Associate producer: S.C. Balcon. Producer: Michael Balcon. (Available on an Optimum DVD).
Not copyrighted or theatrically released in the U.S.A. An Ealing Film, made and recorded at Ealing Studios, London. U.K. release through United Artists: 23 February 1942. Australian release through British Empire Films: 12 November 1942. Registered in the U.K. on 29 November 1941. 7,213 feet. 80 minutes. Censor cuts of approx. 150 feet in Australia.
SYNOPSIS: Muggins "professor" joins forces with rover boy civil servant to defeat a parcel of Nazi spies who have kidnapped a South American expert on manganese mines.
NOTES: Although much the same, if not better, than the usual Will Hay comedy, the film took only a moderate amount of money at British and Australian ticket windows, except in Tasmania where it rated around 29th or 30th for the year. In New Zealand, however, the film was a major success.
COMMENT: After a slow start, "Black Sheep..." finds Will Hay at the top of his form, including a couple of delicious impersonations (an aged ticket collector and a starchy nurse). A grand slapstick chase finale rounds out the fun.
John Mills makes a surprisingly adroit stooge, contributing some riotous scenes not only with Hay but with Frank Cellier (here hiding behind bushy-black eyebrows as a goggle-eyed doctor of dementia).
Other attractive performances are contributed by Felix Aylmer (as a bogus expert), Basil Sydney (as a Nazi reporter), Joss Ambler (as the flappable Minister), and Barbara Valerie (a helpful nurse). Good to see Ronald Shiner and Brefni O'Rorke in uncredited cameos.
The directors have worked smoothly together, photography is pleasingly glossy, editing deft and production values first rate. The script offers four or five times the comic opportunities of any similarly constructed Abbott and Costello picture. And thanks to the skills and talents of cast and technicians, this "Black Sheep..." comes out at least ten times funnier.
Not copyrighted or theatrically released in the U.S.A. An Ealing Film, made and recorded at Ealing Studios, London. U.K. release through United Artists: 23 February 1942. Australian release through British Empire Films: 12 November 1942. Registered in the U.K. on 29 November 1941. 7,213 feet. 80 minutes. Censor cuts of approx. 150 feet in Australia.
SYNOPSIS: Muggins "professor" joins forces with rover boy civil servant to defeat a parcel of Nazi spies who have kidnapped a South American expert on manganese mines.
NOTES: Although much the same, if not better, than the usual Will Hay comedy, the film took only a moderate amount of money at British and Australian ticket windows, except in Tasmania where it rated around 29th or 30th for the year. In New Zealand, however, the film was a major success.
COMMENT: After a slow start, "Black Sheep..." finds Will Hay at the top of his form, including a couple of delicious impersonations (an aged ticket collector and a starchy nurse). A grand slapstick chase finale rounds out the fun.
John Mills makes a surprisingly adroit stooge, contributing some riotous scenes not only with Hay but with Frank Cellier (here hiding behind bushy-black eyebrows as a goggle-eyed doctor of dementia).
Other attractive performances are contributed by Felix Aylmer (as a bogus expert), Basil Sydney (as a Nazi reporter), Joss Ambler (as the flappable Minister), and Barbara Valerie (a helpful nurse). Good to see Ronald Shiner and Brefni O'Rorke in uncredited cameos.
The directors have worked smoothly together, photography is pleasingly glossy, editing deft and production values first rate. The script offers four or five times the comic opportunities of any similarly constructed Abbott and Costello picture. And thanks to the skills and talents of cast and technicians, this "Black Sheep..." comes out at least ten times funnier.