Fingers McNee

## Bio

**Fingers McNee** is an English thief and bank robber around London, most often accompanied by his elderly mother (Sue Upton) and little sister (Debi Gaye) in his crimes. His real first name is unknown, but it's suggested he's had a criminal career for some time.

When McNee tries to rob the Midlays Bank, his gun pops apart in front of the teller of the Withdraws window (Bob Todd), who refuses him so he heads to the Deposit window where the beautiful teller (Abigail Higgins) flirts with him. Mother McNee, however, pulls her gun and rob her, and as the teller remembers the bank camera, the McNees try being inconspicuous by dancing their way out of the bank.
Meanwhile, the police department keeps track of McNee's exploits, and after the Captain (Bob Todd) gets word that McNee has been captured, he has him picked up and tossed in jail. However, after meeting his new gay bunk mate (Jon Jon Keefe), McNee escapes with the help of his family and a rope ladder they keep neglecting to secure. When he gets trapped on the wall, he has to jump down without the ladder, getting trapped in the protective gate around a tree, and Mama McNee must free him. He tries stealing clothes from a Bremen Fancy Dress package left on a doorstep, but it's another prison outfit.

McNee makes it to the barn his family is using as a hide-out. Inside his mother is washing clothes in an old-fashioned press machine, getting her hand caught in the rollers and crushed flat (and with her thumb now on the wrong side of her hand). Her crushed hand comes in handy as Fingers plans their next bank job at the Barcland Bank. The bank has lax security; they keep the door to the front entrance under the front mat. The McNee Gang are waiting from across the street in a phone booth, showing up and distracting the security guards as they catch or just take bags of the money out from other the noses of the guards (possibly Henry McGee, Gary O'Bee and Jon Jon Keefe). When the news identifies McNee as the culprit, officers (Henry McGee/Elfrida Ashworth/Louise English) spot him with a baby carriage and confront him, eventually letting him go. However, the Captain (Bob Todd) isn't so fooled, and McNee escapes after knocking him down with the baby carriage.

The police track down the McNee Family to their hide-out at the barn. Fingers dashes out the back as the captain marches in and ties Mama McNee's shot gun barrel into a knot. Knocking him out with a lantern hanging from the rafters, she makes her get away, but Sister McNee (Debi Gaye) flashes her body and kicks him in the groin.
Meanwhile, Fingers successfully steals an ice cream truck from and ice cream vendor (Jon Jon Keefe) and drives away in it. Unfortunately, the Captain and his police force have a road block waiting for him. When Fingers squeals to a stop, the ice cream on top of the van becolmes real and sprays all over them. Meanwhile, Fingers escapes on foot and enters a seeming alley doorway, leaving the police trapped in a mock stand-off as her cavorts with the beautiful teller (Abigail Higgins) and a bevy of beautiful ladies in a big mansion.

## Trivia

* Fingers McNee was played by Benny Hill.
* In the opening montage, the faces come from Jackie Wright as Fanny Craddock (Bonnie), Benny Hill as Butch Cafferty (Clyde) and Benny Hill as Mr. Hyde. The short where Benny wears the bowler hat as Dr. Jackal has yet to be identified.
* Former Angel Abigail Higgins makes a uncredited cameo in this sketch. By this point, dancing had apparently taken a toll on her body, making it hard for her to dance, and Benny was giving her small roles to keep her working. Eventually, the injuries got so bad for her to work even as a choreographer and she became a sculptor. She also appears as Benny's date in the "Going Dutch" quickie at the top of the episode.
* Jackie Wright briefly returns as a newsboy as Fingers McNee runs past.
* The police officers in the station are Henry McGee, Elfrida Ashworth, Louise English and Jon Jon Keefe.
* It's not shown how Fingers McNee gets captured or why he ended up to the hide-out without his relatives who were with him when they freed him.
* Jon Jon has a poster of Lou Ferrigno on his wall.
* The gags with the rope ladder and prison costume in a package are recycled from the H.M. Prison Teddington sketch.
* The exterior wall location looks like the same wall location from the 1981 Dan Dan The Laboratory Man sketch.
* The customers/employees waiting outside the bank look like Jenny Westbrook, Ken Sedd, Lisa Mulidore, Debi Gaye, Jon Jon Keefe, Louise English and Henry McGee.

## Gallery

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