View source for Boys Will Be Boys (1935 film)

{{Short description|1935 British film by William Beaudine}}
{{other uses|Boys Will Be Boys (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Boys Will Be Boys
| image          = "Boys_Will_Be_Boys"_(1935).jpg
| caption        = DVD cover
| director       = [[William Beaudine]]
| producer       =
| writer         = Robert Edmunds <br> Will Hay <br> J.B. Morton
| narrator       =
| starring       = [[Will Hay]]<br />[[Gordon Harker]]<br />[[Jimmy Hanley]]
| music          = [[Louis Levy]] <br> [[Bretton Byrd]]<br> [[Jack Beaver]]
| cinematography = [[Charles Van Enger]]
| editing        = [[Alfred Roome]]
| distributor    = [[Gaumont British Distributors]]
| released       = {{Film date|1935|07}}
| runtime        = 80 minutes
| country        = United Kingdom
| language       = English
| budget         =
}}
'''''Boys Will Be Boys''''' is a 1935 [[United Kingdom|British]] [[comedy film]] directed by [[William Beaudine]] which stars [[Will Hay]], [[Gordon Harker]] and [[Jimmy Hanley]]. The film is set at Narkover School, where headmaster Doctor Alec Smart ([[Will Hay]])  becomes involved in the disappearance of a valuable necklace.
The setting is loosely based on the works of [[Beachcomber (Pen name)|Beachcomber]], where Narkover is a school specializing in gambling and extortion, and the headmaster is a "Dr. Smart-Allick".
==Plot==
Alec Smart, who is engaged teaching in a prison, applies for the job of headmaster at a nearby [[Independent school (United Kingdom)|public school]] to replace the previous headmaster who has been convicted of writing [[Forgery|forged]] [[cheques]] and has just been sent to prison. Smart appeals to the Governor to write him a good reference which he pretends to. Afterwards he writes his real recommendation which is very negative about Smart's talents.
The [[trustee]] who works as the Governor's secretary, Faker Brown, persuades Smart to send the letter praising him, and forges the signature of the Governor on it. On the basis of the faked letter, Lady Dorking, who runs the [[Board of Governors]] appoints Smart to the job. This angers her deputy, Colonel Crableigh, who had favoured promoting his nephew, the [[Deputy head]].
On his arrival at the school, Smart is treated to a boisterous reception by the unruly students led by the [[Head Boy]], Cyril Brown, who is the son of Faker Brown. Narkover proves to be a breeding ground for young criminals, who prefer to spend their time playing cards rather than taking classes. After his initial attempts to stop their games, Smart himself ends up playing cards with the students. He gets off on the wrong foot with Colonel Crableigh but, in spite of Smart's obvious incompetence, Lady Dorking immediately takes a shine to him. Crableigh begins engineering a scheme to have Smart dismissed and replaced by his own nephew.
Soon after his arrival Smart is approached by Faker Brown, just released from prison, who blackmails him into giving a job as a [[Majordomo|steward]] at the school. Brown has his eye on the valuable jewels of Lady Dorking, in particular her diamond necklace, which she is due to be wearing on Founders Day which takes place a few days later. It involves a dinner and a [[rugby union|rugby match]] between the school's [[old boys]] and the current students, with Smart persuaded to captain the school team.
On Founder's Day, Lady Dorking wears her best jewels. In the Headmaster's study, she is shown some [[Magic (illusion)|conjuring]] tricks by Smart. Crableigh places Dorking's necklace in Smart's pocket in an attempt to incriminate him and have him dismissed. However, the necklace is then stolen by Faker who hides it in a [[decanter]]. After trying, and failing, to persuade him to give it back Smart takes it and hides it in a [[Casket (decorative box)|jewellery box]] due to be presented to Lady Dorking at the dinner..
Shortly before the presentation, the diamonds are again taken by the Head Boy Cyril Brown who picks the lock. He hides the necklace in a rugby ball, but before he can make off with it, the ball is taken by the referee in the match. Confusion then ensues as during the match, Faker and Cyril Brown try to recover the ball and make off with it while Smart tries to prevent them. Eventually Smart kicks the ball towards some [[police]] spectators and unmasks the villains in spite of Crableigh's attempts to have Smart arrested for the theft.
==Cast==
{{div col}}
* [[Will Hay]] as Dr Alec Smart
* [[Gordon Harker]] as Faker Brown
* [[Jimmy Hanley]] as Cyril Brown
* [[Davy Burnaby]] as Col. Crableigh
* [[Norma Varden]] as Lady Dorking
* [[Claude Dampier]] as Theo P. Finch
* [[Charles Farrell (Irish actor)|Charles Farrell]] as Louis Brown
* [[Percy Walsh]] as Prison governor
* David Raeburn as Superintendent
* [[Ben Williams (actor)|Ben Williams]] as Prisoner (uncredited)
{{div col end}}
A young [[Clive Dunn]] also made an appearance, aged 15.
