A Cuckoo in the Nest

"A Cuckoo in the Nest" is one of the dozen Aldwych Farces that Tom Walls directed and starred in. Ben Travers wrote the stage play and the dialog, as he did for nine of the farces. This is not one of the better stories and films in the group. But for a few very funny situations that turn on witty and zany lines, this film would be a flop.

The long episodes with a few mishaps and antics - mostly with Ralph Lynn's Peter Wyckham, probably amused audiences in the 1930s. They resemble somewhat the foibles of Laurel and Hardy or the Three Stooges, but with just one character. But these many years later, these long drawn out scenes soon become tedious and lose what little humor they might have had. This is one plot that seems like it would work much better on stage than on film.

Tom Walls plays Maj. Bone as a sot throughout, and he is quite good, believable and funny in that role. But, even that lasts up to a point. His character and situations soon become tedious as well. The only thing that saves the film is that it has occasional scenes of delirium with very funny dialog between Maj. Bone and various other characters. Most folks today may find it hard to sit through the full length of this film just for those few dialog detours.

Here are some of the better lines in the film.

Maj. Bone, "Oh, nonsense, Constance."

Mrs. Bone, "You seem very experienced." Maj. Bone, "No, just an ordinary public school education."

Landlord. "It's getting pretty late isn't it?" Maj. Bone, "I don't wanna know what time it is."

Landlord, " Well, how far is it?" Major Bone, "Well, how do I know? If I knew how far it was, I'd know the name of the place, wouldn't I?" Landlord, "Not necessarily." Maj. Bone, "What?" Landlord, "Not necessarily. Now take China, for instance." Maj. Bone, "What's wrong with China?" Landlord, "You know where China is, but you don't know how far it is, not strictly speaking.

Maj. Bone, "Well, I'd like some of that too." Landlord, "Some of what?" Major Bone, "Some of what you've been drinking."

Maj. Bone, "Is this it? Pinhorn, "No, we took the wrong road." Major Bone, "What do you mean, WE took the wrong road? I haven't taken it have I?" Pinhorn, "That's simply a matter of figure of speech."

Mrs. Spoker, "I guess there is a boat of soup left over." Peter Wyckham, "Left over from what?"

Maj Bone, "You should have thought of that before it happened." Peter Wyckham, "How could I have thought of it before it happened when it hasn't happened?"

Marguerite Hickett, "So, you think I'm that kind of woman, do you? You poisonous-minded old witch."

The live Brian Rix plays were special nights on TV for me in the '60's and I've always found plenty to savour and enjoy in the farces written by Ben Travers; this certainly is no exception. First staged in 1925 it was the second of what turned out ultimately to be twelve farces of variable quality produced by Tom Walls at the Aldwych Theatre in London – the film has its faults but brought together most of the original cast. You veer from sly coyness to coy slyness in an expert company who all looked as if they enjoyed every manic moment – and why not, they were merely re-enacting for the camera a previously huge stage success. And they filmed this and the other Aldwych farces to try to save them for posterity...

On an unfulfilled visit to the Bunters one ridiculous incident leads to another and a married man and married woman find themselves sharing a hotel bedroom as husband and wife with all the assumed moral conjugal rights that might bring. And all the moral outrage it can bring when their innocent subterfuge unravels. I notice that as usual the previous commenter disliked the film – what a rotten life it must be never to watch a film you like! But I would admit that you maybe have to be in a good mood to properly enjoy this as concentration can be required to fathom the then moral complexities of the stream of sexual and alcoholic double-entendres. There's an incessantly sparkling dialogue, usually broad often witty silly humour but also some occasional flat stretches that can leave you squirming (sometimes sympathetically); for example silly ass Ralph Lynn testing the bedroom for floor draughts to Yvonne Arnaud's shrill laughter but then taking an age to get comfortable under the washstand. However, I laughed out loud many times but afterwards hardly knew why because everything is so inconsequential. Hell – pardon the profanity – it's very often beautiful stuff and nonsense! Everyone is markedly eccentric but Tom Walls piles it on as the red-nosed tipsy father-in-law to the bumbling Lynn and as the head of a farcically dysfunctional family; Robertson Have A Care Hare plays the well meaning motorbiking but under-oiled vicar; Cecil Parker, Roger Livesey and Frank Pettigell had smaller roles.

Sadly the understanding and appreciation of this art form has been almost completely extinguished by the onslaught of permissiveness. Although I remember seeing it when I was young I assume that the BBC junked their TV adaptation of it long ago; however interesting it might be to see it again it could hardly hold a candle to this version anyway.

This nonsense actually made me laugh: not an easy task! It's a film version of a massively successful stage comedy from the 1920s which spurred another 11 sequels. You'll be amazed that something this old can be this funny.

Those Brian Rix farces such as DON'T JUST LIE THERE and even today's THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG can probably trace their comedy roots back to this, the grand-daddy on all those farces. This has to be one of the silliest films I've ever seen. The characters are all purposely absurd stereotypes (who appeared in all the sequels too) but since this team had been doing this same act for 15 years, they knew exactly how to make us laugh.

Ralph Lynn is perfect as the loveable upper class twit, complete with monocal and silly accent. He actually reminded me of Richard Murdoch... you know, Stinker Murdoch? Or Number 2 in the fantastic radio comedy, THE MEN FROM THE MINISTRY? If you have any idea whom I'm talking about then this is your film! Even if you've no idea who I'm talking about, you'll know Will Hay. This isn't (if you can believe it) as sophisticated as a Will Hay picture but it's that kind of humour. It's genuinely funny.

The only down side is that the leader of this group of nutters was Tom Walls (who in this plays the drunk, hen-pecked father in law) who certainly was talented but also a pretty lousy film director. Apparently he drove Michael Balcon, who was running Gaumont-British at the time, mad with his 'amateurish' approach to film making but because his plays were so massive, he wasn't going to argue with him (too much). The direction is indeed pretty dire - if this was any other picture, it might matter but here it's just not important.

Given that almost the entire film concerns a pretty flimsy mix-up, there is quite a bit of humor here. There are some great one-liners, some great mugging to the camera, and some outrageous accents. The father in particular does a great job of not overplaying the "drunk" scenes, but instead really adds pathos to a fairly thankless role.

Tom Walls is an unlikely hero; he's not particularly handsome, (or to be frank, funny), but he does have charisma and he brings a lightheartedness to the film that is refreshing considering the kind of frustrations the plot introduces.

I was pretty amazed at the level of sexual innuendo here too, very open. Totally worth catching if you get the chance.

You know what - this is actually not a bad effort from an ensemble cast that manages to squeeze quite a bit from a really frugal storyline. A man and a woman have to share a room at an overcrowded inn one night. Snags a plenty follow - they are married to other people but used to be engaged to each other - recipe for disaster if you ask me! Tom Walls and Yvonne Arnaud reunite alongside Ralph Lynn, an instantly recognisable (by his voice) Cecil Parker and Roger Livesey to keep the things bubbling along amusingly enough for 90 minutes. The comedy does rather telegraph the punchlines some way ahead of the delivery, but there are decent attempts at the characterisations and the consistent pace doesn't let the grass grow. It's of limited appeal 90 years on, but I actually quite enjoyed it...