MovieChat Forums > On the Buses (1969) Discussion > Michael Robbins almost loses it

Michael Robbins almost loses it

posted 9 years ago by garryherring1963-378-642408
5 replies | jump to latest

If you look carefully in the episode "The Cistern" when Olive comes into the house after using Jack's toilet next door, she says to the family "its most embarrassing, the milkman whistled at me". Stan comes back with the line "he must have thought you were his horse"

Arthur (Michael Robbins) spits out his tea and just briefly you see him struggling to control his laughter.😁 He really loses it there. It was really good to see the fun that these stars had together in these series.

Apparantly Michael had such a great sense of humour and him and Anna Karen used to laugh so much during filming it got the writers annoyed if they were falling behind schedule.

God bless Michael Robbins a much missed actor.

[–] PurpleProseOfCairo 9 years ago

I'm watching it on ITV3 (?) at the moment, and have just got past the storyline of Arfur leaving - what a gaping hole there is without him! Reg Varney has just left now as well, and I can't believe they carried on after those two left. I was only 14 or so when I first watched it back in the Seventies and wasn't as discriminating, but now I can see how the quality dropped off (even the opening titles - they changed with this season too, absolutely apalling! My grandson could have done better)

But you're right, Michael Robbins was a great comic actor - Arthur's character was similar to Harold Steptoe in that he was a frustrated "intellectual" (in his own reckoning) living in straitened circumstances. The difference being that Harold was a worker, willing to go out and grab life (if not for his limpet father) whereas Arthur is a layabout sponger!

Awight we're The Daamned we're a punk baand and this is called Carn't Be Appy T'day!

[–] marktayloruk 9 years ago

I believe Arthur did have a job but there wasn't much overtime available.

[–] martinjames-muzo 8 years ago

I like the Harold Steptoe/Arthur comparison, never thought of that! Yes, love that bit on The Cistern. It reminds me of 'Allo 'Allo, I think the first time the policeman comes in and says, "I was p*ssing by the door..." and Richard Marner who played Colonel Kurt Von Strohm was really struggling not to crack up. Also, John Le Mesurier finding Arthur Lowe's new toupee funny in Keep Young And Beautiful (Dad's Army of course)- his laugh changed as it went on, seemingly from an acted laugh into a real one!

I think On The Buses was at its best from series 3-5. Series 6 was pretty good, then with key actors leaving, it lost a fair bit of quality.

So this is planet Houston

[–] mapsspam 9 years ago

I'm watching this episode right now! on YouTube :)
How kewl is that!?

Btw- does anyone know who was driving the bus?

[–] dominic-paris 9 years ago

I'm just watching 'Boxing Day Social', another of the funniest episodes imo, and twice Michael Robbins is visibly cracking up- once where Olive gets up on the chair and shows her bloomers and then just after she's thrown the water on him. He's got his head down and he's mopping himself up but you can see he's peeing himself. I think also you can hear he cracks up in Stan's Worst Day when he storms out after he rows woth Olive and the pillow feathers have gone everywhere. You can tell he must've been very fond of Anna Karen and found her hilarious.