''Pack Up Your Troubles'' 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

Oswald Mitchell Oswald Albert Mitchell (1890 - April 27, 1949) was a British film director who directed several of the Old Mother Riley series of films.

and starring

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 ...

Wylie Watson Wylie Watson (6 February 1889 – 3 May 1966) (born John Wylie Robertson) was a British actor. Among his best-known roles were those of "Mr Memory", an amazing man who commits "50 new facts to his memory every day" in Alfred Hitchcock's film ' ...

and

Patricia Roc Patricia Roc (born Felicia Miriam Ursula Herold; 7 June 1915 – 30 December 2003) was an English film actress, popular in the Gainsborough melodramas such as ''Madonna of the Seven Moons'' (1945) and ''The Wicked Lady'' (1945), though she only m ...

. It takes its name from the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

marching song "

Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag, and Smile, Smile, Smile" is the full name of a World War I marching song, published in 1915 in London. It was written by Welsh songwriter George Henry Powell under the pseudonym of "George Asaf", and s ...

Plot

Garage owner Tommy (Reginald Purdell) and ventriloquist friend Eric (Wylie Watson) join the army and travel to France, where they are captured by the Nazis. However, Eric's voice-throwing skills come in handy in engineering their escape and in obtaining top secret information.

Cast

as Tommy Perkins *

as Eric Sampson *

as Sally Brown *

Wally Patch Walter Sydney Vinnicombe (26 September 1888 – 27 October 1970) was an English actor and comedian. He worked in film, television and theatre. Biography Vinnicombe was born in Willesden, Middlesex and began working on the music hall stages in ...

as Sgt. Barker *

Muriel George Muriel George (29 August 1883 – 22 October 1965) was an English singer and film actress. She appeared in 55 films between 1932 and 1955. She also appeared on the variety stage and sang on radio with her second husband Ernest Butcher for thir ...

as Mrs. Perkins *

Ernest Butcher Edward Ernest Butcher (7 April 1885 – 8 June 1965) was a British actor, on stage from 1935, and with many film and TV appearances. He was the second husband of the actress Muriel George, and stepfather to her son, the critic John Davenpor ...

as Jack Perkins *

Manning Whiley Manning Hedges Whiley (23 January 191529 January 1975) was a British actor. Partial filmography * ''Trunk Crime'' (1939) - Bentley * '' The Four Just Men'' (1939) - (uncredited) * '' Pack Up Your Troubles'' (1940) - Muller * '' Contraband'' (19 ...

as Muller *

G. H. Mulcaster G. H. Mulcaster (27 June 1891 – 19 January 1964) was a London-born British actor. He was the father of the actor Michael Mulcaster, and the first husband of English actress Diana Napier. Selected filmography * ''God Bless Our Red, White and ...

as Col. Diehard

Critical reception

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 ...

'' called it a "Lightweight comedy worth watching for Purdell's and Watson's nice comic performances." and ''

Sky Cinema Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema on ...

'' similarly approved of the pair, "They're pretty funny together," though considered the plot "routine," but found compensation in "a very young and pretty Patricia Roc and some good old music-hall songs include

Roll Out the Barrel "Beer Barrel Polka", also known as "The Barrel Polka", "Roll Out the Barrel", or "Rosamunde", is a 1927 polka composed by Czech musician Jaromír Vejvoda. Lyrics were added in 1934, subsequently gaining worldwide popularity during World War II a ...

, Pack Up Your Troubles and Goodbye Sally," concluding that the film was "Cheerful nonsense."

References

Bibliography

* Chibnall, Steve & McFarlane, Brian. ''The British 'B' Film''. Palgrave MacMillan, 2009.

External links

* 1940 films British comedy films 1940 comedy films 1940s English-language films Films shot at Nettlefold Studios Films set in England Films directed by Oswald Mitchell British black-and-white films Films scored by Percival Mackey 1940s British films {{1940s-UK-comedy-film-stub