Bell-Bottom George
| Bell-Bottom George | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Original theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Marcel Varnel |
| Produced by | Marcel Varnel |
| Written by |
Edward Dryhurst Peter Fraser John L. Arthur Richard Fisher Peter Creswell |
| Starring |
George Formby Anne Firth Reginald Purdell |
| Music by | Harry Bidgood |
| Cinematography |
Basil Emmott Roy Fogwell |
| Edited by | Max Brenner |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release dates | 7 February 1944 |
Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Bell-Bottom George is a 1943 black and white British comedy musical film, directed by Marcel Varnel, starring George Formby and Anne Firth.[1] Another wartime flagwaver for Formby, it features the songs, "Swim Little Fish", "It Serves You Right", "If I Had A Girl Like You" and "Bell Bottom George." [2] Future Carry On star Charles Hawtrey appears in a small role.
Sample gag
"George is reduced to his underwear by the bad guys and complains he cannot walk around the streets like that as he'll be mistaken for Gandhi." (The Spinning Image) [3]
Plot
George Blake (Formby) is a waiter with ambitions to join the Navy, although he's been rejected several times, because of a weak heart. But during an air raid he's mistaken for a sailor because he's wearing the clothes of a navy friend who's borrowed his to go to a Lock-in at a pub. George is spotted by military police who think he is AWOL and escort him back to Naval barracks. He impresses the sailors there with his songs and ukulele playing, and is recruited to play at the "Spick and Span" troop radio concert in London. Somehow, along the way, he stumbles on a group of Nazi spies using a taxidermists shop as a front, and foils their plot to blow up a British submarine, "The Firefly". He also impresses and wins the heart of Pat (Anne Firth}, the Wren he's fallen for.[4] [5]
Cast
- George Blake - George Formby
- Pat - Anne Firth
- Birdie Edwards - Reginald Purdell
- Shapley - Peter Murray-Hill
- Church - Manning Whiley
- White - Hugh Dempster
- Black - Dennis Wyndham
- Jim Bennett - Charles Farrell
- Johnson - Eliot Makeham
- Admiral Sir William Coltham - Peter Gawthorne
- Rita - Jane Welsh
- Delivery Boy - Harry Fowler
- Lt. Commander Carter - Ian Fleming
- BBC Radio Man - Charles Hawtrey
- Harry, the Barman - Frank Atkinson
Box Office
According to trade papers, the film was a success at the British box office in 1944.[6]
Critical reception
Halliwell's Film Guide called it a "formula star comedy, too long and too familiar"; [7] TV Guide said, "an overlong launching for an unseaworthy production";[8] while The Spinning Image said, "there are a few laughs to be had."[3]
External links
references
- ↑ "Bell-bottom George | BFI | BFI". Explore.bfi.org.uk. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
- ↑ "Bell Bottom George". Georgeformby.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
- 1 2 "Bell Bottom George Review (1944)". Thespinningimage.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
- ↑ "Bell Bottom George". Georgeformby.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
- ↑ "Bell-bottom George [DVD] [1944]: Amazon.co.uk: Anne Firth, George Formby, Reginald Purdell, Peter Murray Hill, Marcel Varnel: Film & TV". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
- ↑ Robert Murphy, Realism and Tinsel: Cinema and Society in Britain 1939-48 2003 p 207
- ↑ "Halliwell's Film Guide 2008 - HarperCollins UK - Google Books". Books.google.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
- ↑ "Bell-Bottom George Review". Movies.tvguide.com. Retrieved 2014-02-23.