This sketch is so well known in the UK that at both their funerals, the coffin was preceded by choirboys carrying four candles rather than the usual two. Everybody understood the significance.
I'm perplexed. The customer asked for fork handles. Plural! Why was the customer OK with getting one fork handle? Why did the shopkeeper not ask how many fork handles when the misunderstanding was rectified?
@craighart9278 you obviously miss the point. We in the UK would say " Have you any Fork Handles" say it quickly and you could miss understand the request, so we have "4 Candles".
It's not just the mispronounciation of words, with several meanings, but the body language and facial expressions. Old fashioned Hardware shops like this, used to be very common; there's one near me, been there for 70 years.
This was without a doubt the greatest comedy sketch ever ,the thought that went into it was incredible. Ronnie Barker was brilliant as the workman ,But Ronnie Corbett as the exasperated storeman will never be equaled.This must be the funniest sketch of any duo ever .
They did one where they were two train drivers going home and everything they said referred to a station "Your lad is he still knocking around with the Theydon Bois ? "Yeah". "They're big aren't they ?" "Yeah Wapping".
all I can add to this is I roared at this when I saw it when its was first aired and I still laugh at it even though I can just about recite it from memory. The pinnacle of sketch comedy. Love it
Typical tiresome British attitude where something good never tires. Like Faulty Towers, or Python, or Morcambe and Wise and 'wot I wrote', or the 1966 World Cup final, they were all good in their day...but now they're hackneyed.
I don’t know if anyone has mentioned it before. The sketch was inspired by a real incident in a hardware shop in Hayes, which was submitted by the owners as possible material. Further inspiration came from the range of goods stocked by Harrington's hardware store, located close to Ronnie Corbett's holiday home in Broadstairs, Kent.
I live in Hayes and after speaking to my dad, we think we can pinpoint the location to within a few shops. It was the kind of place where you could buy a single nail. There were no other shops in the area that my dad knows of. If confirmed, maybe the site should receive a plaque or something?
Ronnie Barker was an absolute genius. His command of the English dialect, his stutter as Arkwright in Open All Hours, he comedy timing, and his performance as Fletcher in Porridge was masterful. One in a million. Ronnie Corbett was also a Gem
Interesting fact. I had a shockingly bad stutter as a child and I absolutely loved Arkwright in Open All Hours. Still do all these years later. His execution of that role was perfect.
@@nathaniel8925 I'm sorry for your speech impediment, and I hope you didn't let it hold you back in life. Barker was a comic genius at performance and as a writer, but your disability isn't an interesting fact at all.
Ronnie Barker once said that he'd had a letter from a family of stutterers concerning Arkwright. When he started to read it, he was concerned that they might have been offended. As he said, "you don't like to offend anyone." Not a bit of it, they were writing to say how wonderful the show was and that they loved it!
Their comedy around language was just the best. To this day, when I was in Portugal there is a supermarket attendant who has no idea why this Englishman was crying with laughter when he was trying to buy candles for his daughters 4th birthday cake :)
@@LADYRAEUK The photo is probably still online, yes that was Bollocks at the end - apparently there's an alternative ending where he asks for "big jugs" and a busty woman comes out to serve him.
As a Kiwi i have watched this hundreds of times , AND still piss myself laughing every time i watch it , British ,Kiwi and Aussie humour are so much alike
Shortly before he died, Ronnie Barker said he was never happy with the final scene punchline "Bill Hooks" as he thought it too obscure. He said that before he did London Pallidium he thought a better ending and instead of the other man coming out, it would be a rather busty girl who would take over and say " Right Sir, - What type of knockers are you looking for?".....🤣😂🤣
This sketch was written by Ronnie Barker himself but under the pseudonym Gerald Wiley as he wanted his sketches accepted purely on their own merits and not just because they were written by him. Ronnie Barker was an absolute master of wordplay as can been seen in many other sketches on the shows. This one stands out but there are others of equal skill. Something you may find interesting is the connection between this sketch and the clip from Only Fools and Horses. David Jason (Del Boy) worked with Ronnie Barker on the TV series "Open All Hours" (also on "Porridge") and he referred to Ronnie Barker as "The Guv'nor" because he learned so much about comic acting from him.
Timeless. It's clearly filmed in front of a very appreciative studio audience. A couple of the laughs are really long. For students of the topic, it's a particular masterclass from Ronnie Corbett (who is serving) in riding out the laughs with non-verbal gestures etc, rather than continuing his dialogue and cutting them off prematurely. More analysis of the sketch can be found in a new video I've just released.
Honestly it’s a joy seeing the pleasure you get from these brilliant old sketches. The Two Ronnies were a part of Britain’s comedy culture for decades. You should look at some classic Morcombe and Wise Christmas shows. Especially at this time of year. Good clean family fun.
@@hilaryjohns4049 Bill Hooks are a farming took, similar to a scythe blade but more robust for cutting bushes and other woodland plants. They became weapons of the medieval peasantry because a heavy blade on a 5 foot long pole was able to take down an armoured knight. Because Bill hooks sound like 'Bollocks' it became the polite way of swearing in post war England.
@@carlchapman4053 Thank you for your explanation, I vaguely knew what a bill hook was, but in my naivety I never equated it with bollocks. There is also a phrase e.g. my boss gave me a bollocking because of my error. That is a memory for me in my first job in 1963. I worked for a quantity surveyor and I opened quotations for jobs. I didn't know that the bosses secretary, or the boss, should have opened them. Thinking about it now I can't remember if the envelopes were marked with QUOTATION, they probably were. Anyway I was told off big time. I think my defence was that nobody had told me, which was true.
