Dandy Dick

Will Hay wears a dog collar, but he's sadly not masquerading as a clergyman in this early film of his before he hit his stride with Gainsborough.

Despite a few exteriors (notably a couple of scenes involving a plane piloted by a dashing young Edmond Knight) it remains a garrulous piece of canned theatre in which the characters just stand around talking; with Hay playing an amiable ditherer rather than the seedy authority figure he later became.

There are hints at what delights lay in store in one of the council members being called 'Harbottle'. The real Harbottle, Moore Marriott, is actually in it, albeit briefly; the eponymous Dandy Dick being a racehorse upon whom the plot turns but who appears even more briefly than Marriott had.

This is one of Will Hay's earlier efforts.Whilst this time he plays the part of the local vicar nevertheless for all purposes this is a variation of his usual roll as the incompetent schoolteacher.I would not regard this as one of his better films.However this is partly to do with the writing and also the fact that neither Moore Marriott nor Graham Moffatt are in this film.Hay disliked being part of a team.Not an uncommon trait for popular comics.Yet you only have to compare this with say Oh Mr Porter to reals why that film is a national treasure,yet this film,probably undeservedly,remains largely forgotten.However that said it is definitely worth a viewing

Will Hay is a somewhat forgotten British comedy star whose best work was done in the days of black & white films. Some of them are classics of their type like 'Oh, Mr Porter' and 'The goose steps out,' as well as others. Hay was a bit like W.C.Fields in that he had his own unique style and his quirky eccentric quintessential English characters don't always transpose to a international audience.

The world of very parochial British garden fêtes, church meetings, village steeple funds,bent horse races and touts, are hard to translate. This very creaky studio bound production only hints at the promise of Hay's later far better work. Not helped by the main emphasis for the humour is on the deafness of one of the villagers and the confusion this causes. There are one or two amusing moments but by and large, this is turgid stuff, even at the short running time of 70 minutes.

This is really a work in progress, as Hay begins to define the slightly dodgy schoolmaster/professor character that came alive in his later films. Where he was greatly supported by his two sidekicks, Albert and Harbottle, both sadly missing here, although the latter makes a fleeting appearance as a stable hand.

One for the completists and those with an interest in Hay's early career.

Dandy Dick stars Will Hay, it is the second, and last of his films, to be based on a play by Arthur Wing Pinero (the first was Those Were the Days). It's also the first of four collaborations between Hay and American director William Beaudine. The plot sees Hay play Reverend. Richard Jedd who lives in the country with his daughter and grandson and discovers that his sister has a half share in a racehorse. Thus, with his church spire in desperate need of funds to correct its crookedness, he contemplates putting aside his principles and gambling on the sure fire horse known as Dandy Dick. However, a doping scandal threatens to not only usurp the plan, but to also land Richard in prison.

It's true to an extent to say that Dandy Dick is a film of major interest to Will Hay completists. It's also fair enough to state that it serves as an interesting reference {starting} point to the roles that would shape Hay's career. For here as the Reverend it's the start of the run of what would encompass the quintessential Hay character, that of a person in a position of responsibility who should be leading by example. Yet with a mixture of cunning and lucky buffoonery, Hay's characters bluff their way thru a number of escapades and hardly show to be pillars of the community. To which the comedy quotient is often high. Dandy Dick, however, is short on genuine funny moments, but thankfully what ones do exist, do in fact make the film well worth watching. So for although the support of Hay is thin on the ground, and the whole picture is a touch too episodic, sequences involving parachuting and a fire at the stables more than make this an enjoyable Will Hay picture.

The role of Reverend. Jedd would be played on the stage 38 years later by another titan of British classic cinema, Alistair Sim. This is of no surprise because the Pinero source gives scope for great character actors to provide great comedy characterisations. Something that Hay most assuredly does in Dandy Dick. Without him the film would be an unmitigated flop; in fact a running comedy thread about Robert Naimby's deaf Mr Bale is a Hay contribution to the script. Hay was already established as a vaudeville artist, he now took the first steps to becoming a fully fledged British cinematic legend. And with a little cameo from Moore Marriott tucked into the piece, one has to smile when you consider that Hay and Marriott at that time had no idea that they would in two years time, form two-thirds of the funniest comedy team to come out of classic British cinema. Essential Hay movie in regards to his career, but one that is never close to touching the greatness of the more regarded pictures that followed it. 6.5/10

October 2024

Incredibly i have just seen this for the first time in October 2024, most of the others i have seen multiple times, i guess this one has rarely appeared on tv. Its not in the box sets on dvd either, probably to do with the company that made it, not being the same one that did most his titles.

Unfortunately it wasnt worth the wait, it wasnt a typical Will Hay, he basically plays the same character in all his films but in this one he is vicar, and its not the same as his others at all.

It was just average really, nothing to recommend it, but obviously it you want to check out another Will Hay film you havent seen then by all means watch it, just dont expect too much.

6 out of 10.