Ronald Frankau (1932)

Jokes and songs from Ronald Frankau. Full title reads: “And now The New Empire Review presents another famous Radio, Gramophone and Variety Artists, Ronald Frankau. At the piano Monte Crick.“ M/S of Ronald and Monte in a set dressed to look like a drawing room. Ronald is dressed as a toff in top hat and tails. He begins his patter with a joke about monocles. He says he has forgotten to bring it and he can’t possibly sing without it. He walks to the back of the set and puts it on. The song begins. It seems to be about Ronald not liking strikes and industrial action or anything to do with violence. He gets side-tracked into a discussion about swearing. He says “blooming“ then admits he almost made the mistake of saying something a little stronger (bloody). He says that a Shakespearean actor can come onto the stage with impunity and say “This is indeed a .... business“ - nobody minds a bit. He discusses the fact that in 1932 a man might be known as a nut or a swank. Anything he does is “nut