As someone else said, probably the best comedy sketch of all time. Ronnie Barker was a great writer and wordsmith, writing under the pseudonym of Gerald Wiley. The sketch was updated for Comic Relief as a tribute after Ronnie Barker died. Search 'My Blackberry is not working' Ronnie Corbett. Excellent play on words, brought up to date.
Now you're assuming that everyone in the world has perfect knowledge of the English language so they'd understand the misinterpretation of the words. But since that is not the case, this is not the best comedy sketch of all time. Right?
to me the best part of this sketch is the nostalgia i get from watching it. i remember going to a shop like this with my grandpa all the time and it looked exactly like this and the people were really like this, and they really did sell everything. my grandpa called it the nail stores, and one time i asked him why he called it the nail store because he was the only one who did, he said ''well he sells nails'' and i said ''ye but he also sells bread, candy, wood, clothes and if you ask he'll get you a puppy and a donkey'' to wich he replied with all seriousness ''ye but i dont need those all the time'' xD sadly there arent alot of em around no more, if any at all.
@@briancarr4607nah, he didnt charge for a single nail =) he had a big box on the counter with old used nails and screws you could just grab some out of if you didnt need much. he'd get those from old furniture people brought him if they didnt need it and wasnt in good enough shape to sell or give away.
So glad you enjoyed it so much. This sketch was made in 1976 but the Two Ronnies re-created it in the 1980s with the roles reversed. Ronnie B played a grocery shopkeeper and Ronnie C played a customer who was an Arab Sheikh. It is on YT and well worth seeing.
Hi ladyrae , I've seen this sketch so many times it still rates as one of my favourites. I didn't watch the sketch as I was looking at your reaction and loved to see you laughing and literally wiping the tears from your eyes. So glad you enjoyed it.
Classic Two Ronnie's. Ronnie Barker wrote it, a lady that used to work for him showed up on the British Antique Roadshow with a hand written first draft of the sketch, and it was valued quite high because of the popularity of that particular sketch...
Truly a classic sketch, one my late dad loved. He even tried the four candles question in a hardware store himself, but it went straight over the young assistant’s head 😂
There's a hardware store called Barnitts in York where you can get practically anything which exists. They do Hose, Hoes and "O"s but possibly not Pantyhose.
Ronnie C appeared on Would I lie to you with his "butty" Rob Bryson.....the final challenge was to convince the other team that he had needed to buy four candles from a hardware store.......I was more disappointed to find that was a lie than I was when my first crush turned me down!
Loved the reaction. I must have seen this dozens of times and I still laugh every time. So many brilliant Two Ronnies sketches. In any era Ronnie Corbett would be called a great, but pair him with the absolute genius of Ronnie Barker, and the two were the greatest of all time.
What a great channel, watching you're reactions takes me back to how I felt the first time I watched them. This particular sketch has followed me around as working in a Builders' Merchant I am asked for four candles/fork handles very regularly. Brilliant
This sketch is timeless, I never tire watching this, still hilarious now as it was back then. Amanda, you have the pleasure and privilege out of these two classic British comedians. 😀
Back in the 70's when Gene Wilder was in the West End - he mentioned that after his Saturday nite show - he would watch the Two Ronnies straight away - now that is real praise from comedic genius
One of my favourite ever comedy clips - glad you liked it; I think the fact you got it all makes you well & truly honourary British (adopted) as I've seen so many Americans very confused by it in their reactions.😂
As a kid, most hilarious thing ever. Didn't know how much it would become an icon. But the whole idea that Ronie Corbett can't understand Ronie Barker, why should Americans understand...Well anything.
The Legendary Two Ronnies, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett.....God Bless them both for giving generations of us Brits such pleasure with their exquisite comedy during the years. We miss them terribly. RIP both of you and thanks for the laughs.
This clip brings back the memory of my mother father and my brother in total hysterics. I laughed so hard my ribs were aching. I recommend The Two Ronnie's "Bold Sir John" this is hilarious. All the best
Glad you enjoyed this timeless bit of comedy! Sometimes British humour can be lost in translation! I know Americans speak English obviously, but our humour can be a lot more implied, derogatory or a lot of innuendos! We love our innuendoes! We also enjoy insulting one another, especially our friends! 😂 This can sometimes be lost on our friends across the pond.
This is one of the most iconic British comedy sketches, absolutely genius. Their Mastermind sketch is also superb, very clever and well worth a watch! 😹
This sketch was so well loved that when Ronnie Corbett died, nearly forty years after recording it, his coffin was preceded into church by four choristers each carrying a large candle.
I was a teenager when I was in the studio audience for this ..my mother's laughter can be heard the loudest I swear! Probably not, but it sure sounds like it 😄😃🤣 .. We went to see it in the July If I recall.. but wasn't broadcasted until Sept 76 But a brilliant sketch to be able to have witnessed the three or four takes they took to get it right . And poor Ronnie Corbett had to climb that ladder time and time again!
@@thoughtfortheday7811 yes it was.. the sketches aren't all for the same show ..they recorded different sketches and placed them in the various shows to be shown on TV.. So I guess I was there for about five sketches and three of Ronnie Corbett's long Shaggy dog story jokes where he had to get up change his jumper and return to his chair ..lol.
@@Leoviliti1 you're so lucky to have been there, I wondered how they filmed the shows. Some of the live audiences back then had very distinctive laughers.
since you were there was the last joke supposed to mean bollocks? or was billhooks some other English inside joke relevant for that time period? it stood out from the others. thanks
The Two Ronnies were comedy geniuses. Sadly they have both passed, but what a fantastic legacy they have left. Hilarious. Great reaction vid Amanda. 👍👍👍
OMG I hit the play button so fast when I saw you had reacted to the Two Ronnies Fork Handles. This era of tv is my absolute favourite and I'm really glad you enjoyed it as well.
