''Said O'Reilly to McNab'' is a 1937 British

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

William Beaudine William Washington Beaudine (January 15, 1892 – March 18, 1970) was an American film director. He was one of Hollywood's most prolific directors, turning out a remarkable 179 feature-length films in a wide variety of genres. He is best know ...

and starring Will Mahoney,

Will Fyffe Will Fyffe, CBE (16 February 1885 – 14 December 1947) was a Scottish music hall and performing artist on stage and screen during the 1930s and 1940s. Fyffe made his debut in his father's stock company at age 6. He travelled extensively throug ...

and Ellis Drake. It was made at Islington Studios by

Gainsborough Pictures Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, east London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The co ...

.Wood p.96 The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Alex Vetchinsky.

Leslie Arliss Leslie Arliss (6 October 1901 – 30 December 1987) was an English screenwriter and film director, director. He is best known for his work on the Gainsborough melodramas directing films such as ''The Man in Grey'' and ''The Wicked Lady'' during ...

and Marriott Edgar wrote the screenplay. The movie was one of several comedies made at Gainsborough under Ted Black.

Plot

American confidence trickster Timothy O'Reilly has to flee New York with the law after him for his dubious business activities. He goes with his loyal, quick-thinking

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

across the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

to Scotland where his son Terence is living. O'Reilly finds Terence is in love with the daughter of Malcolm McNab, a tight-fisted local businessman. The two engage in a certain amount of rivalry while O'Reilly tries to find a way to refresh his financial fortune and get McNab's permission for their children to marry. These include a game of

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

at which both try to cheat and a miracle new

dieting Dieting is the practice of eating food in a regulated way to decrease, maintain, or increase body weight, or to prevent and treat diseases such as diabetes and obesity. As weight loss depends on calorie intake, List of diets, different kinds of ...

pill which is in fact just a

caramel Caramel ( or ) is a range of food ingredients made by heating sugars to high temperatures. It is used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons or candy bars, as a topping for ice cream and custard, and as a colorant ...

sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones, ...

Cast

* Will Mahoney as Colonel Timothy O'Reilly *

as Malcolm McNab * Ellis Drake as Mrs McNab * Jean Winstanley as Mary McNab * James Carney as Terence O'Reilly * Sandy McDougal as Jock McKay * Marianne Davis as Sophie * Lillian Urquhart as Maggie * Percy Parsons as Mr Dunkel * Robert Gall as Jock Mc Nab

References

Bibliography

* Marshall, Wendy L. ''William Beaudine: from silents to television''. Scarecrow Press, 2005. * Wood, Linda. ''British Films, 1927-1939''. British Film Institute, 1986.

External links

* 1937 films 1937 comedy films 1930s English-language films Films directed by William Beaudine British comedy films Films set in Scotland Islington Studios films Gainsborough Pictures films Films with screenplays by Marriott Edgar Films about con artists Films scored by Jack Beaver Films scored by Louis Levy British black-and-white films 1930s British films {{1930s-UK-comedy-film-stub