''Windbag the Sailor'' is a 1936 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

William Beaudine William Washington Beaudine (January 15, 1892 – March 18, 1970) was an American film actor and director. He was one of Hollywood's most prolific directors, turning out films in remarkable numbers and in a wide variety of genres. Life and car ...

and starring

Will Hay William Thomson Hay (6 December 1888 – 18 April 1949) was an English comedian who wrote and acted in a schoolmaster sketch that later transferred to the screen, where he also played other authority figures with comic failings. His film ''Oh ...

. The film marked the first appearance of Hay with

Graham Moffatt Graham Victor Harold Moffatt (6 December 1919 – 2 July 1965) was an English comedic character actor. He is best known for a number of films where he appeared with Will Hay and Moore Marriott as 'Albert': a plump cheekily insolent street-sa ...

and

Moore Marriott George Thomas Moore Marriott (14 September 1885 – 11 December 1949) was an English character actor best remembered for the series of films he made with Will Hay. His first appearance with Hay was in the film '' Dandy Dick'' (1935), but he w ...

acting as his straight men, however both Moffatt and Marriott had previously acted separately in films starring Hay, namely in '' Dandy Dick'' and ''Where There's a Will'', respectively.

Plot

Ben Cutlet is a retired

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

captain who entertains his bar room audience with tales of his alleged days at sea, although his maritime experience extends no further than navigating a coal barge. His tall tales catch him out when he is conned into commanding the unseaworthy ''Rob Roy'' to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

by a gang of criminals who mean to scuttle the ship for the insurance money. Cutlet gets the upper hand however when he and his companions fall in with West Indian natives who mistake their radio set for a god.

Cast

as Captain Ben Cutlet *

as Jerry Harbottle *

as Albert Brown *

Norma Varden Norma Varden Shackleton (20 January 1898 – 19 January 1989), known professionally as Norma Varden, was an English-American actress with a long film career. Life and career Early life Born in London, the daughter of a retired sea captain ...

as Olivia Potter-Porter *Kenneth Warrington as Yates *

Dennis Wyndham Dennis Wyndham (15 January 1887 – 19 August 1973) was a South African born stage and film actor. Long based in Britain, he appeared in more than 40 films between 1920 and 1956. He was born in Natal, South Africa. On 23 May 1917, he marrie ...

as Jim Maryatt *

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 Emma Harbottle * Leonard Sharp as Crew member

Reception

Writing for ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'' in 1937,

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

gave the film a good review, recommending it to "those under sixteen". Greene praised Beaudine for his "admirabl direct on, and noted that Hay "has never had a better part than that of Captain Ben Cutlett". (reprinted in: )

References

External links

* 1936 films 1936 comedy films British comedy films 1930s English-language films British black-and-white films Seafaring films Gainsborough Pictures films Films directed by William Beaudine Films produced by Michael Balcon Films with screenplays by Marriott Edgar 1930s British films {{1930s-UK-comedy-film-stub