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.

Whilst the changes Will Hay makes to the prison aren't quite as pink and fluffy as what Paddington achieves in PADDINGTON 2, you can't help drawing comparisons. Both films are warm, silly, funny and uniquely English.

Like the Carry On films, all Will Hay's Gainsborough films including CONVICT 99 essentially have the same plot and characters as all the others. It was however such a brilliant plot with such brilliant familiar characters that they could keep remaking the same picture over and over again and they'd still feel fresh. This one has different writing team to usual and they have created a story that's slightly more sophisticated (not a word often found in a Will Hay review!) from his other pictures.

Obviously it's not as good as OH MR PORTER because that's OH MR PORTER but being from Mr Hay's golden period, this is still one of the best comedies of the 1930s. ASK A POLICEMEN and WINDBAG THE SAILOR are possibly closest in style to PORTER but this very close.

What better compliment can I give it to say that, yes, it's not as funny or as well directed as "Oh, Mr Porter" and yes, Moffat and Marriott are underused, but it is still a Will Hay classic, and to my opinion its his second best movie.

The plot is basic - Hay becomes in charge of a prison by mistake, having the same first name as the new governor's last name... he arrives drunk and gets mixed up with a new batch of prisoners...one (number 99) escapes in the process and the guards think Hay is Convict 99... 99 is recaptured and Hay then takes up his position as governor...prisoners run the prison...99 escapes with Hay's money...prisoners escape, get the money back and break into the bank to give Hay back his money.

Okay so it makes little sense, but it is fun to watch!

Will Hay starring once again with trusty second bananas Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt plays a schoolmaster who's been kicked out of his last employment. Seeking a new job he's made governor (warden to us Yanks) of a prison. But through a wonderful series of mishaps arrives much like Robert Redford did in Brubaker. Takes them a while before they realize he is the new governor.

Once there the prisoners realize that they've got themselves a Captain Parmenter like pigeon. Hay's so stupid and so full of himself he thinks he's doing grand things. The cons realize that if they just make him look good they can turn the place into a country club and do.

Marriott plays a lifer who has tunneled just about everywhere in the system, but hasn't escaped yet. Moffatt plays a simple and trusting prison guard. All three are bloody marvelous as the British would say.

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.