Yes it is perhaps one of Ealing Studios forgotten films, but that really shouldn't surprise too much since it is a very acquired taste, and something of a curio piece to those not familiar with the source of the story. The film is a quaint look at mid Victorian musical halls and the people who frequented such establishments, it shows in earnest just what wonderful places they were for people to escape to. The songs come thick and fast and are all jolly numbers that can't help to lift the spirits, but chiefly central to the films above average rating is the rivalry between the two main players in the piece. Stanley Holloway and Tommy Trinder sing for different musical halls, and it is this story arc that makes for much fun culminating in a quite daft but delightful duel sequence.
The film came in for some criticism due to it not portraying the dank and miserable side of mid Victorian England, but as George Perry says on his introduction to the DVD of the film, "it really is all about escapism", not only for the people back then who sought fun there, but also for us the viewers, 7/10.
The film came in for some criticism due to it not portraying the dank and miserable side of mid Victorian England, but as George Perry says on his introduction to the DVD of the film, "it really is all about escapism", not only for the people back then who sought fun there, but also for us the viewers, 7/10.