''Get Cracking'' is a 1943

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

directed Direct may refer to: Mathematics * Directed set, in order theory * Direct limit of (pre), sheaves * Direct sum of modules, a construction in abstract algebra which combines several vector spaces Computing * Direct access (disambiguation), a ...

Marcel Varnel Marcel Varnel (16 October 1892 – 13 July 1947) was a French film director, notable for his career in the United States and England as a director of plays and films. Biography He was born Marcel Hyacinthe le Bozec in Paris, France. Varnel st ...

starring

George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961), was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he ...

, with Dinah Sheridan and

Ronald Shiner Ronald Alfred Shiner (8 June 1903 – 29 June 1966) was a British stand-up comedian and comedy actor whose career encompassed film, West End theatre and music hall. Early life and career When he was seventeen, Shiner joined the Royal North-Wes ...

. It was produced by

and Ben Henry for Columbia (British) Productions, a subsidiary of the American studio. The film opens like a World War Two documentary with a narrator explaining the action, before becoming a more traditional Formby vehicle.

Synopsis

Mechanic and

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting ...

lance corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many English-speaking armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal. Etymology The presumed origin of the rank of lance corp ...

George Singleton (Formby) has an adversary in a fellow Home Guard, Everett Manley (Shiner). When the rival Home Guard units of Major Wallop and Minor Wallop are sent on battle manoeuvres, George launches his own unique style of commando raid against neighbouring Major Wallop to steal a

Vickers machine gun The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a Water cooling, water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The gun was operated by a three-man crew but typically required more me ...

. The raid fails and Singleton loses his lance corporal stripe, so he and a little evacuee girl named Irene decide to build their very own tank. The venture is such a success that George is made a sergeant. The film includes three songs from Formby: ' Under the Blasted Oak', 'Home Guard Blues' and 'Get Cracking'.

Production

The film was released on 17 May 1943 and runs for 96 minutes in black and white. It was written by L. du Garde Peach, Michael Vaughan and John L. Arthur, while the songs were written by George Formby with Fred Godfrey, Fred E. Cliffe and Eddie Latta.

Cast list

as George Singleton - * Dinah Sheridan as Mary Pemberton *

Edward Rigby Edward Coke MC (5 February 1879 – 5 April 1951), known professionally as Edward Rigby, was a British character actor. Early life Rigby was born at Ashford, Kent, England, the second son of Dr William Harriott Coke and his wife, Mary Elizabe ...

as Sam Elliott *

Frank Pettingell Frank Edmund George Pettingell (1 January 1891 – 17 February 1966) was an English actor. Pettingell was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, and educated at Manchester University. During the First World War he served with the King's Liverpool R ...

as Alf Pemberton *

as Everett Manley *

Wally Patch Walter Sydney Vinnicombe (26 September 1888 – 27 October 1970), known as Wally Patch, was an English actor and comedian. He worked in film, television and theatre. Biography Vinnicombe was born in Willesden, Middlesex and began working on th ...

as Sergeant Joe Preston * Mike Johnson as Josh *

Irene Handl Irene Handl () (27 December 1901 – 29 November 1987) was a British character actress who appeared in more than 100 British films; she also wrote novels. Life Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the younger of two daughters of an Aus ...

as Maggie Turner *

Vera Frances Vera Frances Ward ( Still, born 29 September 1930) is a British actress who worked with Arthur Askey, Tommy Handley, George Formby, Dinah Sheridan, John Mills and Alastair Sim, amongst others. Frances's father was a props and special effects ...

as Irene * Frank Atkinson as Station Master * Ben Williams as Home Guard *

Harry Fowler Henry James Fowler (10 December 1926 – 4 January 2012) was an English character actor in film and television. Over a career lasting more than six decades, he made nearly 200 appearances on screen. Personal life Fowler was born in Lambeth, so ...

(Uncredited) * E. V. H. Emmett as Narrator

Box office

The film earned £139,043 to distributors in the UK.James Chapman ‘The Billings verdict’: Kine Weekly and the British Box Office, 1936–62' Journal of British Cinema and Television, Volume 20 Issue 2, Page 200-238, p 211

References

External links

''Get Cracking''
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

* 1943 films 1940s war comedy films British black-and-white films British war comedy films 1940s English-language films Films directed by Marcel Varnel Films produced by Marcel Varnel Columbia Pictures films British World War II propaganda films 1943 comedy films English-language war comedy films {{WWII-film-stub