Back-Room Boy (1942)

Recommended

UK

Feature Film

Director: Herbert Mason

Writers: Marriott Edgar, Val Guest, J.O.C. Orton

Cinematographer: Jack Cox

Composer: Hans May

Cast: Arthur Askey, Moore Marriott, Graham Moffatt, Googie Withers, Vera Frances

Like Ask a Policeman (1939), another Gainsborough rip-off of Arthur Ridley's 1923 play The Ghost Train, this Arthur Askey comedy is quite delightful for its first 40 minutes or so, whilst it concentrates on the comedic dexterity of its diminutive Liverpudlian star and his verbal bouts with the film-stealing 12-year-old Vera Frances, but when the plot finally kicks in, and Marriott, Moffatt, and Withers finally make an appearance (all giving performances far from their best), it all descends into slightly tiresome farce – never the less, it’s still well worth watching, though. Iain.Stott