He Snoops to Conquer

A council employee (George Formby) is asked to carry out a survey of the residents and their living conditions of a northern town for the local council. When the council don't like the results they cover it up. The employee, with the help of an eccentric inventor (Robertson Hare) expose the fraud.

This slapsticky and penultimate vehicle for Formby is far from the best as a Formby comedy, but its political messaging taps perfectly into post-war town planning and social changes taking place in the council officers throughout these early post-war years. The star is in decent form though and sings 'Got to Get Your Photo in the Press'.

For decades the only copies of this George Formby film thought to exist were from a Dutch subtitled choppy TV dupe, then a few years ago a new "proper" version was found. Unfortunately this hasn't been "properly" released as yet so I've only seen the former - it's a bit of a trial!

George Gribble is tea-boy at Tangleton town council, he gets ravelled up in the councillors money-grubbing machinations concerning compiling and then cooking the results of a government sponsored housing survey. Can this be downright criminal chicanery by locally elected little tin gods? Does nothing ever change? Along the way he has some amusing encounters with eccentric inventor Robertson Hare, who he is determined to interview for the survey, while Hare is equally determined to repel all boarders. Songs: Got To Get Your Photo In The Press ("testing" a Dictaphone), Hill Billy Willie (busking to get into Hare's domain, Witsend), Unconditional Surrender (to Jane, George's rather feeble and refreshingly downplayed love interest). Favourite bits: asking about underpants as part of the survey; Hare's house and hare-brained inventions.

Overall, it's quite wittily done and worthwhile – hopefully I'll be able to see it the next time from the decent copy.

George Formbys films for Columbia British are distinctly different from those he made for Ealing,with the exception of the basic story and not kissing his leading lady.They are longer and seem to have a bigger budget.The songs are nowhere near as good as those in the Ealing films.In this film he has great support from Robertson Hare and his inventions,one of which seems to be a1944 version of a scanner.There is a reasonably strong storyline which seems to be a satire on local government and post war planning.It has to be said that his Columbia films seem less well known and appreciated which might have been because they were unseen.

When the local council is ordered to survey the population, they pass the job off to dogsbody George Formby. When the survey shows the local government is hated, they have George unknowingly dispose of most disapproving forms -- except for 5%, since even the Nazis allow 2% opposition in their elections -- and eventually George gets blamed for that. In the meantime, George becomes entangled with eccentric inventor Robertson Hare, his daughter, Elizabeth Allan and several assembly-line gadget gags.

It's directed by Marcel Varnel, master of cut-glass farce, which rarely had any real-life consequences. Usually the enemies are official dunderheadedness and Nazi spies. Here, however, the local council is venal and looking out for their own economic interests. Was ths intended to reflect the growing dissatisfaction with the nominally National -- in reality, Tory -- war government, which would lead to their massive and unpredicted defeat in the next general election?

George sings only three songs here. During the war he was undoubtedly the most popular British movie star, but a shift was coming. He would make only two more films.

This comic was unique and totally charming. With his goofy looks but sweet determination he beats the bad guys, gets the girl and the money! I only wish more of his films were available! And as a singer of traditional English Music Hall bawdy comedy songs, he's a legend!