Telly Savalas on Birmingham, England

I have never heard of "Quota Quickies."

And I did not know that Kojak used to be on BBC telly:

In the late 1970s, several of the UK's major cities were the stars of B-movies the so-called 'Quota Quickies'.

Laurie Taylor tells the bizarre story of how the cities tried to make themselves appear exciting to a captive cinema audience through the medium of a travelogue.

One such classic is called Telly Savalas Looks At Birmingham. It has the American actor extolling the virtues and history of Birmingham. His narration is unintentionally funny and wonderfully kitsch.

The director of these quota quickies, the late Harold Baim, seemed to have an obsession with multi-storey car parks, concrete shopping centres and motorways in his attempt to catapult the city into the 21st century. Others in the Harold Baim series include Telly Savalas Looks At Aberdeen and Telly Savalas Looks At Portsmouth.

BBC audio of the show.

Stills from the film.