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Will Hay - Oh Mr. Porter! / Convict 99 [1938]
![Will Hay - Oh Mr. Porter! / Convict 99 [1938]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518E4YF81YL._SL160_.jpg)
One of Will Hay's brisker comic efforts, 1936's Convict 99 sees Dr Benjamin Twist, Hay's clueless schoolmaster, caught in a case of mistaken identity and invited to head up a prison for especially hard-boiled criminals. It's a typical outtake from Hay's bizarrely lawless universe in which, for all his harrumphing and bluster, he's unable to exercise any sort of discipline whatsoever over the men in his charge. Hay plays exactly the same character from film to film, one so ill-equipped for any situation he's equally suited for all. Whereas Twist is an incompetent who somehow muddles through, Hay the comic actor is a master of timing and double-takes who knows precisely how to create the air of a shambles. --David Stubbs
RRP: £12.99
Our Price: £8.00 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
Though he gets solo above-the-title billing, Will Hay was no more a solo comedian than Groucho Marx. Teamed with sidekicks Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt the trio formed one of British cinema's greatest comedy gangs. Oh, Mr Porter!, one of their finest vehicles, finds Hay as congenial William Porter, an inept railway worker who is shunted off to the dead-end job of stationmaster in Buggleskelly, Northern Ireland. The delight of the film is in the interplay between Hay and Marriott, the single-toothed dotty old-timer, and Moffatt, the chubby smart kid, as they fail the most basic requirements of their jobs but come up trumps when investigating the ghost of One-Eyed Joe and his haunted mill. --Kim Newman
Wonderful Double Bill (or is it double Will?)!
Review date: 2007-11-02 Rating: 10 out of 10
Two of Will Hay's best comedies, including his regular side-kicks Moore Marriott and Graham Moffat. 'Oh Mr Porter' is the better of the two. Hay plays a bumbling, self-important man who has been in a range of jobs and has caused chaos at every turn. His latest job is as Stationmaster at Buggleskelly, a station near the Irish border. Needless to say, Buggleskelly is awash with eccentric characters of every description, including gun runners and an ancient postman. The film is a riot from start to finish. 'Convict 99' sees Hay, a bemused schoolmaster, mistakenly appointed as prison governor to one of the toughest prisons in the country! Needless to say, he treats the convicts like naughty schoolboys and they don't like it one bit! This is a highly entertaining set - the films are showing their age, but are both very good entertainment.
Similar Products
- Will Hay - Ask A Policeman / Boys Will Be Boys [1939]
- Ghost Train [1941]
- The Titfield Thunderbolt [1952]
- Whisky Galore (Single Disc) [1949]
- Will Hay - Old Bones Of The River / Where There's A Will [1938]
Reviews
Unappreciated comedy classic
Review date: 2007-06-15 Rating: 10 out of 10
Every time I see one of those"100 GREATEST COMEDY"list shows on TV I always want to throw something at the screen.I've seen lists with"Police Academy"in the pool for Chrissake!Only film guru Barry Norman seems to have remembered this British comic masterpiece.Hay,Marriot and Moffatt were up there with the Marxes,Laurel & Hardy,W.C.Fields and many rungs above Abbot & Costello.Perhaps because of their music hall backgrounds and relatively low budgets(Porter was a huge box office hit in its day)and lack of international recognition is the reason for its shameful lack of respect.But the sublime timing and interplay from these wonderful pros in a variation of "The Ghost Train"is a joy to behold.Once you've watched this, the classic lament,"You're wasting your time"will be with you forever.When something as abysmally unfunny as "The Three Amigos"can be incuded in a top 100 list then you know the lunatics have taken over.
All aboard for Connemara!
Review date: 2006-12-13 Rating: 10 out of 10
Oh Mr Porter is 60 years old but still one of the best ever comedies. Hay, Marriott and Moffat spark off each other, the grainy black-and-white texture gives oodles of atmosphere; I just love the whole scene when Porter arrives at Buggleskelly in the pouring rain. Of its time, but timeless. Just enjoy!
Hilarious
Review date: 2005-10-03 Rating: 8 out of 10
Will Hay has always been a favourite of mine. Neither as slapstick as Laurel and Hardy, nor as sharp as the Marx Brothers, Hay made his own the bumbling clown who just wants to get through life. Oh, Mr Porter is one of his best films, only Ask a Policeman comes close. As with most of his best films, Hay is well-served by the decrepit Moore Marriott (one of the most prolific actors, with over 300 films to his credit), and the overweight indolent Graham Moffatt. The plot has to do with smugglers, but never mind. As in many of his films, Hay is at odds with authority, determined to turn the tiny Irish station of Buggleskelly into an important stop with his own excursion, despite the advice of one of the locals that you're wasting your time.
You certainly won't be wasting your time with this great comedy, relic of an earlier, simpler age.
Convict 99 begins when Hay is mistakenly taken to prison as an inmate, when he's actually the new governor. The film is amusing, but nowhere near as funny as Oh, Mr Porter.
Oh Mr Porter
Review date: 2004-01-25 Rating: 8 out of 10
Oh Mr Porter has been a favourite of mine for over 30 years. I can remember hiring an 8mm sound copy when a teenager. The story is well known and has appeared on TV many times but I just could not miss buying it on DVD. The sound seemed out of sync in a couple of places but not enough to be annoying, the picture and sound quality is good. A fine example of early British film comedy and the teaming of Hay, Marriott and Moffat is genius. Buy it.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Will Hay
Peter Gawthorne
Moore Marriott
Graham Moffatt
Googie Withers
Creators:
Will Hay (Primary Contributor)
Moore Marriott (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: ITV DVD
Manufacturer: ITV DVD
EAN: 5037115014931
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Black & White, PAL,
Release date: 2003-06-16
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Audience rating: Universal, suitable for all
Region code: 2
Running time: 165 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1938-06
Language: English (Original Language)