Get Cracking is a 1943 British comedy war film, directed by Marcel Varnel starring George Formby, with Dinah Sheridan and Ronald Shiner. [1] It was produced by Marcel Varnel and Ben Henry for Columbia (British) Productions, a subsidiary of the American studio. The film opens like a World War Two documentary with a narrator explaining the action, before becoming a more traditional Formby vehicle.
Mechanic and Home Guard lance corporal George Singleton (Formby) has an adversary in a fellow Home Guard, Everett Manley (Shiner). When the rival Home Guard units of Major Wallop and Minor Wallop are sent on battle manoeuvres, George launches his own unique style of commando raid against neighbouring Major Wallop to steal a Vickers machine gun. The raid fails and Singleton loses his lance corporal stripe, so he and a little evacuee girl named Irene decide to build their very own tank. The venture is such a success that George is made a sergeant.
The film includes three songs from Formby: 'Under the Blasted Oak', 'Home Guard Blues' and 'Get Cracking'.
The film was released on 17 May 1943 and runs for 96 minutes in black and white. It was written by L. du Garde Peach, Michael Vaughan and John L. Arthur, while the songs were written by George Formby with Fred Godfrey, Fred E. Cliffe and Eddie Latta.
The film earned £139,043 to distributors in the UK. [2]
Dinah Sheridan was an English actress with a career spanning seven decades. She was best known for the films Genevieve (1953) and The Railway Children (1970), the long-running BBC comedy series Don't Wait Up (1983–1990), and for her distinguished theatre career in London's West End.
It’s in the Air is a 1938 British comedy film written and directed by Anthony Kimmins and starring George Formby, Polly Ward and Jack Hobbs. The film was released in the United States with the alternative title George Takes the Air in 1940. The film depicts Great Britain's preparations for war with Air Raid Warden training, mock air attacks dropping poison gas bombs, and the deployment of anti-aircraft weapons in the streets.
Gasbags is a 1941 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde and Marcel Varnel and starring The Crazy Gang as well as Moore Marriott. The film was a morale-booster in the early part of the Second World War.
Marcel Varnel was a French film director, notable for his career in the United States and England as a director of plays and films.
Let George Do It! is a 1940 British black-and-white comedy musical war film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring George Formby. It was produced by Michael Balcon for Associated Talking Pictures and its successor, Ealing Studios, and distributed in the UK by ABFD. This was the first comedy from this studio to deal directly with the Second World War.
The Gentle Sex is a 1943 British black-and-white romantic comedy-drama war film, directed by Leslie Howard and Maurice Elvey and narrated by Howard. It was produced by Concanen Productions, Two Cities Films, and Derrick de Marney. It was Howard's last film before his death.
Ronald Alfred Shiner was a British stand-up comedian and comedy actor whose career encompassed film, West End theatre and music hall.
Spare a Copper is a 1940 British black-and-white musical comedy war film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring George Formby, Dorothy Hyson and Bernard Lee. It was produced by Associated Talking Pictures. It is also known as Call a Cop. The film features the songs, "I'm the Ukulele Man", "On the Beat", "I Wish I Was Back on the Farm" and "I'm Shy". Beryl Reid makes her film debut in an uncredited role, while Ronald Shiner appears similarly uncredited, in the role of the Piano Mover and Tuner.
Turned Out Nice Again is a 1941 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring the Lancashire-born comedian George Formby.
King Arthur Was a Gentleman is a 1942 British black-and-white comedy musical film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Arthur Askey, Evelyn Dall, Peter Graves and Ronald Shiner. It was written by Marriott Edgar and Val Guest, and was produced by Edward Black and Maurice Ostrer for Gainsborough Pictures.
Vera Frances Ward is a British actress who worked with Arthur Askey, Tommy Handley, George Formby, Dinah Sheridan, John Mills and Alastair Sim, amongst others.
Royal Cavalcade, also known as Regal Cavalcade, is a 1935 British, black-and-white, drama film directed by six separate directors: Thomas Bentley, Herbert Brenon, Norman Lee, Walter Summers, W. P. Kellino and Marcel Varnel. The film features Marie Lohr, Hermione Baddeley, Owen Nares, Robert Hale, Austin Trevor, James Carew, Edward Chapman and Ronald Shiner as the Soldier in Trenches. The film was presented by Associated British Pictures Corporation.
South American George is a 1941 British, black-and-white, comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring George Formby in a dual role, Linden Travers, Enid Stamp-Taylor, Felix Aylmer, Ronald Shiner as Swifty, Mavis Villiers and Herbert Lomas. It was produced by Columbia (British) Productions.
I Didn't Do It is a 1945 British comedy crime film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring George Formby, Dennis Wyndham and Carl Jaffe. Formby's songs include: "She's Got Two Of Everything"' (Cunningham/Towers), "'I'd Like A Dream Like That'" (Formby/Cliffe), and "The Daring Young Man"' (Formby/Cliffe). Because of a realistic murder scene, the film was granted a British 'A' certificate, ensuring no one under the age of 16 would be admitted to the cinema unless accompanied by an adult.
Much Too Shy is a 1942 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring George Formby, Kathleen Harrison, Hilda Bayley and Eileen Bennett. The cast includes radio star Jimmy Clitheroe, later "Carry On'" star Charles Hawtrey, Peter Gawthorne and Joss Ambler.
Murder in Eden is a 1961 British mystery film directed by Max Varnel and starring Ray McAnally, Catherine Feller and Yvonne Buckingham. It was written by H. E. Burden based on a story by John Haggarty.
George in Civvy Street is a 1946 British comedy film directed and produced by Marcel Varnel starring George Formby with Ronald Shiner, and Ian Fleming. It was made by the British subsidiary of Columbia Pictures. This was Formby's last big screen appearance. After the film was unsuccessful at the box office, he resumed his career in the music hall. The working title for the film was "Remember the Unicorn".
Come On George! is a 1939 British comedy film directed by Anthony Kimmins which stars George Formby, with Pat Kirkwood and Joss Ambler in support. It was made by Associated Talking Pictures. It concerns the world of horse racing, and Formby, who had once been a stable apprentice, did his own riding in the film. Songs featured are "I'm Making Headway Now", "I Couldn't Let The Stable Down", "Pardon Me", and "Goodnight Little Fellow, Goodnight".
This Man Is Mine is a 1946 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Tom Walls, Glynis Johns and Jeanne De Casalis. The screenplay was by Mabel Constanduros, David Evans, Norman Lee, Doreen Montgomery|, Nicholas Phipps and Val Valentine based on the hit West End play A Soldier for Christmas by Reginald Beckwith. It concerns a Canadian soldier who is billeted with a British family for the Christmas holidays.
Bell-Bottom George is a 1943 black and white British comedy musical film, directed by Marcel Varnel, starring George Formby and Anne Firth. A wartime morale booster, it features the songs, "Swim Little Fish", "It Serves You Right", "If I Had A Girl Like You" and "Bell Bottom George." Future Carry On star Charles Hawtrey appears in a small role.
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