I saw it when they 1st showed it on TV. I cried with laughter. Still do, whenever I see it. " guys at the top of their game. Shame they are no longer around.
It’s great watching these old classic comedy sketches through your eyes, Amanda. 😎🤘 Morecambe & Wise with Andre Previn, Shirley Bassey and Glenda Jackson next please. 🙏
I'm glad you enjoyed that classic sketch! The Two Ronnies were so prolific in the 70s and 80s that a lot of people got rather weary of them and their style of humour, which was clever but was looking and feeling dated compared to up and coming comedians of the day. Looking back however, I can appreciate them for what they were, true pros...
OMG still the funniest thing ever produced... four candles will forever be in my brain. So glad you enjoyed it and is it really 45 years old... dear goodness as a sketch it will always be there in the best that was ever made!
that sketch was built upon a letter that was sent to Ronnie B from a fan that told the story of the four candles , and the team built the rest of the sketch round that one part
I used to sit with my parents and watch their shows as a child. I'm sure some of it used to go over my head. I used to like their dramas like The Phantom Raspberry Blower.
These 2 are legends,remember watching this wen I was younger. They also did a series of skits called 'The Phantom Raspberry Blower of old London Town.🤣
@@Brian-om2hh Who is the Archbishop of Canterbury? He's a fat man who tells blue jokes. The Mastermind sketch is based on such a simple idea but it works brilliantly.
It was also a perfect depiction of that vanishing British institution the local ironmonger's shop. Despite their diminutive size they seemed to stock everything and kept the stuff in cardboard boxes and little sets of wooden drawers just as the set showed.
pure comedy gold never ages. i don't know how many times i've seen this sketch, it never get's old, it must be dozens if not hundreds of times, and i still have to wipe my eyes, it makes me laugh that much.
Amanda, I can tell when you are really enjoying a video clip: the little snorts develop into a cackle.....only the full belly laugh to go. Keep 'em coming girl !
Possibly the funniest greatest British skit of all time! By two incredible British comedians! I didn't know who these guys were until this year believe it or not? I happened to catch them on TH-cam and I haven't stopped since! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
So glad that you got to see what is probably one of the funniest, most loved sketches every done. No matter how many time you see it, its still funny :-)
I must have seen this sketch 20 times and I think it's brilliant. I love this British humour and luckily some things stay with us. This is one of them. Thank you.
Congratulations Amanda. I have grown up watching this classic clip more times than I can remember. I have watched countless youtubers react to this (mainly American) they all laugh, they all smile at the end, but look puzzled with "billhooks". British humour and word play is often misunderstood, so Its great to see someone nail the meaning instantly. Well done.
@@valenmade Hi Valentina, As you saw in the sketch, everything was misheard or misunderstood. Billhooks are types of knife widely used in forestry and farming. This would have been mispronounced or misheard as bollocks, a common British term for the male testicles or balls. The shop keeper asked "would you like 1 or 2?" Naturally the answer would have been 2 as they generally come in pairs. In a remake of this sketch, the shop keeper was replaced with a female assistant. The draw was renamed "knockers". A door knocker is normally fixed to your front door so visitors can bang it to let you know they are there. However "knockers" are a British slang term for breasts. If an answer had been given to the question "do you want 1 or 2?" the answer would have been 2 as most men would like to get their hands on a pair of breasts. The knockers reference not as cryptic and is much more widely understood.
@@clairerichards8383 A side-note on that subject. Back in the early 20th century long before email and computers, the telegram was the fastest way to communicate with businesses in writing. Businesses in the UK could purchase a "telegraphic address" which saved on having to write out their full address - one word, followed by the town or city. Harrods' address was 'Everything, London'. I still cherish a 1970s photocopy of a letter from the old-established legal firm of Knocker & Foskett, whose telegraphic address was "Knockers, Sevenoaks". I guess they probably sent the office boy out to get the address!
How about Morecambe & Wise when the taller of the two is looking through the bedroom window,and hear's a ambulance going past full speed with its siren on. He says to the other guy (Wise I think), " He won't sell many Ice Cream's going at that speed". Lol.😂
chanced across Billy Connely, the Big Yin, watched a few more others the sketches made my laugh but watching you laugh alongside put me in tears of laughter, ive now subscribed, you actually have a unique voice, thanks for bringing back memories for a old man
I am so happy that you have watched this, I am sure it was voted best comedy sketch ever. So many Brits can rhyme this off to a T. I have seen it so many times and still laugh my n..s off. Again thanks for watching Amanda.
@@LADYRAEUK No I am glad you enjoyed it. Great to see you enjoy the old comedy material. Ronnie Barker did Porridge and Open All hours both classics. I still watch them now when i get a chance
Ronnie Barker did think of a better ending, but only after it was too late so it was never shot. The help who came in at the end would've been a woman and the final item on the list would have been "a pair of knockers", and he spent years kicking himself about it afterwards?
Amanda - I have never seen you laugh so much as in this sequence! When Ronnie Corbett died, the funeral procession included four people, each carrying a tall candle: four candles...
Hi Amanda. It was great seeing that when it was first shown in their series, many years ago now. Glad you enjoyed it. Please watch one from The Two Ronnie's, The Lost Sketches. It's called My Sisters Wedding. Ronnie Barker has forgotten his Glasses and has trouble reading his speech, plus he's had a couple of drinks. It's So funny. Love to see Your reaction to it as well. Regards. Antony.
