View Full Version : Norman Wisdom & Will Hay on DVD?
Cornelius
20-05-2002, 00:56
Has anyone got any of these?
I was wondering what the quality was like. Play have them for 6.99 each.:)
I've got some of the Will Hay DVD's and the quality is average. At times I actually thought the TV showings were better because it seems the video has been affected by its conversion to a digital format, e.g. fine chequerboard pattern with certain colors.
That said, I'd like a copy of the Goose Steps Out on DVD.
As for Norman Wisdom, I'm not so keen on his movies these days. Just don't find them that funny compared to when I was a teenager.
Cornelius
20-05-2002, 14:45
Originally posted by cervaro
I've got some of the Will Hay DVD's and the quality is average. At times I actually thought the TV showings were better because it seems the video has been affected by its conversion to a digital format, e.g. fine chequerboard pattern with certain colors.
That said, I'd like a copy of the Goose Steps Out on DVD.
As for Norman Wisdom, I'm not so keen on his movies these days. Just don't find them that funny compared to when I was a teenager.
Thanks.
I don't think any of these films will produce big belly laughs. They're fun and hark back to a more innocent age. I used towatch them as a kid during the school holidays so it's a nostalgia thing. :)
I don't think any of these films will produce big belly laughs.
They may surprise you - some of the slapstick holds up very well and Hay's attempts to explian his multitude of cock-ups are always good to go.
My favourites are 'Boys will be boys' feat. a very young Hawtrey and the comedy classic that is 'Oh Mr Porter'.
The expressions on Hay's face are priceless - a very underrated actor.
:D :D - That's what u'll be like after watching them.
Cornelius
20-05-2002, 17:10
Originally posted by stefmcd
My favourites are 'Boys will be boys' feat. and the comedy classic that is 'Oh Mr Porter'.
Me too.:)
Wonderful films, and a few of them I still have not seen - tempted.
'Convict 99' is another beauty - he goes to a prison as the new governor but as he arrives a riot breaks out - when under control he is lumped in with the prisoners despite his protestations.
'Hey Hey USA' is not rated highly but I love it - he gets embroiled with Capone style gangsters on board a ship.
All guarantee 'hilarious consequences'.
Mario Gauci
05-06-2002, 20:07
I have now watched 11 Will Hay films on either VHS or DVD:
THOSE WERE THE DAYS (1934)
BOYS WILL BE BOYS (1935)
GOOD MORNING, BOYS! (1937)
OH, MR. PORTER! (1937)
CONVICT 99 (1938)
OLD BONES OF THE RIVER (1938)
ASK A POLICEMAN (1939)
THE GHOST OF ST. MICHAEL’S (1941)
THE BLACK SHEEP OF WHITEHALL (1941)
THE GOOSE STEPS OUT (1942)
MY LEARNED FRIEND (1943)
THOSE WERE THE DAYS is his least typical effort and, in hindsight, the most dated today. Plot-wise it is somewhat reminiscent of a Feydeau farce (HOTEL PARADISO, A FLEA IN HER EAR) involving clandestine rendezvous and secrets from the past, and is not in itself all that bad as a film. The rest of the films are linked by a number of interesting traits running through them:
1) Hay is generally the figure of authority – schoolmaster, stationmaster, policeman, lawyer – incompetent and easily corruptible, but thoroughly lovable nonetheless.
2) He is pitted against highly dangerous opponents – thieves, smugglers, convicts, native tribesmen, fifth columnists, Nazis, a vengeful madman – whom he always meets with a mixture of naivete and (mostly unintentional) ingenuity.
3) Sometimes he is given a sidekick or two, but these are generally more a hindrance than a help to him (played at various times by Graham Moffatt, Moore Marriott, Claude Hulbert, Charles Hawtrey and even John Mills).
4) Mistaken identity and impersonation feature a lot in these plots as well.
5) Some of the films are reminiscent of and comparable to other films of the period (including the work of star comics on the other side of the Atlantic) – for example, BOYS WILL BE BOYS reminds one of the Marx Bros.’ HORSE FEATHERS (1932); OH, MR. PORTER! of THE GHOST TRAIN (1931); CONVICT 99 of Laurel & Hardy’s PARDON US (1931); OLD BONES OF THE RIVER was in fact a parody on Alexander Korda’s epic production SANDERS OF THE RIVER (1935).
6) On the other hand, the three wartime comedy-thrillers – THE GHOST OF ST. MICHAEL’S, THE BLACK SHEEP OF WHITEHALL and THE GOOSE STEPS OUT – coincided with similarly comedic views of the war by practically all the great comics of the time (Charlie Chaplin, Laurel & Hardy, the Marx Bros., Bob Hope, Abbott & Costello, as well as fellow Britishers George Formby, the Crazy Gang and Tommy Trinder); MY LEARNED FRIEND – Hay’s great last film – made at Ealing Studios looked forward to their KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS (1949), one of cinema’s most celebrated black comedies.
