Live-action Searle

The Ronald Searle YouTube channel continues to delight-added recently is a film I've long searched for in vain- 'The King's Breakfast'.  One of two live-action short films Searle collaborated on with director & choreographer Wendy Toye. Searle designed the decor & costumes and painted the sets too so it's like watching actors enter a Searle picture.  Check out the 'King's Breakfast' here and 'On The Twelfth Day' here.  The two first worked together on a stage play 'Wild Thyme' 

 

Call for entries

I've recently had some very interesting contributions from readers and in the wake of Mr Searle's death the site has seen increased traffic which may throw up more rarities.  Contributions are always welcome so if anyone out there has any rare Searle-iana that they think would add to this site please contact me at the email address in my Blogger profile.  The Private Collections section has contributions from several readers already.

Before Christmas Yak El-Droubie contacted me with some terrific shots taken by Douglas Webb during the production of Wendy Toye's 'The King's Breakfast'. I've added them to the 'King's Breakfast' section

Nicholas S. sent in a very lovely example of early Searle, circa 1947, originally made for an autograph hunter. It shows the artist portrayed by one of his darling schoolgirl creations.

In this drawing from the fifties the artist gets his own back on his diabolical creations.

(From the CartoonBooks Club)





Also if there are any cartoonists who would like to contribute tribute drawings I'd be happy to feature them here on the Hommage section of Perpetua.  My cartoonist pals Elliot Elam and Elliot Cowan have already posted their versions of that naughty schoolboy Molesworth on their respective blogs.

Elliot Elam

Elliot Cowan


Caricaturist extraordinaire Jonathan Cusick has made this lovely portrait

The King's Breakfast

In 1963 Searle & Toye collaborated again on a short live-action film The King's Breakfast "a dramatisation in dance and mime, of the A.A. Milne poem about a king who had no butter for the royal slice of bread" (imdb)

 

The kitchen

The King's gym

 Maurice Denham as the King (thanks to Brian Sibley)

Yak El-Droubie sent in some wonderful shots taken by Douglas Webb on the set of The King's Breakfast. The sets, seemingly painted by Searle's hand, match his designs perfectly.  Like the 1954 Chelsea Arts Ball it's always a thrill to see Searle's work transferred into 'three dimensions'-imagine being on set in a 'walk-in' Searle painting!