxley
Rev. Green Howard Hicks
Selinka Jane Fowler
Farmer Brown Pat Groome
Mr. Black Tim Sachno
Mr. Brisket Jack Knight
Col. Mustard Mike Terry
Judge John Pickering
Psychiatrist Maurice White
Narrator Alan Baker
Miss Scarlet Sammi Garrett
Warder Tom Klempson
Tinker [dog] Harry
Others Taking Part:
Julie Acreman
Bob Atkinson
Venice Barry
Becky and Emily Bincliffe
Graeme Black
Sophie Brown
Eleanor and Gemma Challenger
John Critchfield
Tom Daubeny
Robyn Dower
Christopher and Nicholas Duxbury
Belinda Ellis
Dan Foley
Alex Hehir
Wayne Newark
Matthew O’Donnell
Dan Owen
Izita Pickering
Barbara and Randy Powers
James Raymont
Chermaine Sinfield
Harry and Penny Smith
Andy Strachan
Technical Staff
Designer: Nina Daubeny
Set Design: Jayne Hatfield
Props: Jean Bincliffe, Ben Clempson. Jenna Mckee, Sue Pritchard, Donna Riley
Financial Wizard: Eve Gallilee
Fund Raisers: Julia Edwards, Fiona Hehir, Diana Henderson, Maggie Jarrott, Virginia Owen, Olga Saito, Penny Smith, Sheila Terry
Production Manager: John Horwood
Producer: Christopher Barry
Assistant Producer: Gill White
Director: Judy Owen
Assistant Director: Hilary Wiseman
Continuity: Liz Bridgwood, Ann Brown, Tom Groome
Location Manager: Janet Duxbury
Make-up: Diana Harris
Costume: Chris Pryor
Photography: Mike Winser
Camera Assistants: Simon Thomson, Ian Cozier
Gaffer: Len Bridgwood
Best Boy: Bernard Kay
Sound: David Runciman
Gopher: Olwen Goodwin
Off-Line Editing: Ron Taylor
Online: Richard Greenhaigh
Graphics: Andrij Evans
Music: Mike Bardsley, Ann Brown, Pete McPhail, Dave Whetstone
June 2022
