''Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt'' is a 1940 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

Walter Forde Walter Forde (born Thomas Seymour Woolford, 21 April 1898 – 7 January 1984) was a British actor, screenwriter and Film director, director. Born in Lambeth, South London in 1898, he directed over fifty films between 1919 from the silent era ...

, starring

Arthur Askey Arthur Bowden Askey (6 June 1900 – 16 November 1982) was an English comedian and actor. Askey was known for his short stature (5' 2", 1.58 m) and distinctive horn-rimmed glasses, and his playful humour incorporating improvisation an ...

and

Richard Murdoch Richard Bernard Murdoch (6 April 1907 – 9 October 1990) was an English actor and entertainer. After early professional experience in the chorus in musical comedy, Murdoch quickly moved on to increasingly prominent roles in musical comedy and ...

. The screenplay was by J.O.C. Orton,

Marriott Edgar Marriott Edgar (5 October 1880 – 5 May 1951), born George Marriott Edgar in Kirkcudbright, Scotland, was a British poet, scriptwriter and comedian, best known for writing many of the monologues performed by Stanley Holloway, particularly the ...

and

Ralph Smart Ralph Foster Smart (27 August 1908 – 12 February 2001) was an English-born film and television producer, director and writer, who worked in the UK and Australia. Early life Smart was born in England to H. C. Smart, an Australian publicist, a ...

, adapted from the 1892 Victorian farce ''

Charley's Aunt ''Charley's Aunt'' is a farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. The story centres on Lord Fancourt Babberley, an undergraduate whose friends Jack and Charley persuade him to impersonate the latter's aunt. The complications of the plot in ...

'' by

Brandon Thomas Brandon Thomas may refer to: *Brandon Thomas (playwright) (1848–1914), English actor and playwright who wrote the hit farce, ''Charley's Aunt'' * Brandon Thomas (musician) (born 1980), American rock band singer *Brandon Thomas (American football) ...

. Arthur Askey's professional nickname was "Big-Hearted Arthur", which was added to the title to distinguish it from

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky; February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success as a violinist on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with ...

's version ''

'' (1941), for its (limited) American release.

Plot

Oxford students Arthur, Stinker, and Albert are in danger of being "sent down" (expelled) for bad behaviour. Learning that the Dean of Bowgate College is an amateur Egyptologist, Arthur – who had just played the lead in a stage version of ''Charley's Aunt –'' poses as Albert's wealthy Aunt Lucy, who might finance an archeological expedition if the Dean is lenient on her nephew and his friends. Unfortunately, the real Aunt Lucy picks this day to pay a visit to Oxford herself, with calamitous consequences.

Differences from play

Aside from the Oxford setting and the premise of a male student impersonating his wealthy aunt, the film bears little resemblance to the original play. In one brief sequence, the play ''Charley's Aunt'' is shown being performed by the Oxford students.

Cast

as Arthur Linden-Jones *

as "Stinker" Burton *

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-savvy ...

as Albert Brown *

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 ...

as Jerry *J. H. Roberts as Dean of Bowgate *

Felix Aylmer Sir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones (21 February 1889 – 2 September 1979) was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television. Aylmer made appearances in films with comedians such as Will Hay and George Formby. Early life ...

as The Proctor *

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

as The Buller * Leonard Sharp as Buller's assistant *

Phyllis Calvert Phyllis Hannah Murray-Hill (née Bickle; 18 February 1915 – 8 October 2002), known professionally as Phyllis Calvert, was an English film, stage and television actress. She was one of the leading stars of the Gainsborough melodramas of the 1 ...

as Betty Forsythe * Jeanne de Casalis as Aunt Lucy *Elliott Mason as Dame Luckton

Production

It was one of several comedies Askey made for Gainsborough.

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "The film is built up so that the team of Arthur Askey, Richard (Stinker) Murdoch and Graham the fat boy, can run true to type. The plot is thin but the fun is fast and hilarious." ''

Kine Weekly ''Kinematograph Weekly'', popularly known as ''Kine Weekly'', was a trade paper catering to the British film industry between 1889 and 1971. Etymology The word Kinematograph was derived from the Greek ' Kinumai ', (to move, to be in motion, to ...

'' wrote: "Riotous farcical comedy freely adapted from Brandon Thomas's all-time stage and screen success. The film, a rousing, exuberant rag, touches on every form of humour from slapstick to satire, and amplifies its great fun by clothing it in incongruous academic attire." ''The

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

Guide to Films'' gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "This is lacklustre, with English comedian Arthur Askey taking an only adequate stab at the role." In ''British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959'' David Quinlan rated the film as "good", writing: "Plot is thin, but laughs come thick and fast." ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' wrote that "

's oft-filmed farce (at least seven times since 1925) has frequently been better, but Askey gives it a good shot."

Sky Movies 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 ...

wrote that it is "tailored to the talents of the two stars, on the strength of their great success in the hit radio series ''

Band Waggon ''Band Waggon'' was a comedy radio show broadcast by the BBC from 1938 to 1940. The first series featured Arthur Askey and Richard "Stinker" Murdoch. In the second series, Askey and Murdoch were joined by Syd Walker, and the third series ad ...

''. Those stalwarts of the British comedy film, 1935–45, plump

and doddery

, are on hand to add to the fun, and the heroine is

, who was appearing in her second film."

References

External links

* 1940 films 1940 comedy films 1940s British films 1940s English-language films British black-and-white films British comedy films British films based on plays English-language comedy films Films based on Charley's Aunt Films directed by Walter Forde Films scored by Louis Levy Films with screenplays by Marriott Edgar {{1940s-UK-comedy-film-stub