Radio - Light programme

Published Monday 29 September 2008 at 12:05 by Nick Smurthwaite

In the new wave cinema of the sixties, Lindsay Anderson was the proverbial rebel without a cause. His film trilogy - If, O Lucky Man and Britannia Hospital - made a virtue of anarchy and dissent yet nobody really understood why.

In his all too brief examination of Anderson’s life and work, O Lucky Man, John Harris attempted to demystify the enigma by talking to friends and colleagues, including Helen Mirren, Malcolm McDowell, star of all three films, and the writers David Storey and David Sherwin.

There were two main factors influencing Anderson’s work as a director - his upbringing and his sexuality. The son of a major general in the British army, the director felt abandoned and unloved by his father.

Whether or not this emotional deprivation was related to his sexuality did not emerge, but it seems likely that Anderson’s lifelong struggle to come to terms with being homosexual caused him a lot of anguish. Despite his anti-establishment pose, he never felt comfortable being gay.

Apparently close friends urged him to come out but, as Harris pointed out, if he had done so he might never have produced such angry, passionate and personal films. Neurosis is often the spur for creative attainment.

I’d scarcely heard of the American jazz singer Betty Carter, who died ten years ago, but according to Alyn Shipton on Jazz Library she was “arguably” the finest jazz singer of the 20th century, a pretty big claim when you consider the competition. Was her scoobie-diddly-doo scat singing superior to Ella Fitzgerald’s? Was her voice more soulful than Billie Holiday’s or Nina Simone’s? It is all rather subjective, don’t you think?

Her husky voice certainly had tremendous range and elasticity, and she took risks few other singers would take. She travelled a less commercial road than some of her peers, and steadfastly refused to do what she was told by record companies. In short, she did it her way.

The great Bette Midler was a guest on Front Row, railing against the Hollywood trend for making films aimed at teenage boys. They may bring in hundreds of millions of dollars, she said, but there was no substance to them. This might explain why she has returned, aged 62, to live performance with a Las Vegas extravaganza, The Showgirl Must Go On, which promises to live up to the New York Times description of Midler as someone who gives bad taste a good name.

The News Quiz returned for a 66th series, with subjects ranging wildly from the recession-driven return of the turnip to the reproductive organs of the bed bug. The best gag of the first edition was Francis Wheen’s description of gun-toting vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin as the love child of Sylvester Stallone and Ann Widdecombe.

Following the announcement that the government was coughing up £2.5 million to encourage young people to go to the theatre, the 1Xtra website invited its listeners to have their say. Randy from west London said he preferred theatre to the movies because there is more interaction and it gets kids off the streets, while Michelle liked the idea because she could get “dressed up and feel a lil posh”.

DETAILS

O Lucky Man - R4, Tuesday, September 23

Jazz Library - Betty Carter - R3, Saturday, September 27

Front Row - R4, Friday, September 26

The News Quiz - R4, Friday, September 26

1Xtra