Melody Club

Although he had appeared in many pre war films this was the second film of the post war feature film career of Terry Thomas.At the time he was starring in a comedy series on BBC radio.It is clear that at the time he made this film that he had not adapted to the new medium yet.However within a few years he would become of this country's top film comedians. Unfortunately this film is very unfunny and there is very little that he can do to breathe some life into it. He plays a detective who is brought into discover why members of a nightclub are suffering a spate of burglaries.This he manages to do in a bumbling sort of way.If you are a fan it would be worth watching,but if not don't bother.

Terry Thomas (pre hyphen) stars as a gormless private eye in this garrulous quickie billed as "A laugh a minute comedy of crime detection" who goes through a series of increasingly bizarre disguises (starting with a clumsy waiter "with the Grand Canyon between his teeth") in pursuit of a gang of jewel thieves with Gwyneth Vaughan as his engaging girl Friday.

Terry Thomas became a major comedy star in countless films during the 50's and 60's. However, this early outing for Terry is nothing more than cobbled together scenes, where he can demonstrate his foreign character accents, as well as his comedic talent by using a range of 'caddish' expressions. After around 20 minutes of watching a film with a wafer thin story and excruciating dialogue about a private detective trying to catch a bunch of crooks, my interest sharply began to wane. Terry Thomas did his best with the poor script, but even he couldn't rescue it from being a lame and frankly mediocre film.

As the only other review of this 1949 movie describes it as unfunny I thought I should add a review to counterbalance. No, your sides will not be aching from laughter but there is enough to admire to make it a worthwhile hour and a bit. Seeing Terry Thomas(hyphen less as this movie is that old) in one of his first leading roles is a joy. The ludicrous disguises he adopts in an attempt to solve the robberies suffered by Melody Club patrons are first rate. Moustaches get bigger and wider in an attempt to cover the gap in his teeth which his character refers to self-effacingly. His dinner with the wonderfully named General Blitzem gives TT an opportunity to demonstrate all the mannerisms we came to love from this talented comedian. Michael Balfour plays the bad guy with a delightful faux American gangster accent whilst his moll appears to be a early version of Daisy from Lee Mack's 'Not Going Out'.

I thank Talking Pictures TV for bringing this to the screen - if you appreciate Terry-Thomas this movie will not be a waste of your time.