Much Too Shy ** (1942, George Formby, Kathleen Harrison, Hilda Bayley, Eileen Bennett) – Classic Movie Review 10,319

Director Marcel Varnel’s 1942 Much Too Shy stars naughty but nice (and much too shy) George Formby as amateur artist George Andy, the hopeless handyman in trouble when his art-study-course portraits of ladies are tampered with by other students in a decidedly raunchy manner (for 1942) and then by chance used in advertisements for soap. The ladies then take gormless George to court.

Much Too Shy is a rather wordy farcical comedy, with too little of the classic Formby slapstick and, despite the work of five esteemed screen-writers, the scenario is unyielding in providing the laughs comedy-wise. And there are far too few jokes and there is far too much heavy-handed innuendo. Kathleen Harrison also stars as Amelia Peabody. Formby is good value but it is a big step down from Formby’s films at Ealing.

The songs Andy the Handy Man, They Laughed When I Started To Play, Talking To The Moon About You and Delivering the Morning Milk are performed by George Formby.

The interesting cast includes radio star Jimmy Clitheroe (as George’s brother) and later Carry On star Charles Hawtrey (as Student of Modern Art).

Also in the cast are Hilda Bayley, Eileen Bennett, Joss Ambler, Jimmy Clitheroe, Frederick Burtwell, Brefni O’Rorke, Eric Clavering, Gibb McLaughlin, Gus McNaughton, Peter Gawthorne, Valentine Dyall, D J Williams, Wally Patch, Alf Goddard, Charles Hawtrey, Percy Welsh, Frank Atkinson, Jack Vyvyan, Andrée Sacré, Ben Williams, Eveline Chipman [Eve Chipman], Noel Dainton, James Knight, Clifford Buckton and Judith Nelmes.

Much Too Shy is directed by Marcel Varnel, runs 92 minutes, is made by Columbia British Productions, is released by Columbia Pictures Corporation (1942) (UK), is written by Ronald Frankau (original story), Walter Greenwood (screen adaptation), Michael Vaughan (additional scenes), John L Arthur (contributions) and Jack S Marks (contributions), is shot in black and white by Arthur Crabtree, is produced by Marcel Varnel (producer) and Ben Henry (associate producer), is scored by Harry Bidgood, and is designed by R Holmes Paul and George Provis.

It is shot at Rock Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,319

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