This sketch is so well known in the UK that at both their funerals, the coffin was preceded by choirboys carrying four candles rather than the usual two. Everybody understood the significance.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I love them....
I didn't know that the choir boys had 4 candles for there funeral yes they would have lived that and the crowd too I would say.
Saw this for the first time made me very emotional brilliant
@@williambailey344 no..fork 'andles
I've must have seen this 20 times and I'm still crying. Ronnie Barker was a master with words. Sadly missed.
👍🏻
I'm perplexed.
The customer asked for fork handles. Plural! Why was the customer OK with getting one fork handle? Why did the shopkeeper not ask how many fork handles when the misunderstanding was rectified?
@craighart9278 you obviously miss the point. We in the UK would say " Have you any Fork Handles" say it quickly and you could miss understand the request, so we have "4 Candles".
I'm from Sheffield, South Yorkshire and that is how we speak normally. Tend to run our words together and miss pronouncing the end letters.
'Saw tips. What do ya want ointment or something?'
45 years years old and still making people laugh, that is some legacy. Great reaction
A very well-written sketch performed by two highly talented comedy actors.
Totally agree, but believe it or not I have come across my customers who have not seen it
It's not just the mispronounciation of words, with several meanings, but the body language and facial expressions. Old fashioned Hardware shops like this, used to be very common; there's one near me, been there for 70 years.
@@MrDaiseymay I miss them, there were five local ones to me, there are now none.
It doesn't ever get old no matter how many times you see it it cracks you up every time.
This was without a doubt the greatest comedy sketch ever ,the thought that went into it was incredible. Ronnie Barker was brilliant as the workman ,But Ronnie Corbett as the exasperated storeman will never be equaled.This must be the funniest sketch of any duo ever .
They did one where they were two train drivers going home and everything they said referred to a station "Your lad is he still knocking around with the Theydon Bois ? "Yeah". "They're big aren't they ?" "Yeah Wapping".
IM 80 NOW GOING ON 60 I REMEMBER WATCHING THIS WHEN IT WAS FIRST BROADCAST ON A SATURDAY NIGHT ON BBC TV
So good it was. Been copied in several countries.
all I can add to this is I roared at this when I saw it when its was first aired and I still laugh at it even though I can just about recite it from memory. The pinnacle of sketch comedy. Love it
Ronnie Corbett gives a master class in comedy timing in this sketch.
A classic, and one that we Brits probably will never tire of.
It’s brilliant 😊
The day we do, we are lost.
The Sun will explode before we don't find this funny.
This, and Del Boy falling through the bar!
Typical tiresome British attitude where something good never tires. Like Faulty Towers, or Python, or Morcambe and Wise and 'wot I wrote', or the 1966 World Cup final, they were all good in their day...but now they're hackneyed.
I don’t know if anyone has mentioned it before. The sketch was inspired by a real incident in a hardware shop in Hayes, which was submitted by the owners as possible material. Further inspiration came from the range of goods stocked by Harrington's hardware store, located close to Ronnie Corbett's holiday home in Broadstairs, Kent.
I live in Hayes and after speaking to my dad, we think we can pinpoint the location to within a few shops. It was the kind of place where you could buy a single nail. There were no other shops in the area that my dad knows of. If confirmed, maybe the site should receive a plaque or something?
Ronnie Barker was an absolute genius. His command of the English dialect, his stutter as Arkwright in Open All Hours, he comedy timing, and his performance as Fletcher in Porridge was masterful. One in a million. Ronnie Corbett was also a Gem
Interesting fact. I had a shockingly bad stutter as a child and I absolutely loved Arkwright in Open All Hours. Still do all these years later. His execution of that role was perfect.
@@nathaniel8925 I'm sorry for your speech impediment, and I hope you didn't let it hold you back in life. Barker was a comic genius at performance and as a writer, but your disability isn't an interesting fact at all.
Ronnie Barker once said that he'd had a letter from a family of stutterers concerning Arkwright.
When he started to read it, he was concerned that they might have been offended.
As he said, "you don't like to offend anyone."
Not a bit of it, they were writing to say how wonderful the show was and that they loved it!
@@Psmith-ek5hq Well, you're a bundle of laughs, ain't ya? Life and soul of the party.
@@klaxoncow I wasn't trying to be funny: I was merely making a point.
Their comedy around language was just the best. To this day, when I was in Portugal there is a supermarket attendant who has no idea why this Englishman was crying with laughter when he was trying to buy candles for his daughters 4th birthday cake :)
Interesting - the Portuguese for candles is velas, and the sails of a ship are... velas. Imagine Ronnie Corbett trying to sort that one out.🤣
Bullshit
@@xtraspecial4677 Eh?
@@carlosgomes2783 wasn't talking to you
:-D :-D :-D :-D
When Ronnie Barker died a Hardware shop put a tribute in their window...4 candles, nothing else was needed!
That’s brilliant
@@LADYRAEUK The photo is probably still online, yes that was Bollocks at the end - apparently there's an alternative ending where he asks for "big jugs" and a busty woman comes out to serve him.
At his Memorial Service for Ronnie Barker held in Westminster Abbey, the procession included four candles rather than the usual two...
@@LADYRAEUK And I also understand that Ronnie Corbett had four candles specially placed on the church altar for his service when he died in 2016.
@@Lentonist yes the shop 4 candles was in Earls Colne High st in Essex 👍
Taking nothing away from the genius that was Ronnie Barker, Ronnie Corbett delivers a master class of comedy timing.
