Time Flies

I enjoy this era of British comedy / movies. I can watch these over and over again. How refreshing it is to watch good hearted, clean and witty comedy.

Movies such as - The Ghost of St Michaels, The Black Sheep of Whithall, Bees in Paradise, Good morning Boys, Give us the Moon etc are pure British gems !

I admire the Brits for turning out these now classic movies during the war and post war period, love watching 'em !!! from an Aussie movie admirer with strong British traditions and family ties. Only movies to watch !!

A quirky attempt at science fiction by Gainsborough Pictures. The mind boggles at what Goebbels must have made of this piece of fanciful wartime escapism if he ever saw it!

A zany time travel comedy that begins and ends in New York (hence the 'topical' jokes about Roosevelt and Walter Winchell) concerning a time machine that takes Tommy Handley back to the court of Queen Elizabeth; like a 'Dr Who' adventure played for laughs.

Referred to by it's inventor Felix Aylmer as 'The Time Ball', the time machine itself - with the possible exception of marking Graham Moffatt & Moore Marriott's final screen appearance together - is the most memorable aspect of the film (presumably the work of veteran art director John Bryan), whose equivalent it functions as of the Tardis. Resembling a flying bathysphere; the few effects shots of it in flight being obviously cheap but nevertheless satisfying.

I've always enjoyed this Tommy Handley outing, in the year of grace 1943 he was at the height of his ITMA popularity. It remains a rather bizarre film to have been made during WW2, but of course would have served a purpose as a morale booster as well as being simply simple fun.

In modern Manhattan Tommy sponsors Professor Felix Aylmer's Time Ball, a huge silver ball/ space-time -ship, and eventually they, Evelyn Dall and George Moon end up in Elizabethan England - to absolutely everyone's consternation. They have some hilarious escapades, heavy with deliberate anachronisms, but it's Tommy's film - without his incessant witticisms it would have been a pretty poor show. Sometimes it falls flat, other times it's pure genius at work - at a tense life or death fraught moment he suddenly worries about having left the rice pudding "on". The scene where the four of them escape from prison from under Really Raleigh's nose - and how! - is breathtaking stuff for 1943.

To most people it's probably dated badly, but to me the salvageable bits are a treasure, and the hokey bits bearable.

Time travel comes about unexpectedly for Tommy, Susie, Bill and the Professor. The Prof. has invented this "timeball" which is like an earlier model of the car from Back To The Future. He's showing Susie the ins and outs of it, not worrying about hitting all the buttons because it won't work unless the trapdoor is shut. Thing is, Bill and Tommy, on the run from some cops, have climbed into the giant sphere to hide, and shut the door after them! So they go whizzing up a million miles, Susie slams a lever accidentally, they all get knocked out due to lack of oxygen, and when they awake, it's in 16th century England.

Tommy is throwing jokes over his shoulder at every opportunity, this starts off as funny but soon wears very thin. He's up to his neck in trouble, teaching the Queen how to gamble and then pretending he owns America and selling off blocks of land to the townsfolk and noblemen. The Prof is all very serious and ends up being arrested when he comments on how "Queen Bess" died - of course, this is the time when she is still holding court. Bill bumbles around a lot. It's Susie who has the most fun. She's got a voice like Ginger Rogers, and twice as much energy as Betty Hutton, and is hilarious to watch, whether trying to hail a cab (in 16th century London!), or prompting Shakespeare with lines from Romeo & Juliet, dressing up as a man, and singing any number of lively songs to buy a little time before they are all drawn and quartered.

Very, very weird. But still quite enjoyable. 8/10.

The professor (Felix Aylmer) is showing Susie (Evelyn Dall) around his time machine when it accidentally takes off with Tommy (Tommy Handley) and Bill (George Moon) also on board. They are transported to Elizabethan England where they come across Walter Raleigh, William Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth 1, Captain John Smith and Pocohontas. Will our time travellers return?

The film has genuinely funny moments, eg, Dall feeding Shakespeare with his lines, and entertaining dialogue, eg, Handley calling someone a "tosspot". However, the film also has tedious sections which drag, eg, the escape sequence at the end where the time machine is on the bonfire. The music sections are pleasant but forgettable and Evelyn Dall comes across as the best character. Watch for an amusing portrayal of Pocohontas from Iris Lang - she can outdrink Oliver Reed. Overall, it's an OK film but it is made in that British silly way where the comedy relies on music-hall style one-liners and you know that no-one is ever in danger of any kind.