No Limit

I've enjoyed Formby's singing and ukulele playing for several years but have just tonight seen several of his movies on TCM. It's easy to see why he was (and is still) loved in the UK. Formby's style of comedy reminded me of Jerry Lewis in his early movies though Formby preceded Lewis by some 15 years.

George enters a motorcycle race, sings and meets a pretty girl. He's the underdog. Will he win? Will he get the girl in the end? Of course. Surprised?

The film uses quite a bit of actual race footage and the. Crashes are quite violent. One rider falls over and is hit by two other riders. One cycle and rider go over the edge of a mountain. I'd be surprised if he lived.

Stream some of Formby's songs on Spotify. "Count Your Blessings and Smile" or "When I'm Cleaning Windows".

What a jump up in quality No Limit is from George's first 2 films ("Boots!, Boots!" and "Off The Dole")

More lavishly produced, more of a story, more of a drama, more of a genuine laugh.

More of a proper film really (instead of the disjointed bits of skits and sketches of the previous films) professionally directed by Monty Banks (Gracie Fields husband)

I could imagine going to see this in the cinemas in 1936 and having a "reet rollikin good laff"

George singing "Riding in the TT Races" to a carriage full of smiley fat faces gives a little tug on the happy string in your heart.

The TT race finale is a thrills and spills rompalong (how close the dangerously careering bikes are to the crowd around would give the present day Health & Safety police kittens)

It all ends predictably and happily ever after.

I'd pick a rainy Sunday afternoon to watch this film, cuddled up on the sofa, drinking pots of tea, munching Eccles cakes.

This film was made in 1935 when Formby was at the height of his fame in the British music halls. This was Formby's third film and also one of his most fondly remembered. He plays George Shuttleworth (speed demon), Who has a dream of riding his motorbike in the Isle Of Man TT races. It is a wonderful 80 minutes of nostalgic fun as George gets into many scrapes on the way and manages to fit in a few songs while plucking his Ukelele. It is also a timely reminder of a Britain which (sadly) no longer exists. So sit back and reminisce but most of all enjoy.

There's a few things going for this film if your into nostalgia. Firstly George is a likable Lancashire comedian setting out on the big screen in an absolutely predictable script.

It's worth a watch if you've ever been to the Isle of Man (TT races or not) purely from a historical point of view. Health & safety would just die at the crowds locality to the bikes! There are a few good laughs but 75 years on it all looks very, very familiar. The Riding the TT Races song on the train journey is an eccentric bit of comedic genius and the Shuttleworth Snap is a dream bike (there's a full replica at The Bay Inn, Port Erin, Isle of Man - fab pub).

No Limit was George's first big league film, his 4th overall. The boss of ATP Basil Dean had wanted to find a Northern entertainer to rival Gracie Fields; when his scouts announced the finding of George Formby for him he said "But he's dead", thinking of George's famous Dad who had died in 1922. But nevertheless, Formby Jr. probably inevitably became a star, the biggest in Britain between 1938-1945 – he came along at just the right time when the public wanted simple good hearted escapism. The only purpose simple good hearted escapism serves today for film-makers is to give themselves and the public something to sneer at.

Gormless little man George Shuttleworth wants to take part in and win the annual motorcycle TT Races on t'Isle of Man, gets there penniless but with Florence Desmond rooting for him, and an assortment of baddies led by nasty Jack Hobbs out to stop him by foul means. Songs: Riding In The TT Races (in the crowded railway coach), Riding Around On A Rainbow (the lively hit of the film by Flo – to Beryl's disgust - on the IOM ferry), In A Little Wigan Garden (an advance warning for serious people: black-faced on the beach at Douglas), I'm Walking Your Way (as a romantic duet in the "moonlight"). Favourite bits: the studio shots of George's back yard at Slagdyke; the location shots of the course and backgrounds on the Isle of Man; grandfather Edward Rigby's superbly indignant performance; the TT race scenes and climax (due to the heat and number of re-takes George actually did collapse at the finish). The local stunt riders apparently went on strike successfully for a short while after they found out that director Monte Banks was paying the donkey and his owner (who had smaller bit parts) more than them!

A landmark film with the Formby Formula virtually in place, it wouldn't really be changed now for the next 10 years.