Convict 99

When it turns out that "Twist" (Will Hay) is no good as an headmaster he is turfed out and looking for a new job! An administrative mix up sees him appointed the governor a prison, and after another which sees him temporarily behind the bars, he tries to ingratiate himself with the prisoners and, predictably, they run rings round him as he is soon well out of his depth. Will Hay had good comedy timing and together with a decent cast of regulars manages to raise a laugh or two, but the film is way too long and the joke doesn't really sustain it for ninety minutes. That said, though, it is still quite watchable, if only to remind us was made us laugh in the simpler, less cynical days before the second world war.

Given the befit of hindsight one of many ironic lines in this film is that "Even in Russia you get a fair trial!"

Probably the slickest of Will Hay's Gainsborough period, combining elements that subsequently served Peter Sellers well in 'Two-Way Stretch' and 'The Wrong Arm of the Law', peddling the reassuring notion that the criminal fraternity were capable of far greater resource than the actual upholders of law and order.

Despite the presence of Moore Marriott - who as Jerry the Mole makes 'stir crazy' a positive understatement - and Graham Moffatt (cutting quite a dash as a prison officer), director Marcel Varnel had at his disposal a much larger cast than previously, including such later Ealing luminaries as Basil Radford (seen too briefly, alas), with Google Withers hard as nails as a fake Russian countess who pays Hays the backhanded compliment of describing him as "as big a liar as I am!", and a rare cameo appearance by stout xylophonist Teddy Brown as a denizen of the underworld answering to the name 'Slim' Charlie.

Although the credits read "Will Hay as Convict 99" that honour actually belongs to Wilfred Walter who plays the definitive scowling malcontent Max Slessor seen at one point wielding a mean blackjack.

...but yet SO ridiculous that it draws you in and you have to stay watching to see what happens.

Benjamin Twist was a school master, and he's at this agency wanting a job in a school for reformed boys. But a general misunderstanding/mistaken identity gets him instead a different job, that of a prison governor! You see the man they wanted for the job is called Mr. Benjamin, as in *last* name Benjamin. So when everyone starts calling Mr. Twist 'Benjamin' (which is his first name), he just calls them all by their first names back and they all think he's such a riot. He does eventually realise their mistake, but at the same time finds out that the job pays £2000 a year; where the job he was actually after only pays £75. Well, being a prison warden isn't THAT much different from being schoolmaster to difficult boys, is it...

I had ordered the marvelous Oh Mr Porter from my DVD rental firm and was sent Convict 99 by mistake. This is not a patch on Oh Mr Porter; indeed I found it alternately boring and pathetically unfunny. It might have been a hoot in 1938, but it has not worn well. The backchat between Will Hay, Moore Marriott and Graham Moffat, hilarious in Oh Mr Porter, is here irritating and totally unfunny. The story is, of course, completely unbelievable, but that doesn't matter if the situations are comic, or the dialogue amusing. I just thought the whole thing a total waste of time. I'm trying to get Oh Mr Porter to reassure myself how funny Will Hay and his team can be. A complete dud.

Mr Twist, an ex-headmaster looking for work, is mistaken for another man and gets the job of prison governor. If mistaken identity, gag-falls and extraordinary yet unbelievable situations make you laugh, then this is the film for you. Brace yourself for very mild humour.

I usually enjoy a good old farce, but this film didn't measure up. It's only really worth watching if you have no other films of the genera on your list. However a special nod to the acting of Kathleen Harrison who briefly plays Mr Twist's long suffering sister-in-law. Another nod to the young prison guard who aids Mr Twist in his capers.

Most of the humour is based on people continually and unbelievably mistaking Mr Twist for things he is not.