Un détective très privé

Benny Hill fans will enjoy this free-for-all nonsense about International espionage and a "secret weapon" developed by stereotypical Eastern-Block scientist. Benny, our likable hero, is a "Inspector Clouseau" type amateur detective, ready to tackle his first assignment: impersonate the famous professor, as part of the secret plan for the bad guys to rule the world.

The story is "formula" and thin as a satin thread, but an extra large helping of "Benny Hill" slap stick, complete with lots of pretty girls and the obligatory Benny-in-drag scenes, make this predictable vehicle hobble along. The final car chase on (are you ready for this?) a race track is totally stupid, but what did you expect? Given the 1950s mentality and the limited budgets available to produce a silly comedy, the objective was met. Today something similar would hope to recoupe it's investments in direct-to-video sales.

Frantic, energetic slapstick comedy with spy and sci-fi elements (despite the title, it is NOT a parody of whodunits). Plenty of destruction and mayhem, and Belinda Lee is wonderful as "Strong Girl" Frankie ("men do not like to be dominated by women", she says at one point - I bet if the woman looks like Belinda Lee most men wouldn't mind at all....) **1/2 out of 4.

Benny Hill's big screen debut came in this modest production from Ealing Studios which seems to draw inspiration from Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau and Bob Hope from The Paleface. It's not a remake of Abbott and Costello's Who Done It from the early forties although both films involve Benny in his film and Bud and Lou in their's as newly minted private detectives.

But Benny makes Costello look like Sherlock Holmes. He gets hired to impersonate an Eastern European scientist visiting the United Kingdom, but the idea is to bump Benny off so the scientist can return to his country with a new weather machine which puts climate totally at man's control. Has Al Gore heard about this?

But all kinds of problems arise including the bad guys bumping off the real scientist whom they mistake for Benny. Nothing sophisticated in this film, it's one catastrophe after another for Ben, starting with him wrecking an Ice Capades Show and a chase reminiscent of that other Ealing classic, The Lavender Hill Mob.

Where The Paleface comes in is that Benny has an Amazonian girl friend aiding and abetting him and pulling him out of many scrapes the way Jane Russell did for Bob Hope. In Who Done It the Amazon is Belinda Lee who was definitely built along Jane Russell's measurements. For some reason Ms. Lee had a blond wig on for this film, I suppose so folks would view her as a British Marilyn Monroe.

Special mention must go to Garry Marsh playing the Scotland Yard inspector in the same manner patented later on by Herbert Lom as Inspector Dreyfus of the French Surete. His reaction shots are priceless.

Benny Hill's greatest success was on the small screen first in the United Kingdom and then in America when his shows were syndicated here. Nevertheless Who Done It is definitely a good example of his zany comedy style.

My Ratings: Story 1.25: Direction 1.50: Pace 1.75: Acting 1.50: Entertaining 1.75: Total 7.75 out of 10.

I do believe it's a shame that you need to watch old movies to have a good laugh. However, since most of today's humour is puerile rubbish, which is by and large unamusing, then back in time I'll travel. Thank god for the time machine called video.

Hugo is an accident-prone fellow whose luck isn't too great but has a strange way of working in his favour. In this story, we catch him working as an ice-rink sweeper. However, Hugo has dreams above his station. He fantasises about becoming a Private Eye. Today could be the day his luck changes because he's just won first prize, in the monthly detective magazine he reads. A large cash reward and a fully trained bloodhound. Which is lucky, because his bad luck has just cost him his job.

No sooner has he opened the doors of his agency than a woman enters and obtains his services... though it's not to be a detective. Through a series of consequences and mishap, the woman believes Hugo to be a talent agent. Now, the conversation between her and Hugo is beautifully sculptured and written. You know the two are assuming different things. However, the exchange works. This style of chat is a hard thing to create, but T E B Clarke does it so well. What elicits amusement is the juxtaposition between the pair and their parlance. I was chuckling hardily at this scene.

Unfortunately... or fortunately, these misfortunes of happenstance continue and suddenly Hugo finds himself embroiled in an international conspiracy to blow up the worlds best scientists... and a misconstrued attempted kidnapping.

ThisWho Done It is a hell of a well-constructed story with lots of humourous twists and turns. But the humour isn't limited to dialogue and situation. No, director Basil Deardon adds more than a splash of slapstick. Of which, the catastrophe on ice and the malfunctioning weather machine were my favourites. Deardon's pacing and timing are perfect for these styles of comedy. Even the way he works the shots and scenes add to the power of the film. These are sublime, and most won't appreciate them. But the part where Hugo, who is impersonating the foreign professor, realises he's in trouble is excellent. It's shot between three rooms. The main room on the left, the hall in the centre, and a secondary lounge to the right. The section is important to drive the comedy, and Deardon nails it. However, he does it so smoothly you don't notice how excellent it is. Because your eyes are glued to the screen, and you're engrossed in the segment.

Not only are the writing and the direction good, but the cast is also great. This is the first time I'd seen Benny Hill in a movie. I'd never thought of him as a movie actor until Talking Pictures aired this film. Now, I'm going to see if there are any others I've missed.

There's nothing wrong with film at all. The only reason I didn't give it higher marks is that it feels dated. It's especially evident in the weather machine. It's funny. And, at the time, the effects would have looked great and more than passible. But, not so now. It's these small things that restrict the ratings.

I'd happily recommend this to everybody. It made me laugh out loud a few times, and that is great. Plus it's a movie for all the family. You don't have to worry if a comedian is going to throw in some inappropriate content just for a cheap laugh.

Please skate on over to my The Game Is Afoot and Just For Laughs lists to see where I've rated this lucky unlucky Private Eye.

Take Care & Stay Well

Benny Hill as a private detective Hugo Dill is excellent for what it is. Nothing serious lots of gags, enjoyable on all accounts. Good fare for that type of Comedy out during those latter 50. And if you're a Benny Hill fan just sit back and enjoy the show. Naysayers go away.