This lady in the video totally gets dry sense of humor! 😂
One of greatest sketches ever, by probably the greatest Comedy duo ever. Just my humble opinion. Still makes me laugh all these years later.
As a Kiwi i have watched this hundreds of times , AND still piss myself laughing every time i watch it , British ,Kiwi and Aussie humour are so much alike
😊👍🏻👍🏻
Almost another Morecombe and Wise...
The pub in Ronnie Barkers home town is called The Four Candles
Morcame and Wise where wonderful
You can’t beat the classic British comedy. Naturally funny humour, no punch lines to get laughters 👍👍
Shortly before he died, Ronnie Barker said he was never happy with the final scene punchline "Bill Hooks" as he thought it too obscure. He said that before he did London Pallidium he thought a better ending and instead of the other man coming out, it would be a rather busty girl who would take over and say " Right Sir, - What type of knockers are you looking for?".....🤣😂🤣
lol! 😂😂
@@LADYRAEUK The explanation is at the end of this tape Amanda immediately after you turned it off :)
LOL! That would have been funny tbh!
@@Isleofskye I never got the ending, Barker was right, it was too obscure.
The suggested ending would have been great as it was so unexpected
@@Thenogomogo-zo3un Thanks,My Friend..
I've been watching the 2 Ronnies all my life & still can't get enough!
The funniest ever.. They were perfect together.
They’re brilliant! 🤣
Makes me giggle too.. what comedy gods they were. Perfect delivery, perfect timing and gentle sweet jokes.
Hi Amanda. Watched a few Americans react to this they didn't quite get it but I knew you would. Love your channel thank you x
Hey Ken! I thought it was brilliant! Thank you 😊
Some didn't quite get it, some got it completely, and some.......the less said about them the better
@@LADYRAEUK we all need them 'andles' for forks don't we!
The difference between Amanda and other American reactors on this vid is that she's been her long enough to 'get' the payoff of 'bellhooks'!!👍
I was laughing at sketch, plus laughing at Amanda laughing and her expressions as it went on. Good vid.
We Brits R inventers of Comedy. America U gave us 'Friends'. There's ABSOLUTELY NO Comparison. 😂😂😂😂
Legends these two were. Ronnie Barker was the master of wordplay
He was certainly a master of "Pismronunciation" :-)
🤣😊
When comedy in the U.K. was comedy. Total genius
Total classic, I used to love their Christmas specials. Good old days 🤣🤣
Lol I need to watch more
Was one of the best parts of Christmas as a kid imo 👍🙏
@@LADYRAEUK and nowadays at xmas they just put unfunny repeats of so called comediums
I was just talking about always watching the Xmas specials to my mate at Xmas time,the garbage they put on now in comparison 😨
Absolute genius never ages, maybe the best comedy sketch in history.
Brings tears to my eyes every time I watch it.
This sketch was written by Ronnie Barker himself but under the pseudonym Gerald Wiley as he wanted his sketches accepted purely on their own merits and not just because they were written by him. Ronnie Barker was an absolute master of wordplay as can been seen in many other sketches on the shows. This one stands out but there are others of equal skill. Something you may find interesting is the connection between this sketch and the clip from Only Fools and Horses. David Jason (Del Boy) worked with Ronnie Barker on the TV series "Open All Hours" (also on "Porridge") and he referred to Ronnie Barker as "The Guv'nor" because he learned so much about comic acting from him.
He was a genius.
Absolutely, the Mastermind sketch is just superb 😂
@@alansevern290 That was one of the sketches I was thinking of along with the one with the two phone booths. Brilliant stuff.
I didn't know about the pseudonym part, thanks for that
My favourite of his sketches was the hieroglyphics one, great wordplay in that too!
Timeless. It's clearly filmed in front of a very appreciative studio audience. A couple of the laughs are really long. For students of the topic, it's a particular masterclass from Ronnie Corbett (who is serving) in riding out the laughs with non-verbal gestures etc, rather than continuing his dialogue and cutting them off prematurely. More analysis of the sketch can be found in a new video I've just released.
Honestly it’s a joy seeing the pleasure you get from these brilliant old sketches. The Two Ronnies were a part of Britain’s comedy culture for decades. You should look at some classic Morcombe and Wise Christmas shows. Especially at this time of year. Good clean family fun.
Well said!!
Yes. Check out Andre Preview!
I've always said that it's the reaction each time of little Ronnie that makes the sketch so funny.
Can I just say that was the most adorable way ive heard the word "bollocks" ever said 🤣🤣
is that the punchline 'Bill hooks' that part I never understood.
@@wespaul9345Me neither, and I am decades old.
@@hilaryjohns4049 Billhooks (short-handled scythe) - rhymes with B*llocks...
@@hilaryjohns4049 Bill Hooks are a farming took, similar to a scythe blade but more robust for cutting bushes and other woodland plants. They became weapons of the medieval peasantry because a heavy blade on a 5 foot long pole was able to take down an armoured knight. Because Bill hooks sound like 'Bollocks' it became the polite way of swearing in post war England.
@@carlchapman4053 Thank you for your explanation, I vaguely knew what a bill hook was, but in my naivety I never equated it with bollocks. There is also a phrase e.g. my boss gave me a bollocking because of my error. That is a memory for me in my first job in 1963. I worked for a quantity surveyor and I opened quotations for jobs. I didn't know that the bosses secretary, or the boss, should have opened them. Thinking about it now I can't remember if the envelopes were marked with QUOTATION, they probably were. Anyway I was told off big time. I think my defence was that nobody had told me, which was true.
As someone else said, probably the best comedy sketch of all time. Ronnie Barker was a great writer and wordsmith, writing under the pseudonym of Gerald Wiley.
