Soho, that one square mile at the heart of bohemian, cosmopolitan London, has been the setting for a surprisingly large number of films. In each episode of Soho Bites, producer and presenter Dominic Delargy is joined by a special guest to discuss a different Soho film, accompanied by a shorter, thematically linked item drawing on Soho's rich history of crime, music, art, vice & film.
Guests have included BFI curators, film scholars, crime historians, former Windmill girls, punk musicians, jazz singers and the occasional actual film star.
Written, produced & presented by Dominic Delargy.
Based on an original idea by Dr Jingan Young.
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After the screening, Dom sat down with national treasure, Noel Cronin BEM, to talk about the film and a variety of other subjects.
Noel has had a long career in the film industry but is best known now as the founder of everybody’s favourite TV station, Talking Pictures TV. He also co-presents The Footage Detectives and rescued A Taste of Money from the obscurity on which it had languished for the last 65 years.
In the second half of the show we meet the offspring of one of the film’s stars. Nick Emery is the son of Dick and he talks about his father’s early career and his troubled private life.
The NSFW Irina Palm (2007) was directed by Sam Garbarski and stars 1960s icon,Marianne Faithfull as Maggie, a middle aged woman who turns to sex work to raise money for her grandson's medical treatment. Adopting the name Irina Palm, the service she provides is a very limited one and is such that she never has to change out of her floral overall.
The film was described by Guardian's film critic, Peter Bradshaw, as “a gobsmackingly awful British film - awful in the way that somehow only British films can be…”
To talk about Irina Palm, we were joined by author & former associate professor of film and culture at the University of the West of England, Estella Tincknellto see if she agrees with Peter's opinion.
To talk about King of the Underworld, we’re joined by Vic Prattfrom the BFI, a man who loves a bit of Slaughter and has a tenuous family connection to him.
Aidan McManus joins us in the first half of the show to talk about a different, real life king of the underworld, Bernie Silver.
Next time you're in Foyles, pick up his (available at other places too, obvs)
Soho Bites 50: Bartleby (1970)
Episode 50
Friday, March 6, 2026 • Duration 01:15:08
I would prefer not to.
Based on “Bartleby the Scrivener - A Story of Wall Street”, a short story by Herman Melville, Bartleby (1970) is the story of a young man at odds with the world in which he finds himself. He starts work as an audit clerk at an accountancy firm but within a few days begins to refuse to do any work, saying merely that he “would prefer not to”.
In popular culture, Bartleby has become a symbol of passive resistance to corporate bureaucracy. Among many other things, Bartleby’s famous line “I would prefer not to” has become a:
According to the billing, the stars of 1948's Noose (known as The Silk Noose in the US) are Carole Landis,Joseph Calleia & Derek Farr, but the real star of the film is Nigel Patrick who is cast against type as Bar Gorman, a sharply dressed, fast talking spiv.
Set firmly in Soho, it tells the story of how the police, the press & a group of normal citizens, try to loosen the choke-hold of gangsters on the city. The film is one of a group of films known as "the spiv cycle".
Dr Josephine Botting, curator at the BFI, joins us to talk about Noose, Edmond T. Gréville and the spiv cycle.
Interesting article about the spiv cycle of films.
In the first half of the show we were joined by the mighty Steve Hayes to talk about the life and death of Carole Landis.
Steve has a brilliant YouTube channel, Tired Old Queen at the Movies and, rather like Morgan Freeman, George Burns and John Huston, he once played God in .
Soho Bites 48: Mona Lisa (1986)
Episode 48
Tuesday, January 6, 2026 • Duration 01:08:39
After two years in the wilderness, we return to your ears with episode 48 and a brilliant film - Mona Lisa (1986).
Directed by Neil Jordan and written by David Leland, it’s a noir thriller with a fantastical edge - or perhaps a fantasy cloaked in noir - about humans finding connection in a grim world.
Mona Lisa is available to stream on various platforms but if you’re a physical media person and if you prefer to not give money to Jeff Bezos when you can help it, you can buy it from Arrow Films.
The famous scene in which Bob Hoskins walks around Soho is, perplexingly, accompanied by by Genesis.
The film was released under several other titles including “Lovers, Happy Lovers” & “Knave of Hearts” and was made in both English and French with the two versions being shot concurrently.
We talk about Monsieur Ripois to the actor and director Jason Morell, whose mother was Joan Greenwood, one of the stars of the film. Listen out for some seventy year old hot gossip!
Also on the French theme, we revisit an episode of Mural Morsels to hear about the notorious bohemian French poet, Paul Verlaine. This was an interview I did with another poet, Niall McDevitt, back in 2020 who has since sadly passed away. We’re using this interview with the blessing of his partner, Julie Goldsmith.
Read this article by Jason Morell about dear old mum.
Soho Bites 46: Don't Open 'til Christmas (1984)
Episode 46
Thursday, December 21, 2023 • Duration 54:12
Ching ching etc - it's the Soho Bites Christmas special.
Having just left behind the wholesome world of Jessie Matthews and 1930s musicals, it feels right to descend into the grubby underbelly of Soho with the festive fiasco, Don't Open 'til Christmas.
