Bob's Your Uncle (film)

Last updated

Bob's Your Uncle
Bob's Your Uncle film Still (1942).jpeg
Still from the film
Directed by Oswald Mitchell
Written by Vera Allinson
Oswald Mitchell
Based onplay by Vera Allinson
Produced byF.W. Baker
Starring Albert Modley
Jean Colin
George Bolton
Wally Patch
Cinematography Stephen Dade
Music by Percival Mackey
Release date
  • 2 March 1942 (1942-03-02)
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Bob's Your Uncle is a 1942 British comedy film directed by Oswald Mitchell and starring Albert Modley, Jean Colin, George Bolton, Wally Patch, and H.F. Maltby. It was written by Vera Allinson and Mitchell. It depicts the enthusiastic members of a Home Guard unit. [1]

Contents

Premise

Home guardsman Albert is in love with Dolly, the daughter of commanding officer Diehard. In order to impress her, Albert tries to raise funds to buy a tank for the village.

Cast

Production

The film was shot at Welwyn Studios.

Critical reception

Monthly Film Bulletin said "As the whole of this film is based on making fun of the Home Guard, those who believe in the Home Guard will get a good deal of fun out of it, but this point of view would scarcely be understood outside this country. The production is good of its sort and the acting, especially by Albert Modley as Albert Smith, well up to standard." [2]

Kine Weekly wrote: "Refreshing atmosphere and an exuberant climax complete a jolly as well as disarmingly ingenuous wartime show. ... The vaudeville climax, complete with comedy and patriotic vocal interludes, seals the friendly and topical show's obvious industrial, family and provincial success." [3]

Picturegoer wrote: "Albert Modley does well as the recruit and George Bolton is good as his brother. Jean Colin makes an attractive heroine." [4]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Simple broad comedy, quite good of its kind." [5]

Allmovie wrote, "One can gauge the subtlety of Bob's Your Uncle by its character names: Dolly Diehard, Sgt. Brownfoot etc." [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Spaceways</i> 1953 film by Terence Fisher

Spaceways is a 1953 British second feature ('B') science fiction drama film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Howard Duff, Eva Bartok and Alan Wheatley. It was produced by Michael Carreras for Hammer Film Productions Ltd. and Lippert Productions Inc., with Robert L. Lippert as uncredited co-producer. The screenplay was written by Paul Tabori and Richard Landau, based on the 1952 radio play by Charles Eric Maine. The film was distributed in the UK by Exclusive Films Ltd. and in the United States by Lippert Pictures.

<i>Charleys (Big-Hearted) Aunt</i> 1940 British film by Walter Forde

Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt is a 1940 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde, starring Arthur Askey and Richard Murdoch. The screenplay was by J.O.C. Orton, Marriott Edgar and Ralph Smart, adapted from the 1892 Victorian farce Charley's Aunt by Brandon Thomas. Arthur Askey's professional nickname was "Big-Hearted Arthur", which was added to the title to distinguish it from Jack Benny's version Charley's Aunt (1941), for its (limited) American release.

<i>Grand National Night</i> 1953 film

Grand National Night is a 1953 British second feature ('B') thriller film directed by Bob McNaught and starring Nigel Patrick, Moira Lister and Beatrice Campbell. It was produced by George Minter and Phil C. Samuel, and written by Val Valentine and Bob McNaught based on the 1945 play of the same title written by Campbell and Dorothy Christie.

<i>Dry Rot</i> (film) 1956 British film by Maurice Elvey

Dry Rot is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey, and starring Ronald Shiner, Brian Rix, Peggy Mount, and Sid James. The screenplay is by John Chapman, adapted from his 1954 Whitehall farce of the same name.

<i>A Matter of Murder</i> 1949 British film

A Matter of Murder is a 1949 British second feature ('B') crime film directed by John Gilling and starring Maureen Riscoe, John Barry, Charles Clapham, Ian Fleming and John Le Mesurier.

<i>Dangerous Cargo</i> 1954 British film by John Harlow

Dangerous Cargo is a 1954 British black and white second feature ('B') crime film directed by John Harlow starring Jack Watling, Susan Stephen and Karel Stepanek. The film was written by Daily Express crime reporter Percy Hoskins and Stanley Haynes, and produced by Haynes for ACT Films.

<i>Sailor Beware!</i> (1956 film) 1956 British film by Gordon Parry

Sailor Beware! is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Gordon Parry and starring Peggy Mount, Shirley Eaton and Ronald Lewis. It was written by Philip King and Falkland Cary adapted from their 1955 stage play of the same name. It was released in the United States by Distributors Corporation of America in 1957 as Panic in the Parlor.

Oswald Albert Mitchell was a British film director who directed several of the Old Mother Riley series of films.