The sketch was updated for Comic Relief as a tribute after Ronnie Barker died. Search 'My Blackberry is not working' Ronnie Corbett. Excellent play on words, brought up to date.
Now you're assuming that everyone in the world has perfect knowledge of the English language so they'd understand the misinterpretation of the words. But since that is not the case, this is not the best comedy sketch of all time. Right?
@@Vinterfrid Well, maybe you should go to work on translating the funniest joke in the world then...
to me the best part of this sketch is the nostalgia i get from watching it.
i remember going to a shop like this with my grandpa all the time and it looked exactly like this and the people were really like this, and they really did sell everything. my grandpa called it the nail stores, and one time i asked him why he called it the nail store because he was the only one who did, he said ''well he sells nails'' and i said ''ye but he also sells bread, candy, wood, clothes and if you ask he'll get you a puppy and a donkey'' to wich he replied with all seriousness ''ye but i dont need those all the time'' xD
sadly there arent alot of em around no more, if any at all.
Every town would have at least one of these shops. In my hometown of Ipswich it was Martin and Newby; the only thing they didn't sell was food.
Yeah and I bet he would sell you a single nail if that's all you wanted ?
Our local one was referred to as the chandlers.
@@briancarr4607nah, he didnt charge for a single nail =) he had a big box on the counter with old used nails and screws you could just grab some out of if you didnt need much. he'd get those from old furniture people brought him if they didnt need it and wasnt in good enough shape to sell or give away.
We have one in the village I live in called 'The Handyman'. It's just like it.
So glad you enjoyed it so much. This sketch was made in 1976 but the Two Ronnies re-created it in the 1980s with the roles reversed. Ronnie B played a grocery shopkeeper and Ronnie C played a customer who was an Arab Sheikh. It is on YT and well worth seeing.
is that the one with Ma Malady (Marmalade)?
@@kathrynwhitby9799 Yes, I think so, and "bicker bonnet of sodder"
Morecombe & Wise making breakfast to the stripper music is a comedy classic.
Hi ladyrae , I've seen this sketch so many times it still rates as one of my favourites. I didn't watch the sketch as I was looking at your reaction and loved to see you laughing and literally wiping the tears from your eyes. So glad you enjoyed it.
Classic Two Ronnie's. Ronnie Barker wrote it, a lady that used to work for him showed up on the British Antique Roadshow with a hand written first draft of the sketch, and it was valued quite high because of the popularity of that particular sketch...
Truly a classic sketch, one my late dad loved. He even tried the four candles question in a hardware store himself, but it went straight over the young assistant’s head 😂
There's a hardware store called Barnitts in York where you can get practically anything which exists. They do Hose, Hoes and "O"s but possibly not Pantyhose.
🤣😂😅
Ronnie C appeared on Would I lie to you with his "butty" Rob Bryson.....the final challenge was to convince the other team that he had needed to buy four candles from a hardware store.......I was more disappointed to find that was a lie than I was when my first crush turned me down!
Hi Amanda lovely to see you laughing and enjoying our recommendations. You are a breath of fresh air, can’t wait until the next one. ❤️❤️
Loved the reaction. I must have seen this dozens of times and I still laugh every time. So many brilliant Two Ronnies sketches. In any era Ronnie Corbett would be called a great, but pair him with the absolute genius of Ronnie Barker, and the two were the greatest of all time.
🙌🙌
This sketch never fails to make me laugh. It's so hilarious and too funny
What a great channel, watching you're reactions takes me back to how I felt the first time I watched them. This particular sketch has followed me around as working in a Builders' Merchant I am asked for four candles/fork handles very regularly. Brilliant
This sketch is timeless, I never tire watching this, still hilarious now as it was back then. Amanda, you have the pleasure and privilege out of these two classic British comedians. 😀
😊
@@LADYRAEUK you should try and find sketch called in the trenches :)
Morecambe and wise ice cream is another
Back in the 70's when Gene Wilder was in the West End - he mentioned that after his Saturday nite show - he would watch the Two Ronnies straight away - now that is real praise from comedic genius
One of my favourite ever comedy clips - glad you liked it; I think the fact you got it all makes you well & truly honourary British (adopted) as I've seen so many Americans very confused by it in their reactions.😂
Lol!! It’s brilliant
@@LADYRAEUK I've seen a few American reactions where they just don't get it at all!
As a kid, most hilarious thing ever. Didn't know how much it would become an icon.
But the whole idea that Ronie Corbett can't understand Ronie Barker, why should Americans understand...Well anything.
I could watch this sketch every day without getting bored. It is the funniest thing ever.
👍🏻
The Legendary Two Ronnies, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett.....God Bless them both for giving generations of us Brits such pleasure with their exquisite comedy during the years. We miss them terribly. RIP both of you and thanks for the laughs.
Ronnie Corbett was not above sending himself up either, he was in Extras with Monica Stewart enjoying some party nose powder in a night club.
I love that it shows a window of Amanda laughing and the sketch at the same time.
😊🙌🙌
This clip brings back the memory of my mother father and my brother in total hysterics. I laughed so hard my ribs were aching. I recommend The Two Ronnie's "Bold Sir John" this is hilarious. All the best
I’m so glad! 😊
I’ll check it out
I could not agree more. There is some good comedy about these days, but it's been a long time since my ribs hurt through laughing.
Glad you enjoyed this timeless bit of comedy! Sometimes British humour can be lost in translation! I know Americans speak English obviously, but our humour can be a lot more implied, derogatory or a lot of innuendos! We love our innuendoes! We also enjoy insulting one another, especially our friends! 😂 This can sometimes be lost on our friends across the pond.