The "plot" such as it is, is a basic one. A crazed serial killer is roaming the west end murdering men dressed as Santa Claus. If there's a worse Christmas film (not including anything by Hallmark) we'd be very interested to hear about them.
Written, produced & directed by a rotating motley crew of exploitation regulars, the film apparently took two years to make which is possibly the most shocking thing about it.
Our guest for this episode is the magnificent David McGillivray who has not only written about this film in the past but also knew many of the people involved.
Thanks to Danny Cox for the countdown of festive Santa murders.
If you really want to see Don't Open 'til Christmas, you can find it on .
Soho Bites 45: Friday the Thirteenth (1933)
Episode 45
Wednesday, December 20, 2023 • Duration 01:09:28
Jessie part three.
For this, the third and final instalment of our mini-series about the 1930s' biggest UK film star, Jessie Matthews, we met up with Dr Jennifer Voss of De Montford University to talk about Friday the Thirteenth (1933).
Friday the Thirteenth consists of seven separate stories which all come together at the end when our many protagonists find themselves aboard a bus which is involved in a fatal accident.
To talk about Jessie, her life & career we're joined again by Rob Baker, Jade Evansand
Soho Bites 44: Evergreen (1934)
Episode 44
Tuesday, October 24, 2023 • Duration 01:01:38
Jessie part two.
This is the second instalment of a three part mini-series about the 1930s' biggest UK film star, Jessie Matthews.
Evergreen (1934) was based on Ever Green, CB Cochran's 1930 musical spectacular at the Adelphi Theatre. Jessie starred as Harriet Green in both the stage show and the film.
Evergreen is the story of two Harriet Greens, in which one Harriet finds fame and fortune by impersonating the other.
Evergreen was third of five Jessie Matthews films directed by Victor Saville and co-starred Mr Jessie Matthews, Sonnie Hale. Barry Mackay plays the love interest, Tommy Thompson and Betty Balfour plays Maudie, continuing her successful transition from silent films to talkies.
Discover shows related to Soho Bites Podcast, based on actual content similarities. Explore podcasts with similar topics, themes, and formats, backed by real data.
Although Irina Palm received a thumping from the UK critics, it did actually win some foreign film award and was viewed more favourably, on the whole, by foreign critics.
Follow the ECP on Facebook and Instagram. They do also have a Xwitter account but I wouldn't want to post that here for Musk reasons.
Listen to Aidan on Portobello Radio and book for one of his walking tours of Soho HERE. He also does a tour about David Bowie and he came on episode 29 to talk about him.
Watch King of the Underworld at TPTV Encoreand if that's simply not enough Tod, pick up this box set from Indicator films.
Thank you for listening.
Follow us on Blue Sky (our Xwitter account is no more)
In Herman Melville’s original story, he mentions the names of two real life people - John C Colt & Samuel Adams. Little heard of today, they would have been extremely famous at the time due to a notorious murder which gripped the United States. We tell the story of this case in the first half.
Read or listen to Stephen Armstrong’s work at the Observer and find his books here. Stephen also produces an extremely Soho podcast called Strippers in the Attic.
The director of Bartleby, Anthony Freidman, did not direct any other feature films and went back to academia.
See the Bartleby locations thanks to our friends at ReelStreets.
There's plenty of stuff online about Carole Landis and her suicide, most of which is pretty salacious and muck-rakey. This one is too, but written slightly better than the rest.
We try not to promote Xwitter these days so follow Colin on Facebook.
Oliver has various links - his website, the Under the Counter website from where you can buy his book and the Under the Counter archive at the Bishopsgate Institute (slightly NSFW).
Check out Mona Lisa’s then & now locations thanks to our friends at Reelstreets.
Thank you to the Museum of Soho for allowing us to record in their gallery atAll is Joy, 75 Dean Street, Soho.
Thank you for listening.
Follow us on Blue Sky (our Xwitter account is no more)
The 1995 Paul Verlaine biopic, Total Eclipse is worth watching if you can find it - although it’s quite difficult to track down. Here are a few options.
Thank you for listening.
Follow us on Blue Sky (our Xwitter account is no more)
For this episode we also meet David Drummond who knew Jessie for the last thirty years of her life and dated her daughter! For many years, David ran a shop in the West End selling theatre and film related memorabilia & ephemera. Sadly the shop is no longer there but you can still visit the Pleasures of Past Times website.
Our thanks to Professor Sean Street who provided some of the archive audio in the programme.
Jessie's biographer, Michael Thornton wrote this appalling, salacious, muckraking and probably untrue article for the appalling, salacious, muckraking Daily Mail which I have pasted it into this Google Doc to deprive the Mail of your clicks.
Rob Baker is on Twittertoo and you can buy his books HERE.
Jessie's biographer, Michael Thornton wrote this appalling, salacious, muckraking and probably untrue article for the appalling, salacious, muckraking Daily Mail which I have pasted it into this Google Doc to deprive the Mail of your clicks.
Melanie has a ton of film & TV writing out there including books on David Lean and A Taste of Honey. Follow her on the site formally known as Twitter.
Rob Baker is on Twitter too and you can buy his books HERE.
