Though not blessed with the looks of a matinee idol, Lancashire legend George Formby won the hearts of British cinema audiences in the 1930s and 40s with his cheeky grin and cheerful films, mixing undemanding comedy with catchy, innuendo-laden songs, performed on his trademark banjo-ukulele (or banjulele).
The son of noted comic George Formby Sr, the younger George also began his career in the northern halls, but his appeal spread nationwide, and abroad, thanks to a string of films which travelled well and managed to capture his unpretentious appeal. Usually playing a bashful, accident-prone, gormless but loveable working class underdog, in the course of his films he battled disreputable middle-class bounders, Nazi spies, or both. Faced with danger, George's character often shouted "mother!", but ultimately he always won through, escaping peril with a gurgled "Ha-ha, never touched me!" By the end, he always got the girl, though he wasn't allowed to kiss her – Formby's domineering real-life wife, Beryl, forbade it.
George's best movie work was made for ATP/Ealing. No Limit was his breakthrough film. George appeared as a chimney sweep who, in an exciting climax, realises his ambition to ride in the Isle Of Man TT motorbike race. Shooting of I See Ice, in which George uncovers skulduggery at an ice rink, was delayed while the star learned to skate so that he could perform his own stunts – something that George insisted upon wherever possible. Hence he did as much jockeying as he could in the horse-race comedy Come On George!. Spare A Copper saw George join the police and in It's in the Air, he accidentally becomes an RAF pilot. Let George Do It!, perhaps his best film, features an unforgettable dream sequence: Formby flies to Germany on a barrage balloon, gatecrashes a Nazi rally, and bashes Hitler on the nose! Also notable is Turned Out Nice Again, an entertaining character comedy, with a more competent George playing an underwear salesman, who promotes his wares for sensible ladies by singing and playing the cheeky ‘You Can't Go Wrong In These’.
George went on to make further films at Columbia, but it is these that lie at the heart of his comic legacy.
A collection of seven films starring George Formby. Features No Limit (Montague Banks, 1935), I See Ice (Anthony Kimmins, 1938), It's in the Air (Anthony Kimmins, 1938), Come on George! (Kimmins, 1939), Let George Do It (Marcel Varnel, 1940), Spare a Copper (John Paddy Carstairs, 1941) and Turned Out Nice Again (Marcel Varnel, 1941).
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Comic Icons: George Formby
