Saturday 1 June 2019

Will Hay 12


Where There's A Will (1936 - B/W) - Will Hay farce starts promisingly, descends into running about.

Boys Will Be Boys (1935 - B/W) is mostly baffling patter with Gordon Harker, but nice to see Norma Varden, before her move west.

Radio Parade of  1935  (1935) -  Will Hay plays it straight in  a futuristic  farce  set at the NBC, a BBC manque. A  dystopian comedy revue with Helen "Mina"  Chandler and  weird sequences in colour.

Windbag  the  Sailor (1936 - B/W) -  Redone as Old Bones, some fun stunts, but turns slowly to proto-Spencer and Hill stereotyped jungle stuff.

Oh, Mr. Porter (1936 - B/W)  - "Limerick, home  of poetry". A bit of a slog. But there is good stuff in there. And it's  about Norn Iron Railways.

Good Morning, Boys (1937- B/W) - Schoolboy routines padded out with music  routines.  Lilli  Palmer!


Convict  99 (1938  - B/W) -  Prison  comedy,  Moffat miscast as a guard, Googie Withers shoehorned in, while there is some  nice proto-Porridge stuff, but it's not the best.

Hey, Hey USA (1938 - B/W)- Has a dubiouslycreated Chicago setting and Edgar Kennedy for  US appeal. Appearing as a well-spoken young scamp is Roddy McDowall, before his move to the  US  (his trademark accent already in  place). Not  good.

Old Bones of the River (1938 - B/W) - Not one of Will Hay's best. Moore Marriott overdoes it. Typical jungle tedium.

Ask A Policeman (1939 - B/W) is better, as by now we have the trio of Hay, Moffatt and Marriott. There's lots of jokes against the BBC. The Headless Horseman effects are interesting.


The Ghost of St. Michael's (1941 - B/W) -  Overage   schoolboys including a convincing Charles Hawtrey plus John Laurie in Scotland

The Black  Sheep of Whitehall  (1941  - B/W) -   Surprisingly enjoyable. John Mills is gormless. Hay's drag  resembles  an  aunt,  Big Lil.

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