Windbag the Sailor

Windbag The Sailor finds Will Hay as a barge captain who loves entertaining the folks at the pub with his tall tales of the sea. On the other side of the pond Hay would be the equivalent of Gabby Hayes telling those tall tales of the west in all those cowboy pictures.

But he works his charm on Evelyn Varden who sponsors a troop of Sea Scouts one of them Graham Moffatt who along with Moore Marriott was making his first appearance as a second banana to Will Hay.

Hay gets to be captain of a freighter that's a sea going disaster, but he does not know that this canal barge captain is supposed to be the dupe and go down with the ship that his crew is planning to scuttle for the insurance. Of course Hay knows nothing about running an ocean going vessel and that's half the comedy in Windbag The Sailor.

The other half involves Hay and Moffatt and Marriott being rescued by cannibals off Africa and their lives being saved by the portable battery operated radio that Moffatt won't leave the ship without. Funniest part of the movie is our three heroes sailing away from the ship with Hay doing his best Charles Laughton cast adrift from the Bounty.

A special providence seems to save this trio in all their films as they sure don't get by on their own abilities. Windbag The Sailor is a very funny film, holding up well for a movie now 80 years old.

This is an early outing for Hay and the 2 stooges - Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt - made before the ever famous Oh Mr Porter. Now largely forgotten this film set the scene for several more to follow - all largely with the same characters and plot but different settings.

Hay plays the usual incompetent fraud supported and at the same time harassed by his partners Moffatt and Marriott. The latter pair were never really recognised for their unique talents, certainly Hay never acknowledged this. It is doubtful if he would have been so successful without them. The film itself is a competent comedy, typical of the period and very British. One scene in particular stands out however - the "navigation" scene where the three attempt to ascertain where in the world they are. This is done with a school globe and a dress making measuring tape. The scene should be compulsory viewing for all aspiring comedians. Watch this film not for the story but just to see the three in action - poetry in motion sometimes.

I've only seen this a handful of times in the last few decades, I don't know why it's warranted such indifference by the TV film buyers because it's fairly good but maybe with a slightly dodgy soundtrack. Although Will Hay appeared with Moore Marriott 7 times and Graham Moffatt 8, this was their first film of 6 as the seedy, incompetent, crafty trio of lovable rogues. In other words pre-Oh! Mr. Porter and cast and crew were obviously busy establishing the plot and humour that served them well in the years ahead.

Charlatan ship's captain and sidekicks are taken on by ship's owner (and sidekick) for their own nefarious purposes, eventually realised where else but in the South Seas. Almost the entire cast reassembled to create Oh! Mr. Porter 2 years later, by then the script was much tighter than this. The ship is not the only thing here to have a few leaks! Favourite bits: Hay bragging of his derring-do at Valpariso; The global positioning calculations; Sharing the biscuits on the raft; The Box That Talked.

All in all well worth watching (at budget price!) for those of us who like this sort of thing.

A retired barge captain entertains customers in a pub with tall tales of days at sea. He gets caught out when he is tricked into captaining an unseaworthy ship which is to be scuttled for insurance money.

Mildly amusing film with Will Hay as the ship captain aided by Moore Marriott and Graham Moffat as stowaways. These three would go on to to make other, better, films together. Some racial stereotypes and language are now outdated.

Will Hay appears, not as a schoolmaster this time, but as an incompetent sea captain. However his character is, as usual, one of seedy incompetence, with few redeeming features,for whom one nevertheless roots, with touches of W.C. Fields (not that I am accusing Hay of plagiarism.) The plot, however, has touches of Buster Keaton's "The Navigator." Marriot and Moffat, in their first film with Hay, provide excellent comic support. By no means Hay's best film but well worth watching.