Gunfight at the OK Laundrette

Episode Overview

Arthur gets Terry a job with his friend Alfie – Terry’s job is to accompany Alfie while he collects the takings from his laundrette chain. When a group of blacks with a shotgun attempt to steal the takings, things turn nasty and a hostage situation ensues. With Terry taken hostage and his date wondering where he is, Arthur sees an opportunity to sell an inside story to the media.

Cast

Glynn Edwards as Dave, Dave King as Alfie, Trevor Thomas as Stretch, Linda Regan as Liz, Hilary Mason as Mrs Mayhew, William Vanderpuye as Winston, Leroi Samuels as Cosmo, Donald Burton as Chief Superintendent, Tony Doyle as Irishman, Patrick Malahide as Chisholm, David Killock as DC Harney, Arnold Diamond as Bernie

Uncredited: Douglas Cameron as Radio Newsreader, Pat Gorman as Policeman, Lynda Baron as Barmaid

Facts

The police station that features at the end of this episode (shown in the picture) can also be seen as the last picture in the black and white end credits even with the same “Lock It!” poster on display. It is an actual police station found on Fulham Road, near Fulham Broadway. There is only a very brief scene in this episode of the original Winchester Club when Arthur discovers Liz is waiting there for Terry. This was actually the inside of ‘The New Eton Inn Club’ at Chalk Farm Parade and was creator Leon Griffiths’ local drinking club at that time.

There is mention of Terry’s criminal record in this episode – at 22m53s the police state that Terry has done two years for GBH and ‘a three’ for attempted robbery. Despite this episode being written by Leon Griffiths and it being the first episode, there is already some inconsistency here with the details of Terry’s criminal record as described in Leon Griffiths ‘Minder’ novel from 1979 in which Terry’s criminal record is follows: age 15: 6 months detention centre for screwing a tv rental shop; age 23: 1 year for assault age 28: 2 years for GBH. This is an unusual start to the series as this first episode is very much unlike any other episode in the entire series, apart from maybe the final episode #10.10 The Long Good Thursday, in which Arthur finds himself in a similar situation to Terry. The theme of this episode is based on the Spaghetti House Siege which was serialised in an episode of ‘Play For Today’ called ‘A Hole In Babylon’.

Filming Dates

Monday 7th May – Friday 25th May 1979 (likely) – the second episode to be filmed in this series. Watch carefully in the Winchester Club where you can see a calendar on display.

Despite being broadcast as the first episode, this was the second episode to be filmed, the first being #1.5 The Bounty Hunter. Unlike most other episodes that spanned 10 working days, this episode was filmed over a three week period as it was intended to be the blockbuster opener for the series – at the time, it was rumoured this episode had a larger budget than the others as a result of this..

Double Take

Trevor Thomas who plays ‘Stretch’ also stars in #7.5 Fiddler On The Hoof. Pat Gorman who plays a policeman (uncredited) in this episode also pops up in #2.4 A Lot of Bull And A Pat on the Back and #3.12 Back in Good Old England. Lynda Baron would later appear as Sadie in #2.3 You Lose Some, You Win Some. Watch carefully in the Winchester Club as you see a picture of actress Sue Holderness on the wall – she would later appear in #5.3 A Number Of Old Wives Tales.

Bloopers: Watch very closely at the end of this episode where Arthur and Terry are in the taxi as the camera shows single shots of Arthur and Terry. The scenes out of the taxi’s back window change erratically showing this scene was clearly edited together at a later stage.

Title: ‘Gunfight at the O.K. Corral’, a 1957 film starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas and Rhonda Fleming.