''Just William'' is a 1940 British

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Graham Cutts John Henry Graham Cutts (1884 – 7 February 1958), known as Graham Cutts, was a British film director, one of the leading British directors in the 1920s. His fellow director A. V. Bramble believed that Gainsborough Pictures had been built o ...

and starring

Richard Lupino Richard Lupino (29 October 1929 – 9 February 2005 ) was an American film, stage and television actor, of British parentage, part of the theatrical Lupino family. He was born in Hollywood to British actor Wallace Lupino and his wife Rose. He ...

Fred Emney Frederick Arthur Round Emney (12 February 1902 – 25 December 1980) was an English character actor and comedian. Emney was born in Prescot, Lancashire,GRO Register of Births Mar 1902 Frederick Arthur R Emney 8b 725 PRESCOT1901 Census: ...

and

Basil Radford Arthur Basil RadfordAdam Greaves, "Radford, (Arthur) Basil (1897–1952)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, May 201available online Retrieved 3 August 2020. (25 June 189720 October 1952) was an English charac ...

.BFI Database
/ref> It is based on the

Just William ''Just William'' is the first book of children's short stories about the young school boy William Brown, written by Richmal Crompton, and published in 1922. The book was the first in the series of William Brown books which was the basis for ...

series of books by

Richmal Crompton Richmal Crompton Lamburn (15 November 1890 – 11 January 1969) was a popular English writer, best known for her ''Just William'' series of books, humorous short stories, and to a lesser extent adult fiction books. Life Richmal Crompton Lambu ...

Plot

A rascally child recruits his friends as assistants to help his father get elected to the city council. Sadly, the children accidentally help two jewel thieves to escape. They feel sorry about this, and to redeem themselves, the kids begin investigating a rival candidate's conspiracy. Their involvement causes the boy's father to win the election.

Cast

as William Brown *

as Mr Brown *

as Mr Sidway *

Amy Veness Amy Veness (26 February 1876 – 22 September 1960) was an English film actress. She played the role of Grandma Huggett in ''The Huggetts Trilogy'' and was sometimes credited as Amy Van Ness. Veness was born Amy Clarice Beart in Aldeburgh, Suff ...

as Mrs Bott *

Iris Hoey Wilhelmina Iris Winifred Hasbach ("Iris Hoey") (17 July 1885 – 13 May 1979) was a British actress in the first half of the twentieth century, both on stage and in movies. Early life Iris Hoey was born in London, daughter of Wilhelm Anton H ...

as Mrs Brown *

Roddy McDowall Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 4 October 1998) was a British actor, photographer and film director. He began his acting career as a child in England, and then in the United States, in ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1 ...

as Ginger * Norman Robinson as Douglas * Peter Miles as Henry *

David Tree David Tree (born Ian David Parsons; 15 July 1915 – 4 November 2009) was an English stage and screen actor from a distinguished theatrical family whose career in the 1930s included roles in numerous stage presentations as well as in thirteen fil ...

as Marmaduke Bott *

Jenny Laird Phyllis Edith Mary Blythe (13 February 1912 – 31 October 2001), known professionally as Jenny Laird, was a British stage, film and television actress. Early life and education Born in Manchester, Laird and her parents moved to the south, an ...

as Ethel Brown *

Simon Lack Simon Lack (19 December 19138 August 1980) was a Scottish actor. He was born Alexander MacAlpine, in Cleland, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. Known locally as Alec, he was the youngest child and only son of his father, Alexander McAlpine (known ...

as Robert Brown

References

External links

*
BFI Database
1940 films Films shot at Welwyn Studios 1940s children's comedy films British comedy films Films directed by Graham Cutts Films based on children's books Just William British black-and-white films 1940 comedy films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films {{1940s-UK-comedy-film-stub