Keep Your Seats, Please (1936)

Director:

Monty Banks

Writers:

Thomas J. Geraghty (writer)
Ian Hay (writer)

Release Date:

19 April 1940 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel

Cast

George Formby	...	George Withers
Florence Desmond	...	Florrie
Gus McNaughton	...	Max
Alastair Sim	...	A. S. Drayton
Harry Tate	...	Auctioneer
Enid Stamp-Taylor	...	Madame Louise
Hal Gordon	...	Sailor
Tom Payne	...	Man from Child Welfare
Beatrix Fielden-Kaye	...	Woman from Child Welfare
Margaret Moffatt	...	Landlady
Maud Gill	...	Spinster
Clifford Heatherley	...	Dr. Wilberforce
Binkie Stuart	...	Binkie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ethel Coleridge	...	Spinster

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:G | UK:U | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Associated Talking Pictures (ATP)

Movie Connections:

Featured in Shepperton Babylon (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

When I'm Cleaning Windows

It'll keep you on the edge of your seat

This is another one of my favourite Formby's, a fast paced comedy drama with a lot of plot to it (based on a Russian play from 1928), a couple of nice songs and a view of a long dead England. It was the 2nd major vehicle for him at ATP after No Limit under the expert guidance of Basil Dean … and Beryl of course!

Eccentric aunt Georgina dies and leaves her gormless nephew George £90,000 in bonds and jewels sewn up in one of a number of chairs already being auctioned. Unfortunately wide eyed manic lawyer Alistair Sim also knows so the chase is on to get to the correct chair before the other does. In this George is aided by Flo Desmond and her little niece Binkie and hindered by smooth talking Gus McNaughton, eventually making front page headlines as a gang of chair-slashers being sought by the police. Nowadays ordinary slashers find they're not being sought by the police. Songs: When I'm Cleaning Windows (in Madame Louise's suddenly dubious apartment, and on the uke that became Lot 443 in the auction of his property after his death in 1961); Tip Of My Toes (by Flo at breakfast in the boarding house); Binkie's Lullaby (in the workman's hut – delightfully ended by Binkie's cute line "Auntie Florrie's asleep, come on, let's play"); and Keep Your Seats Please (first in the pawnshop then on the bus, again playing to Binkie's obvious delight). Favourite bits: the knockabout scenes at Doctor Wilberforce's surgery, with George astounding him by revealing he had twin appendixes; the farcical situations with Enid Stamp-Taylor; Max's ever-increasing percentage take; x-raying the goat. There's the usual great cast that appeared in George's finest films at Ealing when he was Britain's top star – the formula had arrived, was perfect, and was played over and over again.

If you like Formby as I do there's not a dull moment in here, it's wonderful old fashioned entertainment from start to finish, if you don't like Formby here's another chance to work off some cynical bile.