Bell-Bottom George

There is nothing so tedious as comedy that isn't funny, and for the first part of this film that was what I felt I was saddled with. Unfunny dialogue competes with pratfalls and very contrived plot mechanics, as George Formby does his bit for the war effort as an thoroughly incompetent club steward who is determined to get into the Navy. The songs aren't exactly immortal, either.

But it does improve, helped by George's undeniable charm, which shows through once the character is allowed to become a little more resourceful and stop falling on his face every five minutes; by the end of the film, you can actually credit that the spick-and-span heroine might have fallen in love with him. And it's a decent part for the girl as well, as she gets to boss her beau around, represent the Navy against his impostor, and ultimately save the day via her naval training. Once the very obvious contrivances at the beginning of the plot are out of the way, it manages to become first amusing and then intriguing -- this is never going to be top-class Formby, but it's worth hanging on a bit, as it gets better as it goes along.