Spare a Copper

It is likely that few people outside the UK will have heard of George Formby - indeed even in the UK there will not be many under the age of 50 who are familiar with his work. And yet in his day Formby was a star of quite considerable magnitude, capable of earning colossal sums by the standards of the day. His films follow a fairly standard pattern. He is always depicted as a somewhat gormless character pursuing some great aspiration (in this film it is to join the Police 'flying squad') He meets calamity and despair but eventually triumphs and wins the girl. Along the way of course there are always plenty of opportunities to pick up his ukulele and sing a song. His comedy songs may be tame by today's measure but in the 1930s and 40s would have been quite risqué - in this film have a particular listen to the lyrics of 'I Wish I Was Back On The Farm'.

Little if any of the British film comedy of this era now finds its way onto DVD or TV which is a shame as contemporary American material (e.g. Laurel and Hardy, Marx Brothers, Abbot and Costello)is much more appreciated and given air time.What is particularly interesting about Formby's films is their Northern England working class settings and a glimpse of 'ordinary'life they provide.

This is a movie with a largely irrelevant plot but a cheerful little vehicle for Formby's well-trodden formula. Watch out for Bernard Lee in an early role as one of the villains - he appeared in the Bond movies as 'M'.

This film was made in 1940 when the fifth columnists and sabotage risk was at its highest.So the storyline was very contemporary.It was the penultimate film on George's contract with Ealing.His later films with Columbia were nowhere near as good as those he made with Ealing.The storyline is typical of his films.Formless George is made to look silly particularly in the eyes of his girlfriend.However more by accident than design he becomes the hero.He sings some very catchy tunes,not necessarily his best but still enjoyable.Not one of his best Ealing but better than anything he did at Columbia British which led to the end of his film career.

A police reservist (George Formby) is desperate to join the Flying Squad his bumbling prevents him untlil he can crack a gang of saboteurs who are seeking to tackle a new destroyer being built for the Royal Navy.

A good fun Formby vehicle with the star running round with plenty of energy in this often funny vehicle, though perhaps a little more slapsticky than most; the finale chase sequence is especially silly, almost spoiling an otherwise enjoyable comedy. This slapstick is probably to capitalise on the popular propaganda dream sequence in LET GEORGE DO IT (also 1940).

George Formby is a police reservist and a would-be member of the flying squad - motorcycle cops dispatched at a moment's notice. He's sweet on Dorothy Hyson, but falls afoul in his inadvertent frustration of Warburton Gamble, head of a group of saboteurs who want to destroy a battleship before it goes down the ways.

George sings several songs, including "Ukulele Man", "On the Beat", and "I Wish I Was Back on the Farm", and takes part in some rather elaborate physical gags under the direction of the usually reliable John Paddy Carstairs. It's certainly filled with good humor, and George's clueless doggedness persists until thing turn out right again, but the story stops dead for him to strum his ukulele. There's no doubting his charm as a performer, but I think that if they wanted a one-man show about him, it could have been trimmed slightly.

George Formby dates from the era when they knew how to make good comedies in England - a Northern England equivalent of Norman Wisdom in the Southern UK, of Fernandel or Bourvil in France or even Danny Kaye in the USA. The strength of this type of comedy inevitably involves a central character who initially appears stupid, simple and gullible but who ends up being less silly than appears and who generally has the last laugh in the film. I adore this sort of comedy as personnified in films such as The Court Jester, Knock on Wood, Man of The Moment, Trouble in Store, Up in the World, Le Schpountz or La Grande Vadrouille. George Formby is also well known for his Ukelele work and has a wide mouth with plenty of big teeth, just like Fernandel in France. In this particular film ( which resembles many of the Norman Wisdom ones - hardly a surprise since the director is the same old John Paddy Carstairs ) Formby is trying to get into the police "Flying Squad" and unwittingly uncovers a sinister internal plot to blow up a ship on the day of its launching. There are some excellent comedical gags and female support from Jane Grey, all this topped with a superb "ee-by-gum" accent. The film has a feel good effect and Formby comes over as a lovable character, especially when he is playing the UKelele. I had begun to despair that any of his films would be available on DVD ( Many of Norman Wisdom's and Fernandel's films have been edited in this medium but surprisingly hardly any from Danny Kaye ) but I have just noticed that ten or so of Formby's will be issued in May 2007 ( in the United Kingdom ) on two boxed sets. One of Formby's most enjoyable tunes was "When I'm cleaning Windows".