''Bell-Bottom George'' is a 1943 black and white British comedy musical film, directed by

Marcel Varnel Marcel Varnel (16 October 1892 – 13 July 1947) was French film director, notably however for his career in the United States and England as a director of plays and films Biography He was born Marcel Hyacinthe le Bozec in Paris, France. Va ...

, starring

George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961) was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he s ...

and Anne Firth. A wartime morale booster, it features the songs, "Swim Little Fish", "It Serves You Right", "If I Had A Girl Like You" and "Bell Bottom George." Future ''Carry On'' star Charles Hawtrey appears in a small role. The film title derives from the Bell bottom trousers which form part of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

uniform.

Plot

Anti-British agents plan an attack on a Royal Navy ship. Jim Bennett is a sailor who has overstayed his shore leave. He explains he was a boxer and if hit in one side he sleeps for 24 hours but if hit on the other he wakes. Meanwhile, George Blake (Formby) serves drinks to officers in a gentlemen's club. They chastise him for his poor service and say he should join the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

. George retires to his room in the club where he chats to his goldfish Egbert. During an air raid George is out with Jim and for various reasons is wearing his uniform. Jim gets knocked out and is trying to "revive" him by hitting him on the other side. The military police spot him and think he is both attacking Jim and that he is absent without leave. From then he is mistaken for the absent Jim. He has borrowed his to go to a Lock-in at a pub. George is spotted by

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear rec ...

who think he is

AWOL Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...

and escort him back to Naval barracks. He impresses the sailors there with his song "It Serves You Right - You Shouldn't Have Joined" whilst playing

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

, and is chosen to play at the "Spick and Span" troop radio concert in London. He meets Pat, a Wren, here, and they start to fall in love. He takes her to a dance and sings "If I Had a Girl Like You" to her. In the same period, he stumbles on the aforementioned pair of Nazi spies using a

taxidermists Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proc ...

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 has fallen for. When the real Bennett fully recovers in hospital ne panics that he is absent without leave and runs into the two military police who have been harassing the false Bennett. George passes and they give chase. He meets Pat in a car and they think they have escaped, but the group chasing them flag down a police car. They drive to harbour and steal a small launch but the others also steal a boat and the chase continues until George's boat is wrecked.

Sample gag

George is reduced to his underwear by the bad guys and complains he cannot walk around the streets like that as he would be mistaken for Gandhi.

Cast

as George Blake * Anne Firth as Pat *

Reginald Purdell Reginald Purdell (4 November 1896 – 22 April 1953) was an English actor and screenwriter who appeared in over 40 films between 1930 and 1951. During the same period he also contributed to the screenplays of 15 feature films, such as '' Th ...

as Birdie Edwards * Peter Murray-Hill as Shapley * Manning Whiley as Church *

Hugh Dempster Hugh Dempster (3 August 1900 – 30 April 1987) was a British theatre and film actor. Born in London, Dempster made his stage debut in 1920, and began his screen career in the silent film era. His credits included '' Vice Versa'', ''Anna Kareni ...

as White *

Dennis Wyndham Dennis Wyndham (15 January 1887 – 19 August 1973) was a South African born stage and film actor. Long based in Britain, he appeared in more than 40 films between 1920 and 1956. He was born in Natal, South Africa. On 23 May 1917, he marrie ...

as Black *

Charles Farrell Charles David Farrell (August 9, 1900 – May 6, 1990) was an American film actor of the 1920s silent era and into the 1930s, and later a television actor. Farrell is probably best recalled for his onscreen romances with actress Janet Gaynor ...

as Jim Bennett *

Eliot Makeham Harold Elliott Makeham (22 December 1882 – 8 February 1956) was an English film and television actor. Career Makeham was born in London, England. Between 1931 and 1956, Makeham appeared, primarily in character roles, in 115 films and in 1 ...

as Johnson *

Peter Gawthorne Peter Gawthorne (1 September 1884 – 17 March 1962) was an Anglo-Irish actor, probably best known for his roles in the films of Will Hay and other popular British comedians of the 1930s and 1940s. Gawthorne was one of Britain's most called-upo ...

as Admiral Sir William Coltham *

Jane Welsh Jane may refer to: * Jane (given name), a feminine given name * Jane (surname), related to the given name Film and television * ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd * ''Jane'' (2016 film), a South Korean drama fi ...

as Rita *

Harry Fowler Henry James Fowler, MBE (10 December 1926 – 4 January 2012) was an English character actor in film and television. Over a career lasting more than six decades, he made nearly 200 appearances on screen. Personal life Fowler was born in Lambe ...

as Delivery Boy * Ian Fleming as Lt. Commander Carter * Charles Hawtrey as BBC Radio Man * Frank Atkinson as Harry, the Barman

Box office and reception

According to trade papers, the film was a success at the British box office in 1944. ''

Halliwell's Film Guide Robert James Leslie Halliwell (23 February 1929 – 21 January 1989) was a British film critic, encyclopaedist and television rights buyer for ITV, the British commercial network, and Channel 4. He is best known for his reference guides, '' Fil ...

'' called it a "formula star comedy, too long and too familiar". ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

'' commented: "an overlong launching for an unseaworthy production"; while in the opinion of ''The Spinning Image'' "there are a few laughs to be had."

External links

References

{{reflist 1943 films 1943 musical comedy films British black-and-white films British musical comedy films Films directed by Marcel Varnel Films set in England British World War II propaganda films Films with screenplays by Edward Dryhurst Films set in London 1940s English-language films