The Black Sheep of Whitehall (1942)

Directors:

Basil Dearden
Will Hay

Writers:

John Dighton (writer)
Angus MacPhail (writer)

Release Date:

23 February 1942 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Will Hay plays a Professor teaching at a correspondence school who discovers that a Nazi agent is trying...

Plot Keywords:

Disguise | Treason | Mistaken Identity | Ealing

Cast

Will Hay	...	Davis
John Mills	...	Bobby Jessop
Basil Sydney	...	Costello
Henry Hewitt	...	Professor Davys
Felix Aylmer	...	Crabtree
Owen Reynolds	...	Harman
Frank Cellier	...	Dr Innsbach
Joss Ambler	...	Sir John
Frank Allenby	...	Onslowe
Thora Hird	...	Joyce, Davis's secretary
Margaret Halstan	...	Matron
Barbara Valerie	...	Sister Spooner
Leslie Mitchell	...	Radio interviewer
George Woodbridge	...	Male Nurse
George Merritt	...	Stationmaster

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK

Company:

Ealing Studios

Amusing but not his best

Will hay was like many great comedians,he hated being part of a team.Two other examples being WC Fields in his later years and Tony Hancock.Despite doing his best work at Gainsborough he decided to break with them and join Ealing.As a result none of the 5 films that he starred and co-directed at Ealing are up to the standard of the films that he made with Graham Moffat and Moore Marriott.In this film his straight man is of all people John Mills.Whilst there are some funny moments this film is not consistently funny.Also it has to be said that Hay is starting to look quite old,he only made 2 more features after this before a series of strokes brought an untimely end to his career.