After a terrible opening trio of episodes of the final series, Dad's Army finally returns to some level of quality. It's a Fraser episode, with the discovery of his hoard of gold sovereigns prompting everyone in town to seek to get their hands on them in some way. Mainwaring's wants them sold to help the war effort (and to get the hefty commission he will get from Fraser depositing in his bank) and the Vicar thinks a generous donation to the upkeep of the church is in order, but Fraser has other ideas. After slipping into a slight pantomime version of the character in series seven, John Laurie has now remembered how to play Fraser, bringing the right level of broadness amongst recognisably real character traits. His blunt denunciations of those seeking his fortune are some of the highlights of the episode and, though predictable, the conclusion is satisfying. I'm not exactly sure why they brought back Fulton Mackay, already used in We Know Our Onions, as a different character, especially since it is a brief role which makes no use of his comic talents, but overall this is a neat little character episode after a barrage of silly slapstick ones.
4 Reviews
"Ye're not going to get my gold!"
ShadeGrenade30 March 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Alone one evening in his undertaker's parlour, Frazer gleefully counts his magnificent collection of gold sovereigns. Their existence is a secret to everyone in the world but himself.
An unexpected visitor - Dr.McCeavedy - upsets the box, scattering the coins all over the floor. Frazer's secret is out. Suddenly he finds himself the centre of attention in Walmington. Everyone wants the gold for different reasons. The vicar wishes Frazer would offer to help pay for church repairs. Mainwaring wants Frazer to use the coins to buy an annuity, on which he himself will receive commission.
Desperate to get the lot of them off his back, the wily Frazer devises a clever plan...
'The Miser's Hoard' was one of the last 'Dad's Army' episodes to be made, and if nothing else proves that the show was still punching its weight. John Laurie is in good form, the scene where he warns Mainwaring to keep away from his money earns him a well-deserved round of applause. Another great Scottish actor - Fulton Mackay from 'Porridge' - appears, in the role of 'Dr.McCeavedy'.
If it strikes you as odd that someone should prefer to keep their money in their own home, where it can easily be stolen, rather than place it in the safety of a bank vault, let me just point out that it was not uncommon for elderly people to do this, and not just in the 1940's either. When my grandmother passed on in 1977, she left behind a total of £1000 in used notes at the back of her wardrobe. Quite a lot of old people simply do not trust banks, particularly foreign-owned ones. Coupled with Fraser's distrust of banks is a natural dislike of Mainwaring himself.
Funniest moment - Mainwaring opening Frazer's treasure box, and finding nothing but a brick inside. "Yon vicar can have that for the church!", says Frazer, with contempt.
Great episode.
An unexpected visitor - Dr.McCeavedy - upsets the box, scattering the coins all over the floor. Frazer's secret is out. Suddenly he finds himself the centre of attention in Walmington. Everyone wants the gold for different reasons. The vicar wishes Frazer would offer to help pay for church repairs. Mainwaring wants Frazer to use the coins to buy an annuity, on which he himself will receive commission.
Desperate to get the lot of them off his back, the wily Frazer devises a clever plan...
'The Miser's Hoard' was one of the last 'Dad's Army' episodes to be made, and if nothing else proves that the show was still punching its weight. John Laurie is in good form, the scene where he warns Mainwaring to keep away from his money earns him a well-deserved round of applause. Another great Scottish actor - Fulton Mackay from 'Porridge' - appears, in the role of 'Dr.McCeavedy'.
If it strikes you as odd that someone should prefer to keep their money in their own home, where it can easily be stolen, rather than place it in the safety of a bank vault, let me just point out that it was not uncommon for elderly people to do this, and not just in the 1940's either. When my grandmother passed on in 1977, she left behind a total of £1000 in used notes at the back of her wardrobe. Quite a lot of old people simply do not trust banks, particularly foreign-owned ones. Coupled with Fraser's distrust of banks is a natural dislike of Mainwaring himself.
Funniest moment - Mainwaring opening Frazer's treasure box, and finding nothing but a brick inside. "Yon vicar can have that for the church!", says Frazer, with contempt.
Great episode.
A late classic.
Sleepin_Dragon10 January 2020
Doctor McCeavedy drops in on Frazer one evening to advise his services will soon be needed for a recently deceased patient. The Doctor inadvertently hits over Frazer's cash box, hundreds of gold sovereigns, the frugal Scotsman is terrified when it gets out, and all want his gold.
They really make the most of the stereotypical tight Scotsman joke, it's a definite favourite episode, with Laurie doing a great job. Frazer is portrayed as a Scrooge like character. The scenes of him at his counting table gleefully counting his gold are terrific, he was a truly talented actor.
Great to see Fulton MacKay here, better known of course for Porridge, he did of course feature earlier in the series as a different character.
You'll never get your hands on my Gold. Great episode. 9/10
They really make the most of the stereotypical tight Scotsman joke, it's a definite favourite episode, with Laurie doing a great job. Frazer is portrayed as a Scrooge like character. The scenes of him at his counting table gleefully counting his gold are terrific, he was a truly talented actor.
Great to see Fulton MacKay here, better known of course for Porridge, he did of course feature earlier in the series as a different character.
You'll never get your hands on my Gold. Great episode. 9/10
Very poor
phil-cfc10 August 2023
There's something very wrong with this episode. I'm usually a huge Dad's Army fan but this episode just doesn't hit the heights that this show normally achieves. It's almost as though it wasn't written in advance but put together by the the actors as they went along. I'd be very surprised if writers Croft and Perry actually penned this one, it's that bad. And then there's the issue of the studio audience which sounds very sparse indeed and very adolescent and hugely over amplified to the end that is really intrusive which is the last thing that canned laughter or a studio audience should be. It's not surprising that this episode is rarely aired.
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