Ask a Policeman

1939

1h 23m

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

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Comedy

The mirthful adventures of Police-Sergeant Samuel Dudfoot and his two constables, Albert Brown and Jeremias Harbottle, who stage a fabricated crime-wave to save their jobs---and then find themselves involved in the real thing.

Directors

Marcel Varnel

Writers

Val Guest(screenplay by)

Marriott Edgar(screenplay by)

Sidney Gilliat(story by)

Stars

Will Hay

Graham Moffatt

Moore Marriott

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Top cast

Sergt. Dudfoot

Albert

Harbottle

Emily

Chief Constable

The Squire

Coastguard

Motorist

Radio Announcer

Revenue Officer

Headless Coachman

Witness

Broadcasting Engineer

Directors

Marcel Varnel

Writers

Val Guest(screenplay by)

Marriott Edgar(screenplay by)

Sidney Gilliat(story by)

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Review

Featured review

7/10

This is possibly my favourite outing for Will Hay, with this time a strong supporting cast to help him along with this daft adventure caper. He is "Sgt. Dudfoot" who along with "Albert" (Graham Moffatt) and "Harbottle" (Moore Marriot) have recently been on the radio from their crime-free village. They didn't quite think it through, though, as soon they realise that they might well have talked themselves out of a job. Solution? Well let's invent some crimes! That they do with, as you'd expect, comical results. Thing is, some real criminals are taking advantage of these hapless buffoons and smuggling barrels of booze from right under their noses. Can they get a grip on things, apprehend those varmints and save their posts? Moore Marriott 's engaging "Harbottle" could easily have been the model for Wilfred Brambles' later characterisation of "Steptoe" and together with his two cohorts and with some creative input from Marcel Varnel and Sidney Gilliat we end up with an enjoyable eighty minutes of typically British humour. It has traces of slapstick, but it is essentially the quickly-paced patter and the fun dynamic between the three that keeps this moving well and entertainingly. Sure, some of the jokes were probably corny even then, but if you enter into the spirit of it, then I think you will enjoy it.

Geronimo196714 Nov, 2022