Off the Dole (1935)

Director:

Arthur Mertz

Writers:

John E. Blakeley (writer)
George Formby (writer)

Release Date:

1935 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Tagline:

A ripple - A cascade - A torrent of laughter

Plot:

Cast

George Formby	...	John Willie
Beryl Formby	...	Grace, Charm, and Ability (as Beryl)
Constance Shotter	...	Sweet and Dainty
Dan Young	...	The Inimitable Dude Comedian
Jimmy Plant	...	Crisp and Debonair (as James Plant)
Stan Pell	...	The Most Inoffensive Parson
Stan Little	...	Little Jack
Tully Comber	...	Measured For His Part
Clifford McLaglen	...	A Villain And Proud Of It
Wally Patch	...	Revels In His Part
Arthur L. Ward	...	Orchestra Leader
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Daisy Maynard	...	John Willie's mother

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG (re-rating) (2006) | UK:A (original rating)

Company:

Mancunian Film Corp.

Soundtrack:

Isn't Love A Very Funny Thing?

Formby's Second Film - Marginally better than his first.

This film was also made by John Blakely and shot at the Albany 'Studio' which was above a garage in Regent Street. Apparently the mechanics had to stop work every time they filmed.

The film is described as a 'Merry Musical Burlesque' The plot is so disjointed it barely deserves a mention other than to say Formby plays a gormless private detective.

He appears again in scenes with his wife Beryl - she wasn't much of a singer and had a 'posh' 1930s speaking voice which now sounds rather ridiculous and is at odds with George's accent.

At least he gets to sing a lot more than in his first film and he uses not only a proper ukulele but the banjulele (or Ukulele Banjo) for which he was famous.

The other highlights for me are the inclusion of two super variety acts that border on being speciality acts. Firstly is an eccentric dancer called Len Martin who starts of with a patter and cross talk routine before dancing. Some of his material is just a bit near the mark too, especially for 1935.

The second act is Stan Pell and Stan Little who do a routine as a Parson and a little boy. Little is the little boy who is supposed to be 7 years old but is actually a midget who was aged around 24. You'll see for yourself if you ever get to see this film. It's a priceless act - but like Len Martin absolutely nothing to do with the 'plot'.

By Blakeley and Mancunian Films standards this was probably a good film but by any other standards it was not. Nevertheless it and its predecessor Boots! Boots! were a big enough attraction 'oop North' to gain the interest of Basil Dean who directed Formby's following films and made him one of the greatest (if not the greatest) cinema stars of the 30s and 40s in the UK.