Back-Room Boy

Arthur Askey plays Arthur Pilbeam, who after recently being jilted by his fiancé swears off women and seeks employment away from them. He lands a post at a remote lighthouse on one of the Scotish Isles, here he thinks he's finally cracked it and can enjoy solitude whilst providing the meteorological bulletins. However, his peace is soon shattered when young Jane walks into his life, she stowed-away on his boat for she's searching for her uncle on a neighbouring island. Then Bobbie shows up after her boat was torpedoed, then another boat load of survivors, predominantly women, arrive. Arthur is beside himself, but worse is to come for all of a sudden they all start to disappear one by one. Could this be another Mary Celeste? Only in lighthouse form?

Produced out of Gainsborough Pictures, this Askey vehicle is directed by Herbert Mason and co-written by Marriott Edgar, Val Guest & J.O.C. Orton. Starring alongside Askey are Googie Withers, Moore Marriott, Graham Moffatt and Vera Francis. Very much along the lines of another Guest/Edgar scripted piece, the classic Oh Mr Porter! this fun and breezy picture sees Askey restrained and the film be all the better for it. In truth it takes its time to get going, practically 40 minutes pass by before the additional characters start being introduced. Which means we are at the mercy of Askey and the delightful Vera Francis for much of the movie. But it works.

Francis isn't an annoying child star, she has nice delivery and her role is so well scripted it keeps the film breezy. Her natural like presence appears to have a good effect on Askey, who is more relaxed and thus the comedy is more humanistic and real. Enter the support players, who somewhat understandably given the plot, aren't given much to do. Which is a shame because more of Withers, Marriott & Moffatt would obviously have been a bonus. But it is what it is and as the mystery element kicks in, and some sinister undertones sidle up next to the comedy, the lack of meat for the support characters' bones is easily forgiven. There's no real surprises come the finale, but one thinks nobody would be expecting that given the time of the film's release. So sit back and enjoy this fun mystery for it's one of the better Askey pictures. 7/10

Unlike the excellent review by GARY170459, I am not that familiar with Arthur Askey's films--they just aren't shown here in the states. I've seen a couple but am far from knowledgeable about him and his films. I did also recognize Moore Marriott as I'd seen him in a few films, including "Gasbags"--one of several Crazy Gang films. Both were particularly good, though Askey was clearly the star and Marriott was just there for support.

The film is a WWII propaganda piece made in the UK for local consumption. It's a very amiable comedy that both entertains and helped get the public behind the war effort.

It begins with Askey breaking up with his girlfriend and he is sick of women. He arranges to be transferred to a job manning a lighthouse in the middle of no where off the Scottish coast, but far from being isolated, people keep dropping in--even though he's 40 miles off the coast! It's pretty funny to see him getting frustrated with this and the film then gets tangled up in a German plot--though you'll just need to see the film yourself to find out what's in store.

The film is very entertaining and it's nice to see a tale set in a lighthouse that is worth seeing, as the last film I saw with a similar setting was "Sh! The Octopus (1937)"--a terrible little film with little to recommend it.

After being jilted by his fiancee, Arthur Pilbeam wants a job where he will encounter no women. He is sent to a lighthouse on a remote Scottish island which is being run as a meteoroligical station where he is supposed to be the only inhabitant. However, Jane, a young girl, has stowed-away on his boat. She is looking for her uncle on the neighbouring island. Then model Bobbie turns up - her boat has been torpedoed. With the arrival of another boatload of survivors, bringing the total occupancy of the island to 13, things are getting a little crowded. That's when they all start to disappear, one by one...

This was Arthur Askey's fifth film (and sans Stinker), and in my opinion his last really good one - three flag wavers and many nothing's followed. It's also one of my favourite British WW2 comedy efforts, a jolly time-passing Hun-beater.

At the BBC Arthur is responsible for transmitting on the hour every hour The Wireless Pips - wonder how many people believed it - but not surprisingly it wreaks havoc with his social life. Big, now a confirmed misogynist is posted to a lonely Scottish lighthouse where there are no women ... when he arrives. Never mind the photo of the topless woman, there's soon Googie and a gaggle of leggy and laughing lovelies for him to try and ignore too. With a plethora of spooky disappearances he's up against Jerry (and "Quislings") but doesn't know it until near the end - the audience would've guessed from the beginning they'd make a show. A refreshing extra dimension was added with Vera Francis, the "13 year old from Lambeff" - her world-weary and cynical comments still sound fresh and amusing even at this distance. Arthur and Vera made a good team, this one's worth watching just to see them spark.

A pleasant outing for all concerned, sad to think it was all downhill afterwards.

I probably say each Askey comedy is the "best one so far" so if I said it now it wouldn't carry any weight.

But it is.

It's the teaming of him and Googie Withers that does it, and it's interesting to see her both very young and very dark. I know she was a natural brunette in any case but I've gotten so used to seeing her as a blonde in her late 30's roles!

Askey was the guy who does the pips in the hour so that everyone can set their watches. Although this job doesn't bode too well with his girlfriend (Joyce Howard) so he makes a mockery of it one night and somehow gets a new job - relegated to watching over a lighthouse on a deserted island where apparently some evil mermaid haunts. He's glad to be there if only to be away from women at last but this changes when Googie's boat is torpeedoed and she's stranded there with him, and then about seven more of her girlfriends make it to land after her. The movie takes a decidedly more mysterious turn when they all start disappearing without a trace.

I'd give this one a 10 and put it up with other great laughs such as "The Ghost Train", "Charley's Big-Hearted Aunt" and "Bees In Paradise".