Critical
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The film is boisterous, unconventional and light-hearted, and is played at a smart pace from start to finish. There is the added spice of laconic dialogue and some original situations. George Formby is excellent in the lead; George Benson, playing the ingenuous Ernie Gill, the helpful friend, has a distinctive personality and the teamwork is unusually good. Good entertainment in the Chaplin tradition." [4]
Kine Weekly wrote: "Some of the gags, although presneted on a most ambitious scale, lack spontaneity, and some are obvious, but all recognise the value of simplicity, and it is the sly cultivation of the homely touch, as much as the star's goofy versatility and personality, that contributes confidently to the film's happy augury. The clean, exhilarating fun is wisely aimed at the masses, and with the star's pull to give it direction, it shculd score a bull at the box office. It is George Formby's best." [5]
Leslie Halliwell wrote "Good star vehicle with snappy songs and fast comedy scenes." [6]
In The Radio Times Guide to Films Dick Fiddy gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "It's hard now to imagine that a toothy-grinned, ukelele-strumming comic with a broad Lancashire accent could be a superstar but George Formby certainly was. A huge box-office draw in Britain during the 1930s and 1940s, Formby's saucy wit and frantic comic style proved a great tonic to wartime audiences. This movie finds the star in fine form, belting out songs and throwing himself into comedy routines, as a weedy barber forced to compete with a more athletic rival. Add a dash of romance and the unmasking of a thief and you've got all the ingredients for a first-rate Formby film." [7]
Sky Movies wrote that Formby "was at his British top box-office peak when this comedy was made. ... It's a bouncy, confidently made comedy that's fun throughout and pretty hilarious in its boxing-ring conclusion". [8]
