Month: February 2022

One of my favourite films of the 1930s is the black and white feature “Oh, Mr Porter!”, starring Will Hay.

Hay was a very interesting chap, hugely clever, a serious astronomer (there is an asteroid named after him) and the person who gave Amy Johnson flying lessons.

He made a number of very funny films where he played a bumbling, slightly corrupt official who gets into trouble. In this film he is a station master, he is often a teacher or policeman. In his best films, he is accompanied by Graham Moffatt and Moore Marriott (centre).

Marriott was a seriously good straight actor. He could take out his teeth, insert a false plate with a single tooth and it was so funny.

The plot is simple and eerily familiar: Hay takes over as station master at a forgotten station in Ireland, near the border. He tries to make something of the station, offering day trips, but gets involved with smugglers.

The film ends with a famous windmill scene, followed by a train chase.

It may seem a big corny these days, but some of the one liners, especially “Where’s your clock?” are hilarious.

“Ask A Policeman” is also worth a watch.

This is out of position, but we are following on from Kong…

“King Kong” was a massive success. It has been re-made and there were follow-ups, like “Mighty Joe Young”.

But we really don’t like modern monster movies, you know, the “Kong Eats Godzilla’s Brain On Dinosaur Island” type of thing. Often they are boring, there’s a cgi fuzziness to the picture. Peter Jackson’s version of “King Kong” was long and dull and had Jack Black. A previous version, with Jeff Bridges, is grim, and as for its follow up with Linda Hamilton…

But there is one film that we quite enjoy, in parts, the 1998 version of “Godzilla” with Matthew Broderick (we also like the original).

Why do we like it? Well, not for the nonsensical story, or the multiple errors, or the music. For a film where characters rely on so much technology, it looks dated, even for then.

But New York city looks fantastic in the rain, and the monster looks like a real monster.

The absolute highlight though is Jean Reno and his team of French agents, coping with American culture. There are some very funny moments, and it’s worth watching the film and skipping the non-Reno stuff just to enjoy his performance.