Though quality varies from one film to the other, all of them have merits, not least in the star’s amiable fooling that puts him firmly with the greatest comics (certainly the finest ever to come out of Britain until the advent of Peter Sellers), mixing the cynicism of W.C. Fields with the relentless pursuit of self-preservation of Groucho Marx and the pompous nobility of Oliver Hardy. It is a pity that his brand of comedy was not ‘understood’ in America for, in my opinion, his style has outshined many another ‘popular’ comic talent (Danny Kaye, Jerry Lewis, Norman Wisdom).
steve lucas
05-06-2002, 21:01
Have watched all Will Hey Movies available. ..and they are all 'classics' in their own right. Pity there are a few missing 'classics' from the Will Hey stable. Picture quality is down to source material and you have to remember just how old these are now.
The Norman Wisdom movies are another mixed bag, but about 20 years newer than Will Hey so (as you would expect) picture quality is much better.... some of them are very good quality indeed and hold up to more recent movies.
Always enjoyed them, about three in that list I have not seen.
I have been tempted by the disks, but would wait to find them somewhere a little cheaper.
No copy of Where's That Fire?
Legendary
05-06-2002, 21:34
Who is William Hay ? I never heard of him.
He was a famous British comedian from the 30s -
His career straddled music hall and cinema.
Slapstick and dramatic irony by the ladelful - As mentioned in the previous posts he typically played an incompetent but confident character who succeeds despite his idiocy - He always 'pulls a Homer' .
We all cheer when he triumphs however probably as a result of both seeing a little of our own frailties in him and the fact that he is always out of his depth against threatening foes.
Very hard to describe but easy to watch
:)
John Hodson
01-10-2004, 14:20
New review here (http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=12430) of the new R1 release of the pretty woeful What's Good for the Goose.
manatrights
01-10-2004, 15:36
HMV have a box set of Will Hay films in their current sale.
No copy of Where's That Fire?
Got mine from www.movieparade.co.uk. This is my fave Will Hay.
jonathan.e
04-10-2004, 09:19
Will Hay, Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt - Comedy gods.
Sad that no-one has seen fit to release his excellent later movies, My Learned Friend, Goose Steps Out, Black Sheep of Whitehall & Ghost of St. Michael's on DVD. A box-set was rumoured a couple of years back but just faded away.
John Hodson
03-11-2005, 14:52
This probably won't please anyone with the current set (which has just been re-released in nice new packaging), but Val Guest is apparently recording commentaries for another release of Will Hay films, according to posts at Roobarbs.
Whether he's doing this simply as extras to the current crop of films, or maybe Hay's Ealing output to boot, is anyones guess.
Good news though; I've been on the verge of buying these for an age.
derek cassidy
04-11-2005, 03:26
Will Hay was also an amateur astronomer of some note,he discovered something important (can't remember what,possibly a spot on Uranus) and like other great comics,something of a womaniser....the films are timeless,Terence Fisher edited one or two of them....The 2nd remake of "The 39 Steps" stole the Big Ben ending from "My Learned Friend"...A great comic talent whose act was honed on the Music Hall stage.
Spectre07
06-11-2005, 19:42
This probably won't please anyone with the current set (which has just been re-released in nice new packaging), but Val Guest is apparently recording commentaries for another release of Will Hay films, according to posts at Roobarbs.
Whether he's doing this simply as extras to the current crop of films, or maybe Hay's Ealing output to boot, is anyones guess.
Good news though; I've been on the verge of buying these for an age.I've bought 4 of of the two film sets but would really like a definitive collection.
John Hodson
24-08-2006, 18:58
Will Hay fans: check out the Upcoming Thread (http://www.thedvdforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6673798#post6673798) for news of a new 16 disc box set.
John Hodson
04-09-2006, 16:00
Will Hay Boxset (16 Discs) (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://playcom.at/thedvdforums?DURL=http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/RCS/3-/1117266/Will_Hay_Boxset/Product.html):
1. The Black Sheep of Whitehall (1942)
2. Dandy Dick (1935)
3. The Ghost of St Michaels (1941)
4. The Goost Steps Out (1942)
5. My Learned Friend (1943)
6. Radio Parade of 1935 (1934)
7. Those Were the Days (1934)
8. Oh Mr Porter (1937)
9. Convict 99 (1938)
10. Windbag The Saiilor (1936)
11. Ask A Policeman (1938)
12. Boys Will Be Boys (1935)
13. Old Bones of the River (1938)
14. Where There's a Will (1936)
15. Good Morning, Boys (1937)
16. Hey! Hey! USA! (1938)
John Hodson
05-09-2006, 17:32
A little caveat on the above; a poster at Roobarbs says that there is some doubt now as to whether the new Will Hay set will actually come about...
