Much Too Shy

Just watched this film, and at 72 years old it's the first time I have seen this.

My wife and myself enjoyed trying to name the actors before we saw the cast list, picking out Kathleen Harrison, Jimmy Clitheroe and Valentine Dyall. Must admit to not recognising any other participants. An enjoyable light hearted piece of entertainment.

"Much Too Shy" is a bit of a breakaway from the normal Formby style but despite this, or maybe because of this, it still comes up trumps. The plot is simple with Formby getting into hot water because of some portraits he has painted, which have naked bodies added to them by a scornful art class which goes on to become an omnipresent advert. Chaos and a court case follows. The only fault I found with this film was that the village was obviously built on a set; how great it would have been to have been shot on location! However set-bound films were par for the course during wartime and are easily forgiven. Set in a small rural village, the film benefits from a decent array of cameos from the likes of Kathleen Harrison, Charlie Hawtrey and, delightfully, Jimmy Citheroe. While it a gentle comedy, there is still a good number of belly laughs to be had and Formby is on his usual top form and his songs are top-notch. You may need to be a Formby fan to enjoy, but the same can be said for all his films. Formby was a genius at what he did and that comes across fully here.

Released on October 12th 1942 this Formby film probably has the best cast line up of any Formby film. George plays a milkman and part time artist who has a problem drawing bodies.On his milk round he is helped by his younger brother played by Jimmy Clitheroe (The Clitheroe Kid). Also in the cast is that ever reliable character actress Kathleen Harrison and Charles Hawtrey. The plot involves George drawing the heads of prominent ladies in his local village, The fun begins when some students led by Hawtrey draw voluptuous bodies on them. It was a rarity even in those days to have two big music hall stars acting in the one film. As usual George gets to sing and play his ukulele to the fallowing songs - Andy the handy man, They all laughed when I started to play,Talking to the moon about you, Delivering the morning milk. A little longer than the usual Formby films but great fun nonetheless.

Formby was one of the top film stars of the thirties.However he made a major mistake when he left Ealing and joined Columbia British. The best of the films he made for Columbia were not as good as the worst of the Ealing films.The production is ramshackle the script poor and the songs were undistinguished. The good cast,Clitheroe excepted who is a real pain,are unable to save it.

George (Formby) is a shy and awkward handyman who lives in a small village and likes the local farm girl (Kathleen Harrison). He lives in a caravan and dreams of becoming an artist. When one of his portraits of some of the locals is turned into a nude piece by students at an art college he finds himself in hot water.

Not one of Formby's best vehicles and the first for his studio at Columbia. This was an indicator that his new studio had nowhere near the quality of comedy that he had been churning out for Basil Dean and Ealing. It is a little unusual in its mostly rural setting and there is a small part for Charles Hawtrey as one of the art students. He does get to sing a handful of songs, none of which are classics.