Dr. Benjamin Twist is a recurring fictional character who appears in several films featuring comedian Will Hay, who portrays the character in all mediums.

Character history

Dr. Benjamin Twist is a bumbling, fraudulent but lovable science teacher of the fictional St. Michael's School, which forms the backdrop of the films he appears in. Twist's typical appearance was with a

mortarboard The square academic cap, graduate cap, cap, mortarboard (because of its similarity in appearance to the mortarboard used by brickmasons to hold mortar) or Oxford cap is an item of academic dress consisting of a horizontal square board fixed upo ...

at an angle on his head and a pince-nez on his nose, as he squinted in a bewildered way at his unruly pupils.

Appearances

''Good Morning, Boys''

Twist's first appearance was in the 1937 film '' Good Morning, Boys'', in which he is presented as the laid-back

headmaster A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. Role While s ...

of St. Michael's, a boys' school for the sons of rich gentry, where he also teaches

Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

. Initially, he turns a blind eye to the misbehaviour of the boys under his eye and teaches the children using his method of ''Twisterism'', which is somehow related to

Astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...

and the signs of the

Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north and south celestial latitude of the ecliptic – the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. Within this zodiac ...

. However, he is later ordered by the school's new governor to adopt stricter policies, eventually turning St. Michael's into a military academy, with Twist holding an officer's rank.

''Hey! Hey! USA!''

Benjamin Twist appeared again in Hay's next film, '' Hey! Hey! USA!'' (1938). In this film, however, Twist is working as a porter aboard an oceangoing liner travelling between

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and during one particular voyage, he is mistaken for a scientist known as Prof. Tavistock by American gangster Bugs Leary (

Edgar Kennedy Edgar Livingston Kennedy (April 26, 1890 – November 9, 1948) was an American comedic character actor who appeared in at least 500 films during the silent and sound eras. Professionally, he was known as "Slow Burn", owing to his ability to por ...

), eventually becoming embroiled in a gangster plot to blackmail an American millionaire. It is possible that '' Hey! Hey! USA!'' portrayed events that took place before '' Good Morning, Boys'', explaining Twist's sudden change from teacher to steward and the absence of St. Michael's School.

''Convict 99''

Benjamin Twist's final appearance in the Will Hay films was in the 1938 film '' Convict 99'', which was released shortly after '' Hey! Hey! USA!''. In this film, Twist is dismissed from St. Michaels for incompetence, and whilst attending a job interview for a position in another school, he is mistaken for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n disciplinarian John D. Benjamin ( Roy Emerton), and accidentally accepts the post of governor of Blackdown Prison in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

(possibly based on the real-life

Dartmoor Prison HM Prison Dartmoor is a Prison security categories in the United Kingdom, Category C men's prison, located in Princetown, England, Princetown, high on Dartmoor in the English county of Devon. Its high granite walls dominate this area of the mo ...

), where he befriends prison-warden Albert ( Graham Moffatt) and inmate Jerry "The Mole" (

Moore Marriott George Thomas Moore Marriott (14 September 1885 – 11 December 1949) was an English character actor best remembered for the series of films he made with Will Hay. His first appearance with Hay was in the film '' Dandy Dick'' (1935), but he ...

Other appearances

A precursor of the Benjamin Twist character was Dr. Alec Smart in '' Boys Will Be Boys'' (1935), who was an otherwise identical teaching character. In '' The Ghost of St. Michael's'' (1941), the bumbling-teacher character has changed to William Lamb, but the character still bears similarities in appearance and manner to Benjamin Twist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Twist, Benjamin Comedy film characters Male characters in film Film characters introduced in 1937 Fictional schoolteachers Fictional fraudsters Fictional prison officials Fictional academics