User Reviews

In order to appreciate a George Formby comedy, you must put yourself a bit in the time it was made. The world was at the start of the second World War, people needed something really harmless as distraction, and the very harmless ukulele player Formby was exactly that.

The movie follows a pretty straight forward recipe, with George as a naive nobody getting a chance for success and taking it, with some complications on the way. There are competitors who want to stop him, there is a misunderstanding that gets him accused of theft, and there is a pretty girl to fall in love with. There is little question of how the movie will end, few surprises, it is mainly a question of how you get there.

The movie is enjoyable, pretty funny, but rarely laugh-out-loud funny. It has gags but they are not always funny, like the young boy "Squib" (which I can't find in the cast) who is mostly annoying, a very cliché "Dennis the menace"-style boy. In the gag department, it can't compete with a Marx movie, they tend to have a higher tempo with more really funny gags. It is funniest when it isn't forcing laughs at us (like at the fair). The funniest humor is in Formby's character, dumb as a brick but kind as a nun. Part of the comedy, unique to Formby, is the ukulele- playing to silly songs.

Some effects are extremely cheesy but perfectly fine for 1939 - live with it. Some gags are old, just live with that too. Just get into your old school feeling and enjoy a British comedy classic for what it is. Who cares if it is dated, it is Formby, with a bigger horse grin than The Lamb, I mean Maneater.

Here's a movie that cleverly takes advantage of all George Formby's comic gifts in a variety of inventively humorous and even excitingly staged slapstick situations. One of my favorite scenes has George made over into a fearless jockey who proceeds to demonstrate his virility by smashing windows. Yes, smashing windows, an inside joke that would have been obvious to even the youngest or most slow- witted of his admirers. ("When I'm Cleaning Windows" was his most successful song, When adjusted for inflation, Formby's record and sheet music sales easily outshone later successes by Vera Lynn, Petula Clark, the Beatles and company).

A riot of fun from start to finish, "Come On, George!" has not only tremendous charm and vitality, exciting stunt work, fluid direction and skillful photography, but a great support cast led by Pat Kirkwood (as the policeman's daughter), George Carney (as the rent-a-cell constable) and Gibb McLaughlin (as the psychiatrist).

OTHER VIEWS: Formby's 1938 release, "I See Ice", was directed by Anthony Kimmins who does a far, far better job on "Come On, George!" (1939). The script is superior too and builds up the comedy in a series of logical steps to a grand slapstick finale. The support players are also far more agreeable. True, choleric Joss Ambler is inclined to draw too much attention away from George, but the other actors fit in perfectly, especially Pat Kirkwood and George Carney as the Johnsons (dad and daughter) and a muted Ronald Shiner in a large role as an antagonistic stable hand. George has some attractive songs too, including "Pardon Me". (Available on a 10/10 Optimum DVD). -JHR writing as George Addison.

This time George plays an ice man at a race track who is accused of stealing a wallet , at the track, by sir Charles Bailey play by Josh Ambler.He end up being chased out of the track and ends up on the train with Sir Charles Baileys Horse, Man Eater , who's wild and lost the race. He doesn't know that. George discovers he's a sweet Horse. The daughter of Sir Charles Bailey ,Monica played by Meriel Forbes, has given the horse to her friend to train, I think but I'm no sure Jimmy, played by Cyril Taylor, to train.But he's too wild. So When they discover George's in the horse car train and see that he can control the horse, they lie to him about the horse, so he can train him, Ge eventually meets the locals as he seeks a room to rent. The local police man, Seargent Johnson, played by George Carney, who is about to retire who gambles on horses and because of this daughter Ann portrayed by by Patrica Kirkwood, Of Band Wagon, 1940 and M.G.M. musical No leave, 1944 and could of played Annie in the stage version of Annie get your gun if she did not try to commit suicide just because no love no leave bombed,has to rent a room for extra money. George meet her mischievous brother too,like the scene where he has taken Ann to the fair and they are watching a flea circus and the brother puts fleas in Georges suit behind his back.The thieves , who actually stoled Sir Baileys pocket book, finds out that George is training that horse and he might win , cause they work for Baileys competitor. They pain to kidnap him , at the time of the race. When George finds out that he was mad horse.He get's scared of him , that Jimmy takes him to hypnotist to get him the courage to ride the horse. It works until ,right before the race some one hits him in the head and the two thieves try to keep him from the race, until he gets the courage. He ends up winning the race and Ann, 11/19/11