The Crazy Gang were a group of British entertainers, formed in the early 1930s. In the mature form the group's six men were Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen, Jimmy Nervo, Teddy Knox, Charlie Naughton and Jimmy Gold. The group achieved considerable domestic popularity and were a favourite of the royal family, especially King George VI.
Bud Flanagan, was a British music hall and vaudeville entertainer and comedian, and later a television and film actor. He was best known as being one half of the comedy and music act Flanagan and Allen with his partner Chesney Allen. Flanagan was famous as a wartime entertainer and his achievements were recognised when he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1959.
Flanagan and Allen were a British singing and comedy double act most active during the 1930s and 1940s. Its members were Bud Flanagan and Chesney Allen (1894–1982). They were first paired in a Florrie Forde revue, and were booked by Val Parnell to appear at the Holborn Empire in 1929.
Gasbags is a 1941 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde and Marcel Varnel and starring The Crazy Gang and Moore Marriott. It was written by Marriott Edgar and Val Guest. The film was a morale-booster in the early part of the Second World War.
Jimmy Nervo and Teddy Knox were English comedians who formed a double act and were part of the original Crazy Gang comedy group.
Edward Earl Gray, who performed as 'Monsewer' Eddie Gray, was an English stage comedian. He appeared in music halls as a solo act and also as a member of the Crazy Gang.
Life is a Circus is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Val Guest and starring Bud Flanagan, Teddy Knox, Jimmy Nervo, Jimmy Gold and Charlie Naughton of the Crazy Gang. The screenplay concerns a down-on-its-luck circus that uses an Aladdin's Magic Lamp to try to save their business.
Underneath the Arches is a 1937 British comedy film directed by Redd Davis and starring Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen, Stella Moya, Lyn Harding and Edmund Willard. Flanagan and Allen formed part of the comedy ensemble known as the Crazy Gang. It was made by Julius Hagen's Twickenham Studios as part of its ambitious production schedule following its abandonment of quota quickies.
Alf's Button Afloat is a 1938 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen, Jimmy Nervo, Alastair Sim and Peter Gawthorne. In the film, the Crazy Gang go to sea, where one of them discovers a button on his uniform is made from the metal of Aladdin's lamp. The film parodies the 1920 novel Alf's Button by W.A. Darlington and its subsequent film adaptations.
Wild Boy is a 1934 British comedy sports film directed by Albert de Courville and starring Sonnie Hale, Bud Flanagan and Chesney Allen. It was by Gainsborough Pictures at Lime Grove Studios. The sets were designed by Alfred Junge. Often forgotten, but the role of "Wild Boy" was played by the greyhound Mick the Miller.
A Fire Has Been Arranged is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring Chesney Allen, Bud Flanagan and Alastair Sim. The screenplay was by H. Fowler Mear and Michael Barringer from a story by Mear and James A. Carter. It was made at Twickenham Studios. The film ends with the song "Where the Arches Used To Be".
O-Kay for Sound is a 1937 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring the Crazy Gang troupe of comedians. After falling on hard times the members of the Crazy Gang are busking on the streets of London. However, they are hired as extras on a film set. After arriving at the studios they are mistaken for a group of potential investors and given free run of the studios, causing chaos.
Theatre Royal is a 1943 British comedy film directed by John Baxter and starring Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen and Lydia Sherwood. The plot concerns an attempt by the staff of a theatre to prevent its closure.
Dreaming is a 1944 British comedy film directed by John Baxter and starring Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen and Hazel Court. Its plot concerns a soldier who is knocked unconscious during a train journey and has a series of bizarre dreams.
Here Comes the Sun is a 1946 British comedy film directed by John Baxter and starring Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen and Elsa Tee. The film follows a sports reporter on the run from the police as he tries to clear his name.
Irish For Luck is a 1936 British comedy film directed by William Beaudine and starring Jimmy Nervo, Teddy Knox and Jack Barty. It was made at Teddington Studios by the British subsidiary of Warner Brothers. Art direction was by Peter Proud.
We'll Smile Again is a 1942 British musical comedy film directed by John Baxter and starring Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen and Meinhart Maur.
Skylarks is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Jimmy Nervo, Teddy Knox and Nancy Burne. Nervo and Knox were a comic team, who became associated with the larger Crazy Gang grouping with whom they subsequently appeared in several films. It is a partially lost film, with only a short soundless fragment surviving. The team's earlier film It's in the Bag, their 1936 sound debut, does still survive.
Alf's Button is a 1930 British comedy film directed by W. P. Kellino and starring Tubby Edlin, Alf Goddard and Nora Swinburne. It is an adaptation of the 1920 novel Alf's Button by William Aubrey Darlington. The film features some singing and dancing sequences in an early colour process, which is believed to be Pathécolor.
Highland Fling is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Manning Haynes and starring Charlie Naughton, Jimmy Gold and Frederick Bradshaw. It was made as a quota quickie by the British subsidiary of 20th Century Fox at Wembley Studios. Two incompetent detectives search for a missing document at the Highland Games.
