I Thank You

I Thank You is produced by Gainsborough Pictures, it's directed by Marcel Varnel and it stars Arthur Askey and Richard "Stinker" Murdoch. Set in London during World War II Blitz period, the story sees Askey & Murdoch as a couple of variety entertainers who find themselves out of work. In desperate need of money to put on a show, the pair dress up as house servants {Murdoch a servant and Askey in drag as a cook} and bluff their way into the home of Lady Randall, an ex-music hall star known to give financial aid to performers in the arts close to her heart. However, chaos reigns.

The diminutive Askey always proved divisive in film form, massively popular as a comedian and music hall performer, his silver screen outings were a very mixed bunch. Some were manic and guilty of letting Askey swamp the movie {he was an acquired taste}, other efforts found the right blend and let other actors impact on said film.I Thank You fits thankfully into the latter category. It is helped enormously by the writing, it's co-written by the two men influential in the best of Will Hay's cinema outings in the late 30s, Val Guest & Marriott Edgar {from a story by Howard Irving Young}. With that in mind, it's no surprise to find Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt in the cast. Along with Will Hay they formed one of British cinemas greatest comedy acts, but come 1940 Hay had had enough and went solo. Gainsborough put both guys with Askey in the hope of creating a new dream team for the 40s, that was never likely to work in all honesty, but they do have their moments. Such as here, where Marriott completely owns the film as chaos loving old curmudgeon Pop Bennett.

There's some nice tunes in the piece too. Askey sings "Hello To The Sun" & "Half Of Everything Is Yours" while the closing "Waiting At The Church" sung by Lily Morris {Lady Randall} is a bona fide classic. It's a fun frolic time of a movie, whippy one liners are cloaked in farcical set pieces, all guided by the assured hands of director Varnel. One of the better offerings in Askey's canon, and essential for those who wish to view the brilliant talent of Moore Marriott. 7/10

"I Thank You" is the best of the films that Arthur Askey made. With his friends Moore and Graham Moffatt and Richard Murdoch, Askey romps and stomps his way through mayhem with many laughs and chuckles. They are joined by some talented performers of the day that add a musical production touch to this comedy.

The plot is a fairly simple one, but the hilarious chaos of many scenes makes one wonder if it was all scripted that way, or if the leads were just ad-libbing as they went along. It is clear that they were enjoying the making of this film.

No doubt this and other comedies of the period did a lot to ease tensions during the war. Farce of this type probably helped many in England keep the proverbial British stiff upper lip during the German bombing of London. The closing scene of the troupe entertaining Londoners in a bomb shelter was a fitting tribute to the English and to the entertainers who did their part for the war effort.

This is a fun film that rivals the best of the raucous movies of the Marx Brothers and Three Stooges in America.

`Big-hearted Arthur Askey' was a major British star of cinema, TV, and even, much earlier, Music Hall. On the evidence of `I Thank You' (a catch-phrase pronounced Aye Theng Yew) he was a comical little man with great timing but I just couldn't get a laugh out of this movie. And its not simply a case of what made people smile more than fifty years ago not being relevant today. A couple of nights previously I had watched an even older film, `Nothing Sacred' and found it absolutely hilarious.

`I Thank You' was made & set during the Second World War. It opens & closes in the London Underground where the population went to escape the German air raids, includes a couple of novelty songs plus performances from Richard `Stinker' Murdoch who became a top radio script-writer and Kathleen Harrison who always seemed to play a maid until she had great success in the fifties in The Huggetts series of films.

It's hard to recommend `I Thank You' which is often frantic and farcical; the best I can say is that it is mercifully short at seventy-odd minutes.

If you ever wondered what British music hall or American vaudeville was all about, this is a pretty good representation of the styles of humor and performance from those circles. The plot is so old, it creaks; jokes are corny and people break into song all the time, but everyone is so committed to what they're doing, you're completely entertained. You'll remember Arthur Askey's delivery of the line "I thank you" for a long time.

The vaudeville team of Forsythe, Seamon & Farrell get some nice showcasing here. While Charles Forsythe and Eleanor Farrell can sing and deliver a punchline, Addie Seamon plays "Peaches", a Gracie Allen ditz who can dance up a storm. You won't forget her.

Great fun for a Saturday afternoon.

My bet is that if you asked 100 of my fellow Americans who Arthur Askey was, you MIGHT get lucky and find one. He and other British comedians like Will Hay are simply never shown on TV around here and the only reason I discovered them is that I like to download and watch public domain movies--and I have discovered some interesting movies that way. It seems that a lot of the public domain films were made by Gainesborough Pictures--and they made a lot of comedies as well as dramas.

Now I am not saying all these films are brilliant. Askey was often a bit low-brow in his humor--probably because he had his roots in the English stage--sort of like their version of vaudeville. So, for his audiences, Askey and many other comedians went for the cheap laugh--and that's not really a bad thing! Plus, his humor was never as cheap as our Three Stooges! This film must have seemed very near and dear to the hearts of the actors, as it's about a group of stage performers who are out of work and need someone to finance their show. So, Askey and Richard Murdock both approach a rich Lady--who also used to be a performer like them. But, she turns out to want nothing to do with her old job and now she is too sophisticated for such things. So, instead of asking for her financing directly, the decide to go to work for her, as she's advertising for a butler and maid. So you think....how can one of them be a maid?! Well, Askey, in the grand tradition of low-brow entertainment, dresses in drag--and he looks pretty convincing actually! So when exactly will they get around to popping the question? And what will she say? And what hope do they have of convincing anyone they are real servants?! Although this film too much singing, some of the songs were pretty catchy. Plus, I loved Moore Marriott in the he film. While he did a lot of films with Askey and Will Hay, here he is at his funniest. His crazy old coot routine is a hoot--and does a lot to make up for the plot lulls and songs. Well written and funny--this is a fun film even if some of the humor is a bit corny.