Jimmy Perry's gift was to make familiar weaknesses funny without making their owners contemptible. In Dad's Army, his partnership with David Croft earns our affection, though familiar behaviour sometimes has to stand in for a fresh joke.
Fi1m perspective
Arthur Lowe's captain in Dad's Army (1968) is determined to preserve his dignity, even when his pomposity makes that difficult. Jimmy Perry and David Croft let us see the effort, and give us reasons to care about it. We were unexpectedly moved by Lowe because the struggle to maintain his standing remains visible beneath the fuss. This is where Perry's writing is strongest: he can make a man tiresome without making us want him to leave.
In Dad's Army, Perry and Croft build the comedy around men who take their standing seriously and understand their own weaknesses rather less well. Once we know them, we can anticipate the response before it arrives. Lowe and John Le Mesurier make that repetition worth tolerating; across nine series, familiarity gives the performances room to become precise. The wartime setting lends the fussing weight without requiring a speech to explain why it matters.
That knowledge of people came from observation. Perry's Home Guard service fed Dad's Army, while his wartime concert-party experience supplied It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974). His work in holiday camps also furnished material, and the final Croft collaboration, You Rang, M'Lord? (1988), drew on family stories of domestic service. The settings changed, but he kept finding material in work and hierarchies he had encountered himself or heard about at home.
Croft matters to any account of what Perry did well. Perry brought ideas and characters drawn from real people; his co-writer and producer brought production and scripting experience. We cannot sensibly credit Perry alone for what works in Dad's Army. Perry's solo projects, including Room Service (1979) and High Street Blues (1989), were less successful.
Even in Dad's Army, affection has its costs. Some episodes settle into an expected rhythm, with an established response where the situation needs further development. The writing is happier examining individual vanity than pressing its criticism of authority, which limits how sharp the comedy can become. Start with Dad's Army for the ensemble and for the patience Perry and Croft extend to awkward men. Do not expect every familiar routine to earn its place.
Biography
Jimmy Perry was a British television comedy writer and creator, best known for his long-running collaborations with producer David Croft. He created and co-wrote the BBC sitcom Dad's Army (1968–1977), which ran for 80 episodes, and Hi-de-Hi! (1980–1988).
Perry drew on his own experiences for much of his work, including service in the Home Guard during the Second World War and time as a Butlin's Redcoat. After the war he trained at RADA and worked as an actor before turning to writing. With Croft he also created It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974–1981) and You Rang, M'Lord? (1988–1993). Perry composed the theme tunes for several of the series, including the Ivor Novello Award-winning "Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr Hitler?" for Dad's Army. He was appointed OBE in 1978.
