RATHER YOU THAN ME concentrates on the private life of comedian Frankie Howerd (David Walliams), a closet homosexual at a time when such practices were against the law in Great Britain. He lived what might be described as a 'discreet' existence with Dennis Heymer (Rafe Spall), making sure that they never embraced in public. Peter Harness' drama focuses on Howerd's tortured mental state: the experience of being abused as a child scarred his existence for life, rendering him both fearful yet disgusted with his sexual tendencies. He had a close attachment to his mother (Dilys Laye) who rarely said anything about her son's proclivities, yet was obviously well aware of them. This play concentrates mainly on Howerd's career during the Fifties, when he was one of radio's top comedians, then experienced a period of alarming decline. It was only when Peter Cook (David Reed) asked him to appear for a season at the newly-created Establishment Club that Howerd's career fortunes improved. The experience of failure rendered him even more bitter - forcing Heymer to threaten to leave him more than once. But the two eventually remained together for many years, right up to Howerd's late-flowering fortunes in the Eighties and early Nineties, when he was invited to perform at the Oxford Union. David Walliams gives a creditable performance as Howerd, even though he tends to put his tongue in cheek (literally) a little too much. What makes this drama so engaging are the quality of the supporting characterizations, from Spall's long-suffering Dennis, to Sally Leonard's Jane (Howerd's long-term female companion). A melancholy tale, certainly, but one which emphasizes the difficulties, both mental and physical, experienced by many personalities at a time when they could not reveal their true sexualities in public.
Frankie Howerd: Rather You Than Me
(2008 TV Movie)
Rather Sad Telefilm About the Private Life of a Much-Loved Comedian
15 August 2014