Dad's Army (TV Series) Mum's Army (1970) User Reviews

A Brief encounter

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 18 April 2018]

What an absolute belter of an episode. Captain Mainwarring decides to enlist the help of the local women, and ends up falling for one of the volunteers, Mrs Grey.

This one is funny, moving, sweet and utterly engaging. We get to see a totally different side of Captain Mainwaring's character, always so proper and poised, it's so good to see him vulnerable and helpless. The ending was intensely moving, after only thirty minutes the on screen relationship was superbly played out, two magical performances, Arthur Lowe magical as ever, but the wonderful Carmen Silvera, best known for playing the brash Madame Edith in Allo Allo is subtle, dignified, and just lovely. Very 'Brief Encounter.'

I must admit the appearance of Pamela Cundell always makes an episode extra special, Mrs Fox was just glorious, so wonderfully warm and hugely funny. The scene where Mainwaring and Wilson interview her is the funniest moment, so funny. I'm glad she'd appear more frequently.

What's not to love, this is utterly charming. 9/10

Don't panic...cry.

[PurpleProseOfCairo · 10/10 · 6 January 2021]

This is one of the greatest episodes of a sitcom ever aired. I have watched it many times, and from the moment Carmen Silvera, as Mrs Grey, appears, the tears start to flow, so that by the time the devastated Mainwaring is left standing on the platform, I am a snivelling wreck (and, like Ms Parish's father, I'm 6'3" ["so don't you go getting any ideas!"], Male and heterosexual!) The standard of acting in this episode is beyond belief. The way Mainwaring whimpers "But I...I don't WANT you to go" in the railway station cafe would break a heart of lead, and the moment when he finds a vase of dahlias on his desk is absolutely beautiful. He can't grow flowers because "Elizabeth" believes they attract earwigs! This is a wonderful glimpse into his miserable home life, from which he gets a brief chance of escape. But it proves all too heartbreakingly brief. Watching the two of them act out these poignant, emotional scenes, then realising that both of them are themselves long gone, gives you an insight into our mortality, what a short time we spend in this life, and... Maybe we should grab these opportunities to find happiness when they come along?

I don't want you to go...

[phantom_tollbooth · 10/10 · 24 June 2023]

OK, deep breath... we've got to the really sad one. Mum's Army is one of the most famous episodes of Dad's Army and certainly one of the most brilliant. The premise of Mainwaring deciding to incorporate women into the platoon could easily have been played as a saucy farce but fortunately Croft and Perry went for something completely different. For a while, the state of Mainwaring's marriage had been played for sometimes quite grim laughs and his love for his work with the Home Guard depicted as stemming from the opportunity to escape his miserable home life. But in Mum's Army, the arrival of a certain Mrs. Gray (Carmen Silvera, soon to star in David Croft's 'Allo 'Allo in a larger but less dignified role) into Mainwaring's life gives him a glimpse of how he could have been happy had he only met the right woman at the right time. Seeing Mainwaring lifted by her presence and then devastated by her departure is utterly crushing and Arthur Lowe is astonishing. This may be one of the single greatest performances in a half hour sitcom episode.

Before it gets to the heavier content, Mum's Army is also very funny. In particular, Wilson uncontrollably slipping into his old fashioned gent charms during the interviews for the female members of the platoon is hilarious and wonderfully played by John Le Mesurier, and there's an amusing scene of Walker's comments in front of the women getting him sent home like a schoolboy. Mainwaring's story is peppered with some nice gags too, especially a moment when, having chastised Wilson for his ladies-man behaviour, Mainwaring slips into the same pattern while meeting Mrs. Gray. Her preference for Mainwaring without his glasses gives Lowe the opportunity to do some lovely little slapstick bits, and a meeting in a tearoom brilliantly combines a dramatic conversation with farcical interruptions that refuses to let it go anywhere. This is like a metaphor for Mainwaring's life and the sightlessness he foists upon himself has symbolic weight too. Ultimately, it's incredible to see Mainwaring so thoroughly disarmed by someone. The mask falls away completely and the restrained, abortive romance is beautifully established in a very short runtime.

