This is a double feature of films from 1937 featuring the successful comedy trio of Will Hay, Moore Marriot and Graham Moffatt in light-hearted family comedies of early British cinema…
Oh, Mr. Porter!
When bungling railway worker, William Porter, causes havoc at a major unveiling ceremony, his sister, the wife of the railway's managing director, insists he be given a post more befitting his position. So he's promoted to stationmaster at Buggleskelly, a run down station in the back woods of Northern Ireland where the last five of his predecessors have either gone mad or disappeared and the ghost of One-Eyed Joe the Miller reputedly haunts the area. When Porter spruces up the station and organises a special day excursion to Connemara, everyone thinks he just wasting his time but when a sinister one-eyed man takes all the tickets something more mysterious than his planned football match is afoot.
Convict 99
When Benjamin Twist, an out of work schoolmaster, applies for a new post there's a mix up and he's mistaken as the applicant for the post of governor at a prison for particularly hardened criminals. Still thinking he's to be in charge of a school, Twist gets plastered on the way to the new job and is accidentally sucked into the latest intake at the prison and ends up on the wrong side of the bars as Convict 99. He's eventually recognised as the new governor and put in charge but this is a man who was woefully inadequate as a teacher so imagine the chaos that ensues when he has to handle a prison full of hardened cons and worse, a woman after his money.
Review
Oh, Mr. Porter! is probably one of Hay's best films and almost certainly his best known and he's well supported by Moore Marriot as the excellent Jeremiah Harbottle, the toothless old loon of a depute stationmaster, whose first line in the film, "The next train's gone!", is a classic of the genré. Moffatt, the weakest member of the trio, plays Albert, the chubby and lazy porter who adds more in the way of slapstick humour than sharp lines. Dave O'Toole as the postman is memorable for his constant advice of "You're wasting your time!".
Convict 99 is not quite as good as Oh, Mr. Porter! and some of the humour will be lost on the very young - they had women in this one. Moore Marriot is excellent again, this time as Jerry, The Mole - a toothless old loon of a convict always trying to escape by digging his way out. Moffatt plays a junior warder, again called Albert, in this one and doesn't really add much to the story or humour. Googie Withers, another name from the era, gives a good performance as a femme fatale out to relieve Hay of his newfound wealth.
Both films are presented in the original 1.33:1 (4:3) picture aspect of the time and they've definitely aged poorly in the video quality stakes. Shot in black and white, the blacks aren't as solid as they could be and contrast is pretty high throughout - more so in Convict 99 than Oh, Mr. Porter! There's also some print damage but not too much and in some ways it adds to the experience. The original mono soundtrack is presented here in Dolby 2.0 and is still a bit fuzzy in places. There are no special sound effects or techniques applied here and given the age of the material and the fact that it's mostly dialogue driven, it does the job well enough.
Will Hay was a veteran of the music hall and radio and a survivor of the comic's graveyard that was the Glasgow Empire before moving into films. He even had a stint in Fred Karno's comedy troupe alongside Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel and was the main attraction at the Royal Variety Performance in 1925. Hay once said "the character I play is really a very pathetic fellow" and that he "gloried in the idea of an inefficient man doggedly trying to do a job of which he is utterly incapable".
Marriot, being older and born into a theatrical family, was well into films before Hay and he's best remembered for his Harbottle character that pops up in several Will Hay films. In Convict 99 he almost steals the show as Jerry, The Mole, a devious character always trying to devise ways of escaping.
Hay and Marriot are excellent in both films and while they might not appeal to today's cinema going public they are classics of their time. There's no swearing, no sexual innuendo - it's all good clean fun.
Extras
There are no extras on this disc, which is understandable given the age of the material. I suspect that almost everyone involved in the production is gone by now so there's not much chance of a commentary or documentary feature and I don't imagine anyone would appreciate a photo gallery any more than they do for the latest blockbuster.
Overall
If you're a fan of classic, early British comedy, then you won't get much better than this. There might not be any extras on the disc but you do get two movies full of classic British slapstick and light-hearted humour that you wouldn't be afraid to let the kids or your parents watch.