Their Night Out

Claude Hulbert is an executive who takes a milk-drinking Scotch buyer for his firm out to a night club one evening, and finds himself in a world of farcical trouble, in which he finds his wallet lifted by a brunette Binnie Barnes and has everyone believing he is the mastermind of a criminal gang.

It's a very competent adaptation from a well-constructed stage farce, and while it clearly betrays its origins, it permits Hulbert to indulge his silly-ass character in witty malapropisms. It also has a few decent songs, including a bright little paean to going home drunk, "It was Four O'Clock in the Morning".

It won't impress anyone who has seen it all, but if you sit down to watch it for a good time, you'll have one.

Claude Hulbert stars as an executive who takes a client (Renee Houston) out on the town to a London nightclub and promptly gets caught in a raid. He also gets robbed by a nasty saloon singer (Binnie Barnes) who works with a gang of thieves, and they are after some famous pearls.

Things get more complicated when the thieves think Hulbert is their secret and unseen leader. This leads to a major upset of his domestic life with wife (Judy Kelly) and in-laws (Amy Veness, Jimmy Godden). There's also an interfering butler (Gus McNaughton) and his dumb brother who's a cop.

Add a couple songs and you have a fast-moving farce with some top entertainers ... even if their aren't major stars. Hulbert was a star of stage, screen, and radio and was the younger brother of Jack Hulbert.

Others in the cast include Marie Ault as the cook, Hal Gordon as the cop, and American actor Ben Welden as a thief.

I am surprised that neither of the previous reviewers mentioned the early screen role for Renee Houston.Whilst she is top billed in actual fact she is only seen at the beginning and end in an atypical role.Claude Hulbert plays his usual silly ads performance and Bonnie Barnes gives a rousing performance as a member of the gang of crooks.