Convict 99

What better compliment can I give it to say that, yes, it's not as funny or as well directed as "Oh, Mr Porter" and yes, Moffat and Marriott are underused, but it is still a Will Hay classic, and to my opinion its his second best movie.

The plot is basic - Hay becomes in charge of a prison by mistake, having the same first name as the new governor's last name... he arrives drunk and gets mixed up with a new batch of prisoners...one (number 99) escapes in the process and the guards think Hay is Convict 99... 99 is recaptured and Hay then takes up his position as governor...prisoners run the prison...99 escapes with Hay's money...prisoners escape, get the money back and break into the bank to give Hay back his money.

Okay so it makes little sense, but it is fun to watch!

...but yet SO ridiculous that it draws you in and you have to stay watching to see what happens.

Benjamin Twist was a school master, and he's at this agency wanting a job in a school for reformed boys. But a general misunderstanding/mistaken identity gets him instead a different job, that of a prison governor! You see the man they wanted for the job is called Mr. Benjamin, as in *last* name Benjamin. So when everyone starts calling Mr. Twist 'Benjamin' (which is his first name), he just calls them all by their first names back and they all think he's such a riot. He does eventually realise their mistake, but at the same time finds out that the job pays £2000 a year; where the job he was actually after only pays £75. Well, being a prison warden isn't THAT much different from being schoolmaster to difficult boys, is it...

When it turns out that "Twist" (Will Hay) is no good as an headmaster he is turfed out and looking for a new job! An administrative mix up sees him appointed the governor a prison, and after another which sees him temporarily behind the bars, he tries to ingratiate himself with the prisoners and, predictably, they run rings round him as he is soon well out of his depth. Will Hay had good comedy timing and together with a decent cast of regulars manages to raise a laugh or two, but the film is way too long and the joke doesn't really sustain it for ninety minutes. That said, though, it is still quite watchable, if only to remind us was made us laugh in the simpler, less cynical days before the second world war.

This is one of the many Will Hay films that were made in the early 1900's, and in case you didn't know, Will Hay was a true British comic genius. Convict 99 Hay plays a school teacher who is being transferred to another school but due to a mix-up with some names he is mistaken as a prison governor and sent to some tough prison down in Devon. To make it worse when he arrives in a drunk state he is mistaken for a convict. From beginning to end this film is full of laughs. Original British comedy is truly a gem; Will Hay does comedy brilliantly and this film is no exception and as with most of his other films it also stars crazy old Moore Marriott and funny kid Graham Moffatt who add to the laughs as well. The story isn't half bad as well and you love how the characters react to different situations. Don't always turn away from black & white movies, especially the comedies, I'd give Convict 99 a 10 out of 10 any day, pure AWESOMNESS.

I had ordered the marvelous Oh Mr Porter from my DVD rental firm and was sent Convict 99 by mistake. This is not a patch on Oh Mr Porter; indeed I found it alternately boring and pathetically unfunny. It might have been a hoot in 1938, but it has not worn well. The backchat between Will Hay, Moore Marriott and Graham Moffat, hilarious in Oh Mr Porter, is here irritating and totally unfunny. The story is, of course, completely unbelievable, but that doesn't matter if the situations are comic, or the dialogue amusing. I just thought the whole thing a total waste of time. I'm trying to get Oh Mr Porter to reassure myself how funny Will Hay and his team can be. A complete dud.