<i>The Twenty Questions Murder Mystery</i> 1950 mystery film by Paul L. Stein

The Twenty Questions Murder Mystery, also known as Murder on the Air, is a 1950 British second feature comedy crime film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Robert Beatty, Rona Anderson, and Clifford Evans. The screenplay was by Victor Katona and Patrick Kirwan. The film is a hybrid: the Twenty Questions sections take place in a studio recording of the BBC radio programme with the regular panellists and presenter. This is threaded into the plot as the clues trigger a series of murders, each linked to the clue.

<i>Keep It Clean</i> 1956 British film by David Paltenghi

Keep It Clean is a 1956 British black-and-white comedy film directed by David Paltenghi and starring Ronald Shiner and Joan Sims. The screenplay was by Carl Nystrom and R. F. Delderfield.

John Halifax aka John Halifax, Gentleman is a 1938 British second feature ('B') historical drama film directed by George King and starring John Warwick, Nancy Burne and Roddy McDowall. It was written by A. R. Rawlinson based on the 1856 novel John Halifax, Gentleman by Dinah Craik.

<i>And the Same to You</i> 1960 British film by George Pollock

And the Same to You is a 1960 British boxing-themed comedy film directed by George Pollock and starring Brian Rix and William Hartnell. It was written by John Paddy Carstairs, John Junkin and Terry Nation based on the 1955 stage farce The Chigwell Chicken by A. P. Dearsley.

<i>Mr. Reeder in Room 13</i> 1938 film

Mr. Reeder in Room 13 is a 1938 British crime film directed by Norman Lee and starring Peter Murray-Hill, Sally Gray and Gibb McLaughlin. It is based on the first J. G. Reeder book, Room 13 by Edgar Wallace. The film was released in the U.S. in 1941 as Mystery of Room 13.

<i>There Goes Susie</i> 1934 British film

There Goes Susie is a 1934 British comedy film directed by Victor Hanbury and John Stafford and starring Gene Gerrard, Wendy Barrie, and Zelma O'Neal. Written by Charlie Roellinghoff and Hans Jacoby, it was made by British International Pictures at Elstree Studios. It is a remake of the 1933 German film Marion, That's Not Nice. An Italian version, Model Wanted (1933), was also made.

<i>River Patrol</i> (film) 1948 British film

River Patrol is a 1948 British second feature ('B') crime film directed by Ben R. Hart and starring John Blythe, Lorna Dean, and Wally Patch. The screenplay was by James Corbett and concerns a group of undercover British customs officers who investigate a gang of nylons smugglers. It was made by Hammer Film Productions at Marylebone Studios in London. It is notable for being one of the earliest films made by Hammer following its relaunch after the Second World War.

<i>Naked Fury</i> 1959 British film by Charles Saunders

Naked Fury is a 1959 British crime thriller directed by Charles Saunders and starring Reed De Rouen, Kenneth Cope and Leigh Madison. It was written by Guido Coen and Brock Williams.

<i>Old Mother Riley Headmistress</i> 1950 British film

Old Mother Riley, Headmistress is a low-budget black-and-white 1950 British comedy film directed by John Harlow and starring Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane. The screenplay was by Ted Kavanagh and Harlow. The 13th film in the Old Mother Riley series, it features the Luton Girls Choir playing many of Mother Riley's pupils.

<i>Landslide</i> (1937 film) 1937 British film

Landslide is a 1937 British drama film directed by Donovan Pedelty and starring Jimmy Hanley, Dinah Sheridan and Jimmy Mageean. It was written by Pedelty and David Evans.

<i>Private Information</i> 1952 film

Private Information is a 1952 British second feature ('B') drama film directed by Fergus McDonell and starring Jill Esmond, Jack Watling and Carol Marsh. The screenplay was by Gordon Glennon, John Baines and Ronald Kinnoch.

<i>13 East Street</i> 1952 film

13 East Street is a 1952 British second feature ('B') crime thriller film directed by Robert S. Baker and starring Patrick Holt, Sandra Dorne and Sonia Holm. It was written by John Gilling, Carl Nystrom and Baker and produced by Tempean Films.

References

  1. "Bob's Your Uncle". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  2. "Bob's Your Uncle". Monthly Film Bulletin . 8 (85): 161. 1941 via ProQuest.
  3. "Bob's Your Uncle" . Kine Weekly . 297 (1806): 29. 27 November 1941 via ProQuest.
  4. "Bob's Your Uncle" . Picturegoer . 2: 12. 8 February 1942 via ProQuest.
  5. Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 194. ISBN   0-7134-1874-5.
  6. "Bob's Your Uncle (1941) - Oswald Mitchell - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie".