''Hey! Hey! USA'' is a 1938 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 ...

starring comedian Will Hay, Edgar Kennedy and Eddie Ryan. Hay appears as Benjamin Twist, a porter who accidentally finds himself on a ship bound for the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The film features an early appearance by child actor Roddy McDowall, before he went to live in America.

Plot outline

Benjamin Twist, a teacher working during school holidays as a ship's porter ends up on a ship bound for America and impersonating a professor, Phineas Tavistock. Along with American gangster and stowaway Bugs Leary ( Edgar Kennedy), Twist finds himself entangled in a plot to kidnap the son of a millionaire whom 'Professor' Tavistock is teaching. Things are further complicated by the fact that two sets of gangsters are attempting to get their hands on the ransom money, which Twist is given to hand over.

Cast

* Will Hay as Dr. Benjamin Twist / Professor Phineas Tavistock * Edgar Kennedy as "Bugs" Leary * David Burns as Tony Ricardo * Eddie Ryan as "Ace" Marco * Fred Duprez as Cyrus Schultz * Paddy Reynolds as Mrs. Schultz * Tommy Bupp as Bertie Schultz * Arthur Goullet as "Glove" Johnson * Gibb McLaughlin as Steward * Eddie Pola as Broadcast Announcer * Roddy McDowall as Boy * Peter Gawthorne as Ship's Captain * Charlie Hall as Leary's Pal * Charles Oliver as "Curly" * Danny Green as McGuire, The Chicago Cop * John Salew (Uncredited) * Hugh McDermott (Uncredited)

Production

The film was one of several Ted Black produced with Will Hay at Gainsborough.

Critical reception

Sky Movies wrote, "incomparable Will Hay reprises his splendidly shifty Dr Benjamin Twist character (the incompetent headmaster of St Michael's) in this breezy British comedy set in a quaintly observed America full of gun-toting gangsters. Comic stalwart Edgar Kennedy provides slow-burning support under the direction of

Marcel Varnel Marcel Varnel (16 October 1892 – 13 July 1947) was a French film director, notable for his career in the United States and England as a director of plays and films. Biography He was born Marcel Hyacinthe le Bozec in Paris, France. Varnel st ...

, the dapper Frenchman who made most of Hay's biggest successes. "

Bibliography

* Slide, Anthony. Banned in the USA': British Films in the United States and their Censorship, 1933-1960''. I.B. Tauris & Co, 1998.

External links

References

1938 films 1938 comedy films 1930s British films 1930s English-language films British comedy films British black-and-white films English-language comedy films Films directed by Marcel Varnel Films scored by Charles Williams (composer) {{1930s-UK-comedy-film-stub