The Boys in Blue

I first saw The Boys in Blue at the cinema when I was a youngster. Even at that age I wasn't a fan of the comedy duo Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball, who I found quite clearly unfunny. But my friend was a big fan so I went along to the cinema with him and his granny, with little enthusiasm. But lo and behold, I remember finding it absolutely hilarious, my friend's granny declaring that she was also surprised and that this was definitely the best thing Cannon and Ball had ever did. So I always had a bit of fondness for this film and eventually saw it for the second time a few years ago, unfortunately that time finding it to be one of the worst films I had ever seen; I was staggered and disappointed in my ten year old self for having ever found it such a chuckle-fest. Anyway, recently I saw it once more and feel I can be a little more measured and say that the truth lies somewhere in between. It's a lightly amusing bit of nonsense that really isn't all that bad at all.

In it Cannon and Ball star as two policemen from a small crime-free town. They fabricate a crime in order to safe-guard their jobs but immediately find themselves in the midst of a scheme involving real thieves. The whole point of the film is to give the duo free reign to display their usual comedy thing. In the early 80's these guys were big TV stars you have to remember but the transition to the big screen never really happened for them and I don't think this film did particularly well. It's pretty broad humour to say the least so don't look for subtlety here. But really it's okay in a Tuesday afternoon kind of way. My friend's granny was right; this is the best thing Cannon and Ball ever did.

Since Cannon and Ball were quite a popular duo back in the late 1970's - mid 1980s, it was no surprise they got their own film version; in C & B case theirs was a loose remake of Will Hay's 'Ask A Policeman' (which I have not seen).

I could go on about the flaws and pacing - and I won't take any issue there - but this is a just silly comedy from a bygone era. I can watch this on an afternoon as a bit of harmless, undemanding viewing - and the various cameoes are quite fun.

But I take issue with the criticism that this is the worst British film ever, etc. A masterpiece it is not, but I could name half a dozen that a far, far worse....

Utter tripe - a pointless remake of Will Hay's superb 'Ask A Policeman' starring the unfunny and charmless Cannon and Ball - a straight man and a 'comedian' whose one joke consists of snapping his braces. Don't bother.

"Ask a Policeman" was Will Hay's third best movie, full of wit and charm with three excellent lead actors. This remake is dreadful and it is a huge shame that it was directed by Val Guest, considering he role in making Hay such a star.

Cannon and Ball - dear God, no! Just get "Ask a Policeman", or better still get "Oh, Mr Porter", "Bones of the River" and "Convict 99" and see how Val Guest and Will Hay combine to make masterpieces of British cinema.

Pass this by - it is dreadful. Please, keep walking...no go on...nothing to see here...

I am disgusted that anyone could give this a 10. I was going to score it 3 simply out of respect to Val Guest, but the fact that people are scoring it 10 - rating it as highly as Citizen Kane, The Godfather Part 2, Shawshank Redemption, African Queen etc is ridiculous. The acting from C&B is atrocious. The script is ludicrous - even the verbatim lines taken from Will Hay's classic seem ludicrous when C&B utter them, and it looks awful. I have to give it 1 to cancel out undeserved 10s.

I recently bought this film on DVD and it is still as funny as watching the first time in the cinema. A mixture of slapstick and funny lines make this a film that only C&B fans will really appreciate and enjoy, you also get some great brit actors as well such as Roy Kinnear, Eric Sykes, Jack Douglas, Jon Pertwee and Arthur English. It is a remake of the Will Hay movie Ask A Policeman, although I can only vaguely remember the Will Hay version, it is a pretty simple plot to follow. C&B play two hapless policemen in the village of Little Bottom and they are called into some police work when art thieves try to smuggle out some stolen paintings. This will appeal to anyone who grew up in the 80's and enjoyed watching C&B