Mar 27th  
Oh, Mr. Porter!***    
(GB 1937)                     

A seedy eccentric takes charge at a run-down railway station on the Irish border where the haunted line is being used as a front by gunrunners.
Vintage Hay vehicle, on of his best for integrating with his supporting players in a sleepy railway setting (with borrowings of The Ghost Train.) A beautifully paced comedy, with barely a trace of wastage, and a speedy climax even if back projection work dominates.

Written by: J.O.C. Orton, Marriott Edgar, Val Guest, from a story by Frank Launder.
Producer: Edward Black.
Director: Marcel Varnel.
Starring: Will Hay, Moore Marriott, Graham Moffatt, Dave O'Toole, Dennis Wyndham, Percy Walsh, Sebastian Smith, Agnes Lauchlan, Frederick Piper.
Photography: Arthur Crabtree.
Musical Direction: Louis Levy.

100 Favourite Films: Oh Mr Porter!

Preceded by:
What Have They Done to Our Town?*
(GB 1978. 9m.; Initially ponderous but later haunting and extensively filmed record of Colchester in transition during the 70s.; d, narr: Bernard Polley.)