Feather Your Nest ** (1937, George Formby, Polly Ward, Enid Stamp-Taylor, Val Rosing, Davy Burnabe, Moore Marriott) – Classic Movie Review 3823

Director William Beaudine’s 1937 British musical comedy stars George Formby as gormless gramophone record manufacturing company factory worker, technician Willie Piper. He hears pop star Rex Randall (Val Rosing) record a song but then accidentally breaks the master disc and replaces the star’s singing with his own voice.

And, hey presto, it turns out that Britain’s got talent and that Willie becomes a star too when it becomes a number one hit song. That, of course, helps him get the money to marry the girl, Mary Taylor (Polly Ward). The song is Leaning on a Lamp-post, which was first performed here in contrasting styles by Rosing and Formby.

Feather Your Nest showcases, happily, Formby on less frantic and slapstick form from how he often was in his movies. But the film is slow-paced, overextended for its slim plot, and lacks zany highlights. However, in the movie’s showstopping highspot, Formby sings the unforgettable all-time great popular classic ‘Leaning on a Lamp-post’, and this is worth the entire film and then some. It became a big hit and Formby’s trademark tune, as well as his most popular and best-remembered song.

As revealed on 7 June 2016, it turned out that it is one of the all-time great top ten song tracks of H M The Queen, and that she is a Formby fans, able to sing all his songs!

Formby also performs When We Feather Our Nest and I’m as Happy as a Sandboy.

Also in the cast are Enid Stamp-Taylor, Davy Burnabe, Moore Marriott, Jack Barty, Clifford Heatherley, Frederick Burtwell, Syd Crossley, Frederick Piper, Jimmy Godden , Ethel Coleridge, Frank Perfitt and Enid Stamp-Taylor.

The team of writers is Ivar Campbell and Sheila Campbell (for the story), Robert Edmunds, Anthony Kimmins, Austin Melford and Val Valentine.

It is Formby’s only film for Associated Talking Pictures where he doesn’t play a character called George.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3823

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