‘RING DEM BELLS’ (TV)

Please feel free to comment on my review.

This is a great episode to begin Series 8 of ‘Dad’s Army’! I remember seeing this on TV when I was young. In this episode, the ‘Dad’s Army’ team take part in a training film. But they don’t get to be the Home Guards as they usually do. They get dressed up as the Nazis. It upsets Mainwaring very much.

The ‘Dad’s Army’ team must avoid being seen by the public in case they’re mistaken for real Nazis. This isn’t helped when Pike behaves silly and playing the fool when he and his Uncle Arthur are chosen to be German officers. Pretty soon, the church bells are rung. The whole town is on the alert.

I found it very funny when the ‘Dad’s Army’ team get dressed up as Nazi paratroopers. Mainwaring gets out of dressing to be a Nazi officer as he wants nothing to do with the training film. Well that and also for the fact that he didn’t fit the required measurements for a German officer in a uniform.

Jonsey, Frazer and Godfrey still get to dress up with Nazi uniforms. They’re unhappy with wearing Nazi uniforms and they let Mainwaring know of this. Mainwaring appreciates their feelings, but tells them they’re under strict orders to be in the film. It’s very amusing when the filming gets postponed.

Like I said, Wilson and Pike get chosen to be Nazi officers. I enjoyed it when Pike’s dressed up as a Nazi officer. He gets to be really cheeky when acting out the part of a German officer. He puts on a good German accent, saying “Schweinhund!” Pike gets on Mainwaring’s nerves once he becomes a German officer.

England gets into an uproar once the ‘Dad’s Army’ team dressed as Nazis get discovered and after they go into a pub and frighten the landlord. Jack Haig guest stars as Mr. Palethorpe, the landlord of The Six Bells pub. Jack Haig had been considered to play Lance Corporal Jones in the ‘Dad’s Army’ series.

The episode also features Bill Pertwee as Chief Warden Hodges; Frank Williams as the Vicar and Edward Sinclair as the Verger. They too see the ‘Dad’s Army’ team dressed up as Nazi. This episode is so titled because the Vicar, the Verger and Hodges ring the church bells to warn England. Hilarious! 😀

There’s also Robert Raglan as the Colonel, Felix Bowness as the Special Constable, John Bardon as Harold Forster, Hilda Fenemore as Queenie Beal and Janet Mahoney as Doris the Barmaid. ‘Ring Dem Bells’ is one of my favourite ‘Dad’s Army’ episodes and it’s one of Ian Lavender’s favourites too.

‘Ring Dem Bells’ (TV) rating – 10/10