''Jack's the Boy'' is a 1932 British comedy film directed by

Walter Forde Walter Forde (born Thomas Seymour Woolford, 21 April 1898 – 7 January 1984) was a British actor, screenwriter and Film director, director. Born in Lambeth, south London in 1898, he directed over fifty films between 1919 from the silent era ...

and starring

Jack Hulbert John Norman Hulbert (24 April 189225 March 1978) was a British actor, director, screenwriter and singer, specializing primarily in comedy productions, and often working alongside his wife (Dame) Cicely Courtneidge. Biography Born in Ely, Ca ...

Cicely Courtneidge Dame Esmerelda Cicely Courtneidge, (1 April 1893 – 26 April 1980) was an Australian-born British actress, comedian and singer. The daughter of the producer and playwright Robert Courtneidge, she was appearing in his productions in the West En ...

Francis Lister Francis Lister (2 April 1899 – 28 October 1951) was a British actor. He was married to the actresses Nora Swinburne (1924–32) and Margot Grahame (1934-36). Filmography References External links * * *ThFrancis Lister Collectionis held by ...

and

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 ...

. It became well known for its song "

The Flies Crawled Up the Window "'The Flies Crawled Up the Window" is a British song originally sung by the actor Jack Hulbert in the 1932 comedy film ''Jack's the Boy''. The lyrics describe the antics of various flies as they crawl up windows. In the film it is sung by Hulbert' ...

", sung by Hulbert, which was released as a record and proved a major hit. The film was released in the U.S. as ''Night and Day''.

Plot

Policeman Jack (Jack Hulbert) attempts to track down a gang responsible for a

smash and grab A smash and grab is a particular form of burglary or looting that involves smashing a barrier, usually a display window in a shop or a showcase, grabbing valuables, and then making a quick getaway, without concern for setting off alarms or creat ...

raid, thereby proving his worth to his disapproving father (Peter Gawthorne), a

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

detective.

Cast

as Jack Brown *

as Mrs Bobday *

Winifred Shotter Winifred Florence Shotter (5 November 1904 – 4 April 1996) was an English actress best known for her appearances in the Aldwych farces of the 1920s and early 1930s. Initially a singer and dancer in the ensembles of musical comedies, Shotte ...

as Ivy *

as Jules Martin *

as Mr Brown *

Ben Field Ben Field (1876–1939) was a British actor. Partial filmography * ''Les cloches de Corneville'' (1917) - Iolo * ''The Face at the Window'' (1920) - Peter Pottlebury * '' The Bachelor's Club'' (1921) - Peter Parker * '' Little Miss Nobody'' ...

as Mr Bobday *

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 Martin *

O. B. Clarence Oliver Burchett Clarence (25 March 1870, Hampstead, London – 2 October 1955, Hove, Sussex) was an English actor. Following his education at Dover College and University College Hospital, he made his stage debut in 1890. His experience includ ...

as Tompkins *

Hal Gordon Hal Gordon (1894–1946) was a British film actor. A character actor, he appeared in over 90 films in both comic and straight roles. He started off as a lawyer's clerk but finding it dull he decided on the stage, making his music hall debut i ...

as Man with scarf at accident * Arthur Rigby as Police Constable

Reception

The film was voted the fourth best British movie of 1932. ''British Pictures'' wrote, "As entertainment, it's curious. Hulbert and Courtneidge clown about nicely but it's hard to see how this film was one of the biggest hits of its year (big enough to be the punchline of a comic song in the following year's ''

The Good Companions ''The Good Companions'' is a novel by the English author J. B. Priestley. Written in 1929, it follows the fortunes of a concert party on a tour of England. It is Priestley's most famous novel and established him as a national figure. It won ...

''). Opportunities for them to "do their stuff" are poked into the narrative in the oddest places. They search a thief's flat and spontaneously break into a silly dance. It would be charming if it wasn't so bloody irritating. Perhaps the most interesting bits of the film now are the sequences filmed on location both on the streets of London and in

Madame Tussauds Madame Tussauds (, ) is a wax museum founded in 1835 by French wax sculptor Marie Tussaud in London, spawning similar museums in major cities around the world. While it used to be spelled as "Madame Tussaud's"; the apostrophe is no longer us ...

(though you have to doubt the effectiveness of any film chase sequence in which you get more interested in the passing billboards than the action). All in all, it's a film which has dated badly and which doesn't show off the stars to their best advantage"; while ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' wrote that though the "Dialog drags a bit, as though it's being read for the stage. Hulbert saves his performance with a lot of likable charm"; and ''

AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...

'' called it a "breezy quota quickie", concluding that "Matching Jack Hulbert laugh for laugh is his wife and longtime stage partner Cicely Courteneidge"; and ''

Screenonline Screenonline is a website about the history of British film, television and social history as documented by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute and funded by a £1.2 million grant from the National Lo ...

'' noted that "Jack's the Boy is acknowledged as one of the team's best films."

References

External links

* * {{Gainsborough Pictures 1932 films 1932 comedy films British comedy films Gainsborough Pictures films Films produced by Michael Balcon Films directed by Walter Forde Films scored by Jack Beaver 1930s police comedy films British black-and-white films 1930s English-language films 1930s British films