Somewhere in Camp

From the mid - thirties Frank Randle was one of the top Music Hall comedians, Mainly around the Music Halls in the north of England. Like his fellow Northern Comedians (Will Hay, George Formby and Gracie Fields) Film producers thought the next step would be the movies. Where in the case of his fellow artists it was a successful move it was not such a successful one in the case of Randle. His films did decent enough business in the North of England but did not travel so well elsewhere. This title his second film is one of his better efforts, Which really isn't saying much. It is based around the shenanigan's of a group of new recruits round an army training camp. His usual partners in crime are Harry Korris, Robbie Vincent (Enoch)and winkie turner. The production values in these movies were pretty poor even by war time standards. I am told Frank Randle was a very popular Music Hall Comedian in his time and usually brought the house down. His style did not quite travel to the silver screen. His movies do serve as a valuable reference to a very popular comedian.

Frank Randal had quite a reputation as a handful.A biography has been published which I am very much looking forward to reading.His humour was pure music hall and he really was a law unto himself.It looks in this film as if someone has basically turned on the camera and sound and run on till Randle has run out of inspiration as to what to do next.You will get an idea of his status if I say that he makes George Formby look sophisticated.The films were made for Mancunian who were really at the poverty stricken range of productions.It has to be said that looking at this film now the only real interest is an aspect of entertainment which has passed into history.I wouldn't actually call this particularly funny or entertaining.

It's a sequel to SOMEWHERE IN ENGLAND, with Frank Randle, Harry Korris, and their Northern Music Hall crew doing exactly the same sort of brief skits that used to play in burlesque in the United States. To eke it out, there are several musical numbers, including a performance of the recently cleaned-up "Bless Them All".

Unlike other Randle movies, the romantic subplot involving private John Singer and Colonel's daughter Antoinette Lupino -- yes, one of the innumerable Lupino clan, niece to Lupino Lane and cousin of Ida Lupino -- is not handwaved away for the inevitable flag-waving end number (here titled "All Aboard For Victory"), but actually is closed out in a decent, although improbable manner.

Even so, the point of the movie is to watch Randle & company do the sort of low comedy that made them so popular in the cheaper halls, and banned on the BBC. It's not the sort of stuff I enjoy, unless done at the sort of speed that Abbott & Costello could manage, but it does show what ordinary people liked in Britain in the 1940s.