Laugh with Jolly Jack Tar

4 February 2013

An exciting prop for Sleuth arrived on Friday afternoon. Traditionally an arcade amusement, the ‘laughing sailor’ sits against a seaside backdrop poised to break into sinister laughter at the drop of a penny. Encased in a wooden booth and clothed in full naval attire, the sailor’s dark eyes are skewed to the left and its eyebrows are raised in mock surprise.

Carefully preserved by its owner of fifteen years, the prop has diversified since its arcade days and has since had an extensive career in film and television. Amongst its credits: an appearance in a Michael Winner horror film where a serial killer’s dying moments are accompanied by the haunting cackle and lurching movements of the sailor. The prop has also appeared more recently in Charlie Brooker and Daniel Maier’s parody series A Touch of Cloth as well as Life on Mars. Disconcerting and amusing in equal measure, the sailor’s unsettling qualities have also put the housemates on Big Brother 13 to the test during a task where they had to spend two days in the house without laughing.

Although the exact age of this antique amusement is unknown, there is no question that it has had a great number of year’s service and will soon add Sleuth to its list of credits.