formby on film

Rivalry between ex-service man turned publican and another crooked landlord in beer war. The film includes a dream sequence with the characters in "Alice In Wonderland", but 'Lavender' the stripper in the film earned it's a 'A' certificate. Brendan Ryan "Neither George nor his supporting players received much help from the script" Alan Randall, Ray Seaton. Leslie Halliwell's Film Guide A soldier returns to his country pub and finds himself in the middle of a beer war. The star's last film was oddly lacklustre and compared very badly with his earlier successes. This is it, the end of George's film career and, I have to admit that there have been better than this. The surreal Alice In Wonderland sequence is really bizarre but the film does feature one of George's best non-recorded songs, "I Was Christened With A Horse Shoe". Familiar faces Wally Patch and Ronald Shiner are always welcome. 2009 update On watching the new DVD I enjoyed the film more than I used to, the better quality images make the film much more watchable. Peter Pollard This was George's last film, and is a firm favourite for many Formby fans. As always, George's performance is impeccable, and it is a testimony to his skill that certain ill- conceived scenes such as the "Alice in Wonderland" dream and "We've Been a Long Time Gone" routine are carried off convincingly. From "Keep Your Seats Please" onwards, George's producers wished to keep the number of songs in his films to a minimum.   It is a pleasant surprise, therefore, to find seven musical interludes in this picture, including one by the band "Johnny Claes and his Clae Pidgeons". Since George's recording contract with Regal Zonophone had ended in 1945, four of the songs from this film were released on the Columbia label.  However, "I Was Christened with a Horseshoe" was never recorded and is seldom heard today. The highlight of the film is without doubt George's performance of "You Don't Need A License For That", which features a fantastic uke solo - one of his very best! Andy Eastwood

GEORGE IN CIVVY STREET (working title: Remember The Unicorn) Columbia Produced by: Marcel Varnel & Ben Henry Writers: Peter Fraser, Ted Kavanaugh, Max Kester, Gale Pedrick Photography: Phil Grindrod Director: Marcel Varnel Trade Show: April 10 1946: Released on: June 17 1946 Runtime 76 minutes Cast: George Formby, Rosalyn Boulter, Ronald Shiner, Ian Fleming, Wally Patch, Mike Johnson. SONGS: The Mad March Hare (Formby/Cliffe) We've Been A Long Time Gone (Formby/Cliffe) It Could Be (Cunningham/Towers) I Was Christened With A Horse Shoe (Formby/Cliffe) You Don't Need A License For That (Formby/Cliffe) You Don't Need Them (Sung by Daphne Elphinstone)