This is one of the most iconic British comedy sketches, absolutely genius. Their Mastermind sketch is also superb, very clever and well worth a watch! 😹
🙂
Brian Parker. Modern Comedians aren't even in the same league as the Two Ronnies or Monty Python.
This sketch was so well loved that when Ronnie Corbett died, nearly forty years after recording it, his coffin was preceded into church by four choristers each carrying a large candle.
@@THEJR-of5tf You are so right! (I still think Laurel and Hardy are probably the best though!)
@@THEJR-of5tf You are so right! (I still think Laurel and Hardy are probably the best though!)
Probably one of the greatest comedy sketches ever
I remember watching this when it was first on TV, still makes me laugh.
So funny!
Glad you liked this sketch. It IS a British classic. 😊😊
I was a teenager when I was in the studio audience for this ..my mother's laughter can be heard the loudest I swear! Probably not, but it sure sounds like it 😄😃🤣 .. We went to see it in the July If I recall.. but wasn't broadcasted until Sept 76
But a brilliant sketch to be able to have witnessed the three or four takes they took to get it right .
And poor Ronnie Corbett had to climb that ladder time and time again!
that's great
A proper moment of history, that's a great memory for you.
@@thoughtfortheday7811 yes it was.. the sketches aren't all for the same show ..they recorded different sketches and placed them in the various shows to be shown on TV..
So I guess I was there for about five sketches and three of Ronnie Corbett's long Shaggy dog story jokes where he had to get up change his jumper and return to his chair ..lol.
@@Leoviliti1 you're so lucky to have been there, I wondered how they filmed the shows. Some of the live audiences back then had very distinctive laughers.
since you were there was the last joke supposed to mean bollocks? or was billhooks some other English inside joke relevant for that time period? it stood out from the others. thanks
Love this video. I had only seen the four candles / fork handles joke, and never this entire scene, until watching your video, so thank you for this.
The Two Ronnies were comedy geniuses. Sadly they have both passed, but what a fantastic legacy they have left. Hilarious.
Great reaction vid Amanda. 👍👍👍
Thank you!
OMG I hit the play button so fast when I saw you had reacted to the Two Ronnies Fork Handles. This era of tv is my absolute favourite and I'm really glad you enjoyed it as well.
🙌glad you enjoyed it!
I saw it when they 1st showed it on TV. I cried with laughter. Still do, whenever I see it. " guys at the top of their game. Shame they are no longer around.
Same here, first time around, it never goes stale.
I’ve probably reacted before, this is one the best comedy sketches ever and Amanda laughing just makes it better
If you say to most Brits over 30 " Four candles" the standard reply will be "Got any O's?" Absolutely brilliant classic British comedy.
Mon repose 😉
🤣🤣🤣
This is the all time classic of the two Ronnies and my personal favourite.
I love watching amandas face she gets it all 😂😂😂
That made my day. Always love four candles. make me laugh to this day. lived near to Ronnie C. Great guy and so funny
Absolute best of British comedy. Classic 🤣🤣🤣.
Quote whenever possible. 'Fork Handles '
So sad these two absolute legends are no longer with us, Ronnie Barker was responsible for so many great things in British tv & comedy.
Evening amanda. That is classic british comedy at its best. And not a swear word in sight. Nice one love 😘😘
Brilliant! I’ll be watching more 😊
Thank you for the laughs, I watched that sketch as a young man and it brings back so many memories.
It’s great watching these old classic comedy sketches through your eyes, Amanda. 😎🤘
Morecambe & Wise with Andre Previn, Shirley Bassey and Glenda Jackson next please. 🙏
It’s so funny, I’m really enjoying it
The Andre Previn one is brilliant. "They ARE the right notes, just not necessarily in the right order"
@sequri
Yes, for me if 'Four Candles' is the classic Two Ronnies sketch, then the piece with Andre Previn is the classic Morecambe and Wise sketch.
Agreed. I play all the right notes,not necessarily in the right order
@@rahmij Hello...Yes the Morecambe & Wise Andre Previn sketch is 50 years old this Christmas
Ahh, those two were brilliant, and that sketch will live forever, classic!, Great seeing your reaction Amanda, your laugh is infectious!
I totally agree with 'MJOTD' the sketch and you laughing bring tears of laughter to my eyes.
I'm glad you enjoyed that classic sketch! The Two Ronnies were so prolific in the 70s and 80s that a lot of people got rather weary of them and their style of humour, which was clever but was looking and feeling dated compared to up and coming comedians of the day. Looking back however, I can appreciate them for what they were, true pros...
OMG still the funniest thing ever produced... four candles will forever be in my brain.
So glad you enjoyed it and is it really 45 years old... dear goodness as a sketch it will always be there in the best that was ever made!
😊👍🏻
that sketch was built upon a letter that was sent to Ronnie B from a fan that told the story of the four candles , and the team built the rest of the sketch round that one part
Another absolute classic is the Morecambe and Wise sketch with Andre Previn. Cracks me up every time.
I used to sit with my parents and watch their shows as a child. I'm sure some of it used to go over my head. I used to like their dramas like The Phantom Raspberry Blower.
These 2 are legends,remember watching this wen I was younger.
They also did a series of skits called 'The Phantom Raspberry Blower of old London Town.🤣
Their word-play sketches are some of the best. Crossed Lines and Mastermind are both hilarious.
I’ll check them out 😊
Two Ronnies and Mastermind is BRILLIANT!
That Mastermind sketch - where Ronnie gives answers to the previous question, rather than the one actually being asked. That is hilarious!
@@Brian-om2hh Who is the Archbishop of Canterbury?
