Let George Do It (1938 Film)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Let George Do It'' is a 1938 comedy starring popular stage comedian George Wallace. It was the first of two films Wallace made for
Ken G. Hall Kenneth George Hall, AO, OBE (22 February 1901 – 8 February 1994), better known as Ken G. Hall, was an Australian film producer and director, considered one of the most important figures in the history of the Australian film industry. ...
at
Cinesound Productions Cinesound Productions Pty Ltd was an Australian feature film production company, established in June 1931, Cinesound developed out of a group of companies centred on Greater Union Theatres, that covered all facets of the film process, from produ ...
, the other one being '' Gone to the Dogs'' (1939). Hall later called Wallace "in my opinion, easily the best comedian that this country has produced."


Synopsis

The plot concerns a man, Joe Blake, who works as a stage hand in a vaudeville theatre headlined by Mysto the magician. When he finds out that the girl he is in love with, Molly, is getting married, he gets drunk with his friend Happy Morgan and decides to commit suicide. Joe offers to leave all his possessions to a gangster, Zilch, if Zilch will arrange a painless death for Joe. The next day Joe finds out he has received an inheritance and wants to live, but Zilch and his men, including Unk, abduct Joe and demand half his money. Joe escapes with the help of Clara, a woman who has a crush on him, resulting in a wild speedboat chase across Sydney harbour.


Cast

* George Wallace as Joe Blake * Gwen Munro as Molly *Harry Abdy as Elmer Zilch *Letty Craydon as Clara *
Alec Kellaway Alec Kellaway (1894–1973) was a South African–born actor best known for his work in Australian theatre and film, notably playing a number of character roles for director Ken G. Hall. He was the brother of Cecil Kellaway. He also worked as a pro ...
as Mysto the Great *
Joe Valli Joseph George McParlane (also spelled McFarlane and McPharlane; 13 August 1885 – 29 May 1967), known as Joe Valli, was a Scottish-Australian actor who worked in vaudeville and films. He had a long-running vaudeville partnership with Pat Hanna as ...
as 'Happy' Morgan *Neil Carlton as John Randall *George Lloyd as Unk


Production

Stuart F. Doyle signed George Wallace to a contract with Cinesound in February 1937. It was originally announced that he would be making ''Gone to the Dogs'', set against a background of greyhound racing. That turned out to be Wallace's second Cinesound movie; this was the first. As with most Cinesound comedies of the late 1930s, Hall employed a team of comedy writers to help with the script along with credited screenwriters Wallace and Frank Harvey. This consisted of Hall, cartoonist
Jimmy Bancks James Charles Bancks (10 May 1889 – 1 July 1952) was an Australian cartoonist best known for his comic strip ''Ginger Meggs''. Biography James Charles Bancks was born in Enmore, New South Wales, Australia on 10 May 1889, the son of an Irish ...
, Bill Maloney and
Hal Carleton Harold "Hal" H. Carleton (c.1896 – 25 December 1949) was an Australian writer. He was a friend of film director Ken G. Hall and was part of Hall's comedy writing team at Cinesound Productions in the late 1930s. He also wrote novels.Phil Taylor, ...
. The story followed a formula developed in Wallace's ''Ticket in Tatts'': "George is given a simple labourer's job... Quite innocently is fired... He then becomes involved in a simple wish-fulfilment device... the device is complicated by an equally simple set of stereotyped gangsters who have no motivation beyond innate greed for greater wealth, and in each situation they are foiled, usually accidentally, by George and his friends." The male romantic lead was played by Neil Carlton, a Melbourne-born actor who had appeared in films in England. "I've been searching for a juvenile of Carlton's type ever since I have been directing", said Hall during production. "He's handsome, a good actor, and possesses a fine singing voice; stands 6 ft 1 in. in his socks, weighs 14 St., and is a splendid all-round athlete." Filming commenced on 30 January 1938 and finished on 22 March. During the shooting of a speedboat chase scene on
Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...
, the boat crashed into a racing eight near Double Bay, cutting it in half and injuring three rowers. There were several musical numbers which demonstrated Wallace's ability to sing and dance. A water ballet, choreographed by Leon Kellaway, brother of
Cecil Kellaway Cecil Lauriston Kellaway (22 August 1890 – 28 February 1973) was a South African character actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor twice, for '' The Luck of the Irish'' (1948) and '' Guess Who's Coming to Dinner ...
, was shot but was mostly cut in the interests of keeping the film at a fast pace.


Release

Hall later wrote that the two films he made with Wallace "were very substantial hits". ''Variety'' wrote "it broke records everywhere." The famous tenor
Richard Tauber Richard Tauber (16 May 1891 – 8 January 1948) was an Austrian tenor and film actor. Early life Richard Tauber was born in Linz, Austria, to Elisabeth Seifferth (née Denemy), a widow and an actress who played soubrette roles at the local theat ...
saw the movie when touring Australia.'TAUBER LAUGHS AT COMEDIAN Australian Film', ''The Argus (Melbourne)'' Monday 4 July 1938 p 2
/ref> It was released in Britain in 1940 as ''In the Nick of Time'', to avoid confusion with the 1940
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 ...
film ''
Let George Do It! ''Let George Do It!'' (US: ''To Hell With Hitler'') is a 1940 British black-and-white comedy musical war film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring George Formby. It was produced by Michael Balcon for Associated Talking Pictures and its succes ...
''.


References


External links


''Let George Do It''
in the
Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

''Let George Do It''
at
Australian Screen Online The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national c ...

''Let George Do It''
at Oz Movies
Review of film
at Variety {{Ken G. Hall 1938 films Films directed by Ken G. Hall Australian black-and-white films Australian comedy films 1938 comedy films 1930s Australian films 1930s English-language films Cinesound Productions films