Spectre07
05-09-2006, 18:15
Wasn't a boxset set already released? I recall seeing one in HMV.
John Hodson
05-09-2006, 18:18
Existing set (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00009QNUS/thedvdforums-21) and proposed new set (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000HXDSYK/thedvdforums-21) (with a release date that looks as if it has been delayed for, ah, little while)
Spectre07
05-09-2006, 18:26
I've already got 6 films from the existing set as they were released as 3 double film DVD's. I'm short of Good Morning Boys, Hey! Hey! USA!, Windbag the Sailor. I hope the 16 film set comes about (and considerably sooner than 2020 ;) ), it's not worth my buying the existing one.
Person A
04-11-2006, 20:08
The existing set is on special offer at HMV at the moment, which might help some make up their mind.
Will Hay Collection (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://clkuk.tradedoubler.com/click?p=18710&a=60823&g=280345&url=http://www.hmv.co.uk/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=280;-1;-1;-1&sku=72913&locale=uk)
£17.99 for 9 discs is pretty persuasive to me.
Spectre07
04-11-2006, 22:08
The New 16 disc set (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000HXDSYK/thedvdforums-21) now appears to be just 2 weeks away.
new release still wont have wheres that fire :(
CleaDuVall_fan
05-11-2006, 11:38
Their is a guy on flea bay who sells loads of the old comedy classics, black and whites on dvd. He does everything from Will Hay to George Formby.
hallanthony
05-11-2006, 14:16
new release still wont have wheres that fire :(
I ended up buying a copy of wheres that fire from eBay... only way really as I don't beleive an original print exists anymore...
just done the same :lol: as its in b/w and 70 odd years old the quality isnt going to be great any way. nothing to lose for £8 inc
Spectre07
05-11-2006, 14:24
People might also be interested in the Norman Wisdom set (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://clkuk.tradedoubler.com/click?p=18710&a=60823&g=280345&url=http://www.hmv.co.uk/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=12;-1;-1;-1&sku=166440&locale=uk) at 24.99.
John Hodson
05-11-2006, 21:37
The New 16 disc set (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000HXDSYK/thedvdforums-21) now appears to be just 2 weeks away.
FWIW, this from Roobarbs:
There were no commentaries recorded and that release isn't happening.
I thought it was odd that only two etailers seemed to be listing it.
John Hodson
30-11-2006, 12:35
Play.com (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://clkuk.tradedoubler.com/click?p=20047&a=60823&g=606309) is saying 'waiting for delivery of stock'; I'll bet they are...
Meanwhile over at DDHE, they have the excellent six disc Norman Wisdom Collection (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://scripts.affiliatefuture.com/AFClick.asp?affiliateID=17278&merchantID=1533&programmeID=4245&mediaID=0&url=http://www.ddhe.co.uk/p2_07577_Norman%20Wisdom%20Box%20Set.htm) for just £19.99.
John Hodson
02-12-2006, 10:30
...meanwhile Amazon (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/redirect-home?tag=thedvdforums-21&site=dvd) has changed the date to September 17, 2007, and has reduced the price of the current Will Hay set to £17.97 - here (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00009QNUS/thedvdforums-21)
Spectre07
02-12-2006, 11:36
The 17.97 (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00009QNUS/thedvdforums-21)price is for the existing set, the September 2007 set is priced . 44.99 (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000HXDSYK/thedvdforums-21)
John Hodson
02-12-2006, 14:47
The 17.97 (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00009QNUS/thedvdforums-21)price is for the existing set...
Apologies if I didn't make that plain.
Spectre07
03-12-2006, 17:30
Apologies if I didn't make that plain.My apologies, I should have read your post with more care.
gareth101
03-12-2006, 19:06
I'm not sure I'd fancy 16 discs of Will Hay but Oh Mr Porter is an all time classic.
John Hodson
22-05-2007, 12:45
Coming September from Optimum: Comic Icons - Will Hay; (Dandy Dick, Ghost of St. Michaels, Black Sheep of Whitehall and Radio Parade of 1935)
John Hodson
06-07-2007, 10:15
HMV has that Optimum Will Hay set on pre-order for £17.99, several pounds cheaper than anyone else here (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://clkuk.tradedoubler.com/click?p(18710)a(60823)g(280345)url(http://www.hmv.co.uk/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=285;5;-1;-1&sku=680342)). It's likely the price will rise either just before release or just after, as is their custom.
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