Hold My Hand

This is good fun for Stanley Lupino fans. It's got his typical mix of romantic comedy, rambunctious wordplay, goofy shenanigans, and Lupino pulling funny faces. In this film, he's paired with the rotund character actor Fred Emney (who looks like a posh British Oliver Hardy) as they stumble from situation to situation. The plot involves the attempt to save a failing newspaper, but we're really just here to watch the silliness.

This film starts on a comic high which it doesn't sustain.At a fancy dress party Fred Emney is dressed like a chicken.Stanley Lupino is the star of this musical,which like many British musicals is based on a play.So there is a fair lack of originality.Illino plays a businessman who has invested and lost his money in a newspaper.So he goes to great length to find alternative sources of investment to keep the paper going.He goes to the newspaper to try and save the papers and matters are tied up in a neat way.There is a funny scene in the office where everything falls to bits.The best musical number is Hold my hand.The film ends with a truly bizarre musical number set in an iron foundry.Filmed as if you were sitting in the stalls.Compare this against any contemporary Hollywood musical and it comes off second best.