Billy Connolly is known for his many appearances on the TV screen, big and small. However, a 1975 documentary called Big Banana Feet which followed the comedian on the brink of fame as he toured Northern Ireland in the midst of the Troubles is a rarity. In the weeks leading up to his tour, three members of a popular cabaret band were killed by a paramilitary outfit while touring Ireland. The film’s cameraman David Peat recounted how 30 weapons were confiscated from audience members ahead of the show. The shooting location, which had plenty of challenges, was only the starting point as the movie had a limited release in UK cinemas, followed by a small video release, after which the film went missing.
Only one copy of the film remained, which was in the Pacific Film Archive, with the director Murray Grigor having left it there in the 70s after failing to carry the three reels in his luggage. A Glasgow Film Festival in 2012 showed a video copy of the film, and since then, archivist Douglas Weir has been searching for the lost film for ten years, as part of his activities with the British Film Institute. He discovered the movie after spotting a 16mm film available for purchase with a name typo in Billy Connolly and Banana. He registered the film for £50.
Two censored comedies were added back in during the restoration that lasted several years, in addition to enhancing audio and color while mitigating dust specks and scratches. Weir declared that he wanted to maintain the film’s look and not jeopardize the original. Big Banana Feet is a fly-on-the-wall documentary that provides an insight into Connolly’s early career, humorously improvised onstage and offstage. Given the thumbs up from Connolly and wife Pamela Stephenson, the restored version of Big Banana Feet will be shown at the Glasgow Film Festival, followed by a DVD release by BFI later this year. Douglas hopes that this renewed energy surrounding the film would ensure that there is a duplicate in the Scottish Film Archive, as well as in the BFI’s arsenal, ensuring that this relic is never lost again
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