Windbag the Sailor (1936)

Will Hay plays a bragging sea captain whose maritime experience actually extends to navigating a coal barge down inland waterways. His tall tales catch him out when he is co-erced into ... See full summary »

Director:

William Beaudine

Writers:

Leslie Arliss (story), Stafford Dickens,

Stars:

Will Hay, Moore Marriott, Graham Moffatt

Cast

Cast overview:
Will Hay	...	Captain Ben Cutlet
Moore Marriott	...	Jeremiah Harbottle
Graham Moffatt	...	Albert Brown
Norma Varden	...	Olivia Potter-Porter
Kenneth Warrington	...	Yates
Dennis Wyndham	...	Maryatt
Amy Veness	...	Emma Harbottle

Storyline

Will Hay plays a bragging sea captain whose maritime experience actually extends to navigating a coal barge down inland waterways. His tall tales catch him out when he is co-erced into commanding an unseaworthy ship by an unscrupulous shipping agent who means to have it wrecked. This was the first film to couple Will Hay with both Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

December 1936 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Falmouth, Cornwall, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gainsborough Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (British Acoustic)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Captain's desire to go to Norway (he asks the cannibal chief for directions) is much more likely to have been an in-joke rather than a random choice; in real life, Will Hay separated from his wife in 1935 and was romantically linked to a Norwegian woman called Randi Kopstadt. In consequence, he visited Norway frequently, learned Norwegian and kept a boat on the Oslo Fjord.

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Quotes

Voice in Box: West Bromwich Albion 3 Chelsea 5
Captain Ben Cutlet: Ooh, fancy - Chelsea won!
Cannibal Chief: What did Voice in Box say?
Captain Ben Cutlet: Oh, eh, something very unusual...!

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Soundtracks

"The Rio Grande"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Arranged by Hubert Bath

User Reviews

"The Sea Musketeers"

I've only seen this a handful of times in the last few decades, I don't know why it's warranted such indifference by the TV film buyers because it's fairly good but maybe with a slightly dodgy soundtrack. Although Will Hay appeared with Moore Marriott 7 times and Graham Moffatt 8, this was their first film of 6 as the seedy, incompetent, crafty trio of lovable rogues. In other words pre-Oh! Mr. Porter and cast and crew were obviously busy establishing the plot and humour that served them well in the years ahead.

Charlatan ship's captain and sidekicks are taken on by ship's owner (and sidekick) for their own nefarious purposes, eventually realised where else but in the South Seas. Almost the entire cast reassembled to create Oh! Mr. Porter 2 years later, by then the script was much tighter than this. The ship is not the only thing here to have a few leaks! Favourite bits: Hay bragging of his derring-do at Valpariso; The global positioning calculations; Sharing the biscuits on the raft; The Box That Talked.

All in all well worth watching (at budget price!) for those of us who like this sort of thing.