He's a fat man who tells blue jokes.
The Mastermind sketch is based on such a simple idea but it works brilliantly.
@@geoffpoole483 Worth pointing out that Benny Hill had made highly effective use of the idea over a decade before.
Canadians have been watching this for years. Love British humour.
This is easily up there as the greatest comedy sketch ever! Just pure genius in content, timing, delivery. Unrelated - great ink too!
Thanks 😊
They were so clever with words, loved them.
I have watched this so many times and I still laugh every time.
Seen it loads of times, but a classic that can be watched time and time again.
It was also a perfect depiction of that vanishing British institution the local ironmonger's shop. Despite their diminutive size they seemed to stock everything and kept the stuff in cardboard boxes and little sets of wooden drawers just as the set showed.
And they all smell the same.
pure comedy gold never ages. i don't know how many times i've seen this sketch, it never get's old, it must be dozens if not hundreds of times, and i still have to wipe my eyes, it makes me laugh that much.
Ronnie Corbets reaction to his diificult customer is what made me laugh most.They were both highley gifted men & im sure the nation misses them.
One of the greatest comedy sketches ever, along with Del Boy falling through the bar etc etc 😂
Amanda, I can tell when you are really enjoying a video clip: the little snorts develop into a cackle.....only the full belly laugh to go. Keep 'em coming girl !
haha thank you! :)
Possibly the funniest greatest British skit of all time! By two incredible British comedians! I didn't know who these guys were until this year believe it or not? I happened to catch them on TH-cam and I haven't stopped since! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
So glad that you got to see what is probably one of the funniest, most loved sketches every done. No matter how many time you see it, its still funny :-)
I must have seen this sketch 20 times and I think it's brilliant. I love this British humour and luckily some things stay with us. This is one of them. Thank you.
Ronnie Barker was a genius at writing word play sketches. Have a look at the speak Swedish sketch.
Best comedy sketch of all time. Just brilliant.
Congratulations Amanda. I have grown up watching this classic clip more times than I can remember. I have watched countless youtubers react to this (mainly American) they all laugh, they all smile at the end, but look puzzled with "billhooks". British humour and word play is often misunderstood, so Its great to see someone nail the meaning instantly. Well done.
Can you explain the billhooks to me? I'm working on language project, and I don't get it.
@@valenmade Hi Valentina, As you saw in the sketch, everything was misheard or misunderstood. Billhooks are types of knife widely used in forestry and farming. This would have been mispronounced or misheard as bollocks, a common British term for the male testicles or balls. The shop keeper asked "would you like 1 or 2?" Naturally the answer would have been 2 as they generally come in pairs. In a remake of this sketch, the shop keeper was replaced with a female assistant. The draw was renamed "knockers". A door knocker is normally fixed to your front door so visitors can bang it to let you know they are there. However "knockers" are a British slang term for breasts. If an answer had been given to the question "do you want 1 or 2?" the answer would have been 2 as most men would like to get their hands on a pair of breasts. The knockers reference not as cryptic and is much more widely understood.
@@clairerichards8383 thank you for your reply!
@@clairerichards8383 A side-note on that subject. Back in the early 20th century long before email and computers, the telegram was the fastest way to communicate with businesses in writing. Businesses in the UK could purchase a "telegraphic address" which saved on having to write out their full address - one word, followed by the town or city. Harrods' address was 'Everything, London'. I still cherish a 1970s photocopy of a letter from the old-established legal firm of Knocker & Foskett, whose telegraphic address was "Knockers, Sevenoaks". I guess they probably sent the office boy out to get the address!
I love this one haha You should do the two ronnies - my blackberry is not working. Same stupid humour haha. Love this channel :)
Thank you!
How about Morecambe & Wise when the taller of the two is looking through the bedroom window,and hear's a ambulance going past full speed with its siren on.
He says to the other guy (Wise I think), " He won't sell many Ice Cream's going at that speed".
Lol.😂
chanced across Billy Connely, the Big Yin, watched a few more others the sketches made my laugh but watching you laugh alongside put me in tears of laughter, ive now subscribed, you actually have a unique voice, thanks for bringing back memories for a old man
I am so happy that you have watched this, I am sure it was voted best comedy sketch ever. So many Brits can rhyme this off to a T. I have seen it so many times and still laugh my n..s off. Again thanks for watching Amanda.
You're so welcome, I'm glad you enjoyed it :)
@@LADYRAEUK No I am glad you enjoyed it. Great to see you enjoy the old comedy material. Ronnie Barker did Porridge and Open All hours both classics. I still watch them now when i get a chance
The 2 Ronnie's where classics..absolutely brilliant duo..🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Ronnie Barker did think of a better ending, but only after it was too late so it was never shot. The help who came in at the end would've been a woman and the final item on the list would have been "a pair of knockers", and he spent years kicking himself about it afterwards?
This has still got to be one of my favourite comedy sketches ever ... i still do it when i go shopping with my wife sometimes lol
Amanda - I have never seen you laugh so much as in this sequence! When Ronnie Corbett died, the funeral procession included four people, each carrying a tall candle: four candles...
Hi Amanda. It was great seeing that when it was first shown in their series, many years ago now.
Glad you enjoyed it.
Please watch one from The Two Ronnie's, The Lost Sketches.
It's called My Sisters Wedding.
Ronnie Barker has forgotten his Glasses and has trouble reading his speech, plus he's had a couple of drinks. It's So funny. Love to see Your reaction to it as well.
Regards. Antony.
Dave Allen ‘teaching the time’
Best comedy duo ever(who were great solo comedians also)who had great comedy timing.