Everyone loves Will Hay. The only controversy surrounding his screen appearances revolves around the question as to which of his various hilarious capers are the funniest. By general consensus, the choice has to be made from Good Morning Boys, Oh Mr Porter, Ask a Policeman, The Ghost of St Michael's and My Learned Friend. I would lengthen the list to include Boys Will Be Boys and Windbag the Sailor. And of course, this film, which is my personal favorite.
One of the reasons Old Bones does not have as great a reputation is of course that it's necessary to have seen Sanders of the River fairly recently to enjoy it fully. Not that Old Bones isn't a treat all in itself. It certainly is. But you miss the point of some of the jests without a working knowledge of Sanders, including Hay's delicious crack about too much singing and not enough paddling, his reference to Sanders' ability to quell unrest with a "terrible" look, and the constant jibes about wives.
Hay of course is not the only one to ridicule Sanders. In fact as there's no equivalent of the Hay character in Sanders, that job is masterfully undertaken by Robert Adams who gives a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek impersonation of Paul Robeson that had me rolling in the aisle. As Robeson's interpretation itself was something of a light caricature, Mr Adams has brought off an extremely difficult feat, taking care not to exaggerate the portrait too much to strain the credulity of those of the audience not in on the jest. One of the best jobs of comedy acting I've ever seen. Yet such are the riches of Old Bones, that Adams is by no means a major key to the film's success!
That major is not just Hay, but Hay plus Marriott and Moffatt. In fact it's not until Hay meets up with these reprobates about half-an-hour or so in, that the comedy really wallops into full steam. Hay is at his ultimate best when playing against these two clowns. The visual jests and verbal comebacks fly so thick and fast, the movie really needs to be seen three or four times to extract all the parry and thrust of the humor.
One of the most amazing features of Old Bones is how well-produced it all is. In production values and technical expertise, it often creams Sanders of the River. Certainly the studio and location footage (aside from a few obvious stock shots like the crocodiles) are blended with far greater skill.
Varnel has directed with his customary mastery of comic timing and camera placement. Crabtree's lighting is highly attractive, and Vetchinsky's sets marvels of studio craftsmanship.
Hay of course is not the only one to ridicule Sanders. In fact as there's no equivalent of the Hay character in Sanders, that job is masterfully undertaken by Robert Adams who gives a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek impersonation of Paul Robeson that had me rolling in the aisle. As Robeson's interpretation itself was something of a light caricature, Mr Adams has brought off an extremely difficult feat, taking care not to exaggerate the portrait too much to strain the credulity of those of the audience not in on the jest. One of the best jobs of comedy acting I've ever seen. Yet such are the riches of Old Bones, that Adams is by no means a major key to the film's success!
That major is not just Hay, but Hay plus Marriott and Moffatt. In fact it's not until Hay meets up with these reprobates about half-an-hour or so in, that the comedy really wallops into full steam. Hay is at his ultimate best when playing against these two clowns. The visual jests and verbal comebacks fly so thick and fast, the movie really needs to be seen three or four times to extract all the parry and thrust of the humor.
One of the most amazing features of Old Bones is how well-produced it all is. In production values and technical expertise, it often creams Sanders of the River. Certainly the studio and location footage (aside from a few obvious stock shots like the crocodiles) are blended with far greater skill.
Varnel has directed with his customary mastery of comic timing and camera placement. Crabtree's lighting is highly attractive, and Vetchinsky's sets marvels of studio craftsmanship.