==Production and reception==
His first production for [[Gainsborough Pictures]], the film was a breakthrough role for [[Will Hay]] and helped establish him as a film star throughout the [[British Empire]]. The role of the bumbling schoolmaster, which he had first developed in his 1920s [[music hall]] act, would be reprised in another two of Hay's films, ''[[Good Morning, Boys]]'' and ''[[The Ghost of St. Michael's]]''.<ref name="edward">{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-british-film-moguls-ted-black/|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|date=1 December 2024|access-date=1 December 2024|title=Forgotten British Film Moguls: Ted Black}}</ref>
Writing for ''[[The Spectator]]'', [[Graham Greene]] characterized the film as "very amusing", describing Hay's portrayal of Dr. Smart as "competent" and praising Dampier's portrayal of Second Master Finch as the film's "finest performance".<ref>{{cite journal |last= Greene|first= Graham|author-link= Graham Greene|date= 23 August 1935|title= Where's George?/The Great God Gold/Boys Will Be Boys/The Murder Man|journal= [[The Spectator]]}} (reprinted in: {{cite book|editor-last= Taylor|editor-first= John Russell|editor-link= John Russell Taylor|date= 1980|title= The Pleasure Dome|url= https://archive.org/details/pleasuredomegrah00gree/page/16|page= [https://archive.org/details/pleasuredomegrah00gree/page/16 16]|isbn= 0192812866|url-access= registration}})</ref> The ''[[Radio Times]] Guide to Films'' gave ''Boys Will Be Boys'' three stars out of five, observing that the film contains "the blend of bluster and dishonesty that makes [Hay's] films irresistible".<ref>Radio Times Guide to Films (2004). p.187</ref>
==Influence==
This was Hay's first screen outing for his well-established "schoolmaster" [[music hall]] routine. Hay had previously appeared in two [[Arthur Wing Pinero|Pinero]] adaptations ''[[Those Were the Days (1934 film)|Those Were The Days]]'' and ''[[Dandy Dick (film)|Dandy Dick]]'', and a comedy [[Revue|revue show]] as the incompetent head of a broadcasting service in ''[[Radio Parade of 1935]]''. After the success of ''Boys Will Be Boys'', Hay appeared in a number of films in which he played incompetent schoolmasters including ''[[Good Morning Boys]]'' and the ''[[Ghost of St Michaels]]''. Hay has been described as being "surpassed only by [[Charlie Chaplin|Chaplin]] as an actor who ingeniously found how to translate his music hall performative to film".<ref>St Pierre p.192</ref>
Based on this film, an Australian radio show was made called ''Fourth Form at St Percys'', which quickly changed its title to ''Yes, what!'' The show features a teacher (Percy Pym) who sounded like [[Will Hay]] trying to teach a bunch of unruly children, the worst of who are Greenbottle (who sounded like [[Moore Marriott]]) and Bottomley. They never quite manage to get through a lesson through endless interruptions which easily lead the teacher astray which leads to punishments (hitting with a stick) being handed out. The shows were about 12 minutes long and normally began with chimes and; "Good morning boys! Good morning sir" The series lasted from 1935 till 1937 and cost A$10 an episode to make. Over seventy years later, it is still on a number of radio stations in Australia and is currently available on CD with one of the stars talking about the show.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Bibliography==
* St. Pierre, Paul Matthew. ''Music Hall Mimesis in British Film, 1895-1960: On the Halls on the Screen''. Associated University Press, 2010.
==External links==
* {{IMDb title|id=0026132|title=Boys Will Be Boys}}
* [http://onesearch.slq.qld.gov.au/primo_library/libweb/action/dlDisplay.do?vid=SLQ&docId=slq_voyager759614 Boys Will Be Boys] - digitised sheet music held by Heritage Collections, State Library of Queensland, Australia.
{{William Beaudine}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boys Will Be Boys (Film)}}
[[Category:1935 films]]
[[Category:1935 comedy films]]
[[Category:British comedy films]]
[[Category:British black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Films set in schools]]
[[Category:Gainsborough Pictures films]]
[[Category:Films directed by William Beaudine]]
[[Category:Films scored by Louis Levy]]
[[Category:Films scored by Bretton Byrd]]
[[Category:Films scored by Jack Beaver]]
[[Category:1930s English-language films]]
[[Category:1930s British films]]