It's an odd coincidence that England's two most famous Northern comedians -- George Formby and Frank Randle -- were both from the small town of Wigan, Lancashire. (Stan Laurel was born in Lancashire too, but I consider him an American comedian: Laurel's comedic style was English but not especially 'Northern'. In 'Way out West', he even claims to have been born south of London.) George Formby's thick Lancashire dialect never impaired his popularity in southern England ... but Frank Randle was always a Northern commodity, whose appeal was distinctly limited south of the Midlands.
Randle was a physically unappealing man, whose humour dealt heavily in sexual innuendo and broad vulgarity. He was an influence on Benny Hill ... but Benny's sexual humour was always cheeky, whilst frankly randy Frank Randle's was extremely raunchy. (Max Miller, England's most famous 'blue' comedian, was more suggestive than either of them.) A typical gag from Randle's music-hall act: he would come out onstage and start to speak a few words in his broad Lancashire dialect, but would seem to have difficulty. He beckoned into the wings, giving the cue for a shapely showgirl in a scanty costume to come onstage bearing a satin pillow. Randle would then ostentatiously take out his dentures (full plates, upper and lower) and place them with great ceremony on the pillow. The showgirl would curtsey, turn and exit while Randle leered at her backside. Then he faced the audience again and resumed his monologue, staying utterly toothless for the rest of his turn.
Offstage, Randle was legendary for his violent arguments with theatre managers, and for his bizarre behaviour which often bordered on mental illness. The stories told about Randle's offstage behaviour are much more interesting than the unfunny and vulgar routines he performed in his music-hall act.
In the 1940s, Frank Randle starred in a few cheapjack comedy movies for the Mancunian Film Corporation. As that name indicates, Mancunian's film studio was based in Manchester, and their movie output was distributed almost entirely to cinemas in northern England. Very seldom did a Mancunian film get screened south of the Midlands, north of the Tweed or west of Shrewsbury. These were 'quota quickies', ground out to meet the British law requiring a minimum quota of films exhibited in Britain's cinemas to be British-made regardless of quality.
'Somewhere in Civvies' is absolutely typical of Frank Randle's output, although it has a slightly better cast than usual ... largely due to veteran character actor H.F. Maltby, whose superb comedy timing and distinctive appearance (walrus moustache, spectacles, quivering chin) are wasted in these trivial doings.
The funniest joke in this movie (and one that's absolutely typical of Frank Randle's comedy style) occurs when Randle, as an army private, turns out for parade mounted on a 'moke': a small donkey of the sort usually employed for giving rides to children at the seaside. Maltby, as Randle's commanding officer, spots the donkey and demands to know what Randle is doing. Randle replies: "I'm sitting on my ass, sir!" If you fancy this sort of humour, then I recommend this movie. If not, not.
I'll rate 'Somewhere in Civvies' (and the entire Frank Randle oeuvre) 2 points out of 10. I'm tempted to rate it only one point, but Randle was genuinely a major name during the golden era of English music-hall comedy.