The final scenes of Mum's Army are overwhelmingly sad and I admit I tear up every time. My heart sinks with Mainwaring's when he sees Mrs. Gray absent from the parade. As he pursues her to the train station, Mum's Army becomes an outright homage to David Lean's Brief Encounter, but the repression that looms so large in that masterpiece has completely deserted Mainwaring by this stage. The scene is less romantic than utterly desperate. The dialogue is superb, encapsulated in Mainwaring's completely candid declaration "I don't want you to go." In the process of the conversation he denounces everything he's always appeared to have loved - the bank, the home guard - because it's all just been in lieu of real happiness with someone who loves him. One of my favourite lines is "The whole pattern of my life has changed." To imagine Mainwaring going back to his wife or facing the platoon again as if nothing has happened is gutting. Of course, when we next see him time has passed and the events of this episode are not mentioned again. But we must assume, especially with characters drawn this vividly, that there are gaps to which we are not privy. And you can see how much pain is ahead for our beloved Captain as he mouths that silent goodbye, before his shattered image is emblazoned with the legend "You have been watching..."

Apparently the Only Dad's Army Episode To Not End with Applause

[richard.fuller1 · 10/10 · 15 December 2006]

Whatever exists of Dad's Army (it seems that like Doctor Who, Up Pompeii and other British shows, episodes of Dad's Army have been erased as well) would make their way to America.

Even then, we probably only got a smattering of episodes available. Maybe, maybe not.

But the last time Dad's Army aired here in the states, I was surprised to see one rather outstanding episode entitled "Mum's Army".

In this episode, the homeguard sought to recruit women, so each man brought in a female equivalent; Arthur had Mavis Pike, Wilson had Mrs. Fox, Walker had the scene-stealing Wendy Richard and John Laurie would give a hilarious description about his young female companion bringing her thighs together with a firm grip "I didn't notice that girl having exceptionally firm thighs," Mainwaring whispers to Arthur, hilarious at the thought of the Mainwaring checking out the girls legs like that.

Typical results, until one pleasant widow named Mrs. Grey enters.

Plain, unassuming, but devoted to England and stopping the Axis powers, how can Mainwaring not be smitten with her? And a gradual infatuation it is, completely innocent, but the thread of scandal is stronger than any platonic friendship.

When gossip threatens Mainwaring's reputation, Mrs. Grey takes it upon herself to return to London and face the consequences there.

Mainwaring, the old codger that everyone else foils and fumbles at every turn, now acts impetuous and pleads with Mrs. Grey to not return to London, but she refuses.

I read elsewhere this was the only episode to not end with audience applause.

We simply see Mainwaring watching the train leave, then it gives way to the credits and the marching men and we hear the theme.

When I recorded this episode and copied it elsewhere, I further enhanced the ending by removing the sound, so that after Mrs. Grey's final good-bye, all is silent.

Carmen Silvera, whom I just realized was the same woman in Allo, Allo, was clearly wasted in the second show, trying to concoct some Mrs. Slocombe character from Are You Being Served on Allo, Allo.

Had she been allowed to portray a deeper character like Mrs. Grey on Allo, Allo, she would have definitely helped that hammy program.

As it is, the dark scenery of the train station as Mainwaring confronts Mrs. Grey is wonderful to watch, but then so was this entire series.

Brief Encounter

[peternash-29817 · 10/10 · 2 April 2023]

This episode stands out from the usual farcical theme of Dads Army. It is poignant, romantic and thoughtful. It parodies the final scene of Brief Encounter the 1945 film based on Noel Cowards one act play of the 1930's. The episode begins with the usual characters and thier charming traits, but develops into an unspoken romance performed by two outstanding actors who develop a relationship that is bound to fail because Mainwaring is locked in his unhappy marriage to a wife who is indifferent to his exploits as a Captain in the Home Guard and he is drawn to the warmth of Mrs Gray who listens to his opinions finding that they have much in common but have met too late in life to fulfil what could have been...