The Boys in Blue

I remember going to see this as a kid and at the time (i was 11) I loved it. Having seen it again recently I'm sorry to say that I again loved it. I know it's a bad film but there's something about it (or that period) that fills me with nostalgia and I suppose makes me smile. Ask a Policeman is of course a classic and far superior, however I'm afraid i like them both.....sorry

"Ask a Policeman" was Will Hay's third best movie, full of wit and charm with three excellent lead actors. This remake is dreadful and it is a huge shame that it was directed by Val Guest, considering he role in making Hay such a star.

Cannon and Ball - dear God, no! Just get "Ask a Policeman", or better still get "Oh, Mr Porter", "Bones of the River" and "Convict 99" and see how Val Guest and Will Hay combine to make masterpieces of British cinema.

Pass this by - it is dreadful. Please, keep walking...no go on...nothing to see here...

I am disgusted that anyone could give this a 10. I was going to score it 3 simply out of respect to Val Guest, but the fact that people are scoring it 10 - rating it as highly as Citizen Kane, The Godfather Part 2, Shawshank Redemption, African Queen etc is ridiculous. The acting from C&B is atrocious. The script is ludicrous - even the verbatim lines taken from Will Hay's classic seem ludicrous when C&B utter them, and it looks awful. I have to give it 1 to cancel out undeserved 10s.

Utter tripe - a pointless remake of Will Hay's superb 'Ask A Policeman' starring the unfunny and charmless Cannon and Ball - a straight man and a 'comedian' whose one joke consists of snapping his braces. Don't bother.

Since Cannon and Ball were quite a popular duo back in the late 1970's - mid 1980s, it was no surprise they got their own film version; in C & B case theirs was a loose remake of Will Hay's 'Ask A Policeman' (which I have not seen).

I could go on about the flaws and pacing - and I won't take any issue there - but this is a just silly comedy from a bygone era. I can watch this on an afternoon as a bit of harmless, undemanding viewing - and the various cameoes are quite fun.

But I take issue with the criticism that this is the worst British film ever, etc. A masterpiece it is not, but I could name half a dozen that a far, far worse....

I recently bought this film on DVD and it is still as funny as watching the first time in the cinema. A mixture of slapstick and funny lines make this a film that only C&B fans will really appreciate and enjoy, you also get some great brit actors as well such as Roy Kinnear, Eric Sykes, Jack Douglas, Jon Pertwee and Arthur English. It is a remake of the Will Hay movie Ask A Policeman, although I can only vaguely remember the Will Hay version, it is a pretty simple plot to follow. C&B play two hapless policemen in the village of Little Bottom and they are called into some police work when art thieves try to smuggle out some stolen paintings. This will appeal to anyone who grew up in the 80's and enjoyed watching C&B