Branded (Dad's Army episode)
| "Branded" | |
|---|---|
| Dad's Army episode | |
| Episode no. |
Series Three Episode 023 |
| Directed by | Harold Snoad |
| Story by | Jimmy Perry and David Croft |
| Produced by | David Croft |
| Original air date | Thursday 20/11/69 7.30pm (recorded Friday 14/11/69) |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
Branded is the eleventh episode of the third series of the British comedy series Dad's Army. It was originally transmitted on Thursday 20 November 1969.
On a night of programmes devoted to Dad's Army, Jimmy Perry named it his favourite episode. "When we told Arnold Ridley that we'd written a part especially for him, he was absolutely delighted. When he read the script he said, "Jimmy, its good to mention conchies as they were called, because they went through hell a lot of them, and a lot of them had high principles. I'm very honoured to play it. Both Arnold Ridley and John Laurie had served in the First World War and both served in the Battle of the Somme where Ridley was dreadfully badly wounded. We all knew about the war - perhaps that's what gives Dad's Army, as Clint Eastwood says in Pale Rider, that 'little bit of edge'. It's [a] quite serious [episode]. In the end dear old Godfrey is proved to have more courage than the lot of them".
Private Godfrey admits to being a conscientious objector during the Great War.
Following a standard exercise on the stealthy approach to an enemy soldier, Captain Mainwaring calls Sergeant Wilson into his office. He has received an alarming letter from Pte. Godfrey, informing the captain of Godfrey's intent to resign from the unit at the earliest possible convenience. Given Godfrey's vital role in the platoon (as the soldier who makes the tea), Mainwaring is unwilling to let Godfrey go, and demands an explanation. Godfrey thus tells him that his decision emerges from a recent incident in which he found a mouse in his kitchen, but found himself unwilling and incapable of killing it; and if he can't kill a mouse, how can he be expected to kill a German? During the telling of the story, Godfrey reveals that in the previous war, he was a conscientious objector who refused to fight.
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