The show that will not go on

WHEN international stars as big as Elizabeth, Charles and Anne Wind-. sor, Philip Mountbatten and Margaret Jones decide to cut down on appearances, that's usually the prelude to a big increase in publicity.

So the Royal Family's fear, which any show business team in similar circumstances might share, that they were being over-exposed, was given headline treatment in all the bourgeois press.

Begun in 1932 by George V, the Christmas broadcasts were part of the British bourgeoisie's attempt to deal with the disastrous economic and political crisis of that period Since then the only years when the show didn't go on were 1936, when the monarchy and its supporting cast in parliament were a bit upset over the Duke of Windsor's most unprofessional behaviours, and in 1938.

This may, of course, be only a temporary relief; a new act is needed and script consultations about the new image will probably begin soon. Also as 'The Times' pointed out in its most astute leader (October 21):

'The success of the television film on the Royal Family, which is to be shown again by the BBC on Christmas Day, must have made it easier to drop the familiar broadcast.

LAST WEEK'S television carried another very informa. tive exercise. This time on Panorama'.

The set-up in the studio very revealing.

Appropriately sharing one desk were the chairman, Robin Day, Lord Robens of the National Coal Board and Lawrence Daly of the National Union of Mineworkers.

Opposite them were three ascending rows of chairs for mine workers. Daly, Robens and Day each had a microphone in front of them; the miners had one between them, on an overhead boom.

The battle began with the big three each getting time to expound their positions.

Then the miners weighed in - except that because there were nine of them you could not really hear a lot of what was said.

Then Robens rejoined; we could hear his voice loud and clear but the miners who continued to speak through the The film sets a new standard for presenting royalty to the people... It is not enough for the Royal Family to be exposed to view: they have to come alive as personalities.. The task for the future must be to develop this [the film's] style of presentation..• The efforts to sell the monarchy this year have reached truly extraordinary proportions.

Apart from the investiture show and the film there have been endless pictures and news coverage of our young trendy with-it Princess Anne and the Duke has been fully reported sounding off in his usual frank, forthright reactionary way.

In the past couple of weeks Anne has been seen a lot with horses on television and last Tuesday on the commercial channel we had the disgusting spectacle of the centenary interruption were low to catch.

This happened several during the discussion.

No miracle: simply a tion of sound balancing.

And of experience of television.

Workers who appear in these programmes should be careful.

Though all the miners spoke tribute to Gandhi, where Prince Charles did the star turn.

Using Gandhi to the most despicable ends Charles solemnly urged the rejection of starving themselves to death instead of fighting must be a very pleasing prospect to the whole of the capitalist class.

Then, just a few days later the papers were full of the amazing fact that Anthony Armstrong-Jones has a documentary film going out on BBC-1 tonight.

About that controversial subject - pets - the film promises to be another semiamateur attempt like the last Supported by some of the BBC's most loyal professional production talent and buoyed up by some of its best technical staff, Mr Jones has obviously had a very interesting time—this time at the licence payers' expense.

All in all not a bad week for the Royals.

And, as one television put it to this column: Gandhi 'In the light of the new agreement between Equity [the actors' union] and the commercial companies, which virtually insist that all performers shall be members of their appropriate union, it really is time that the whole lot of them at least applied for their tickets! They must surely be the biggest showbiz family since Bebe Daniels and Ben Lyon!'