The odd look of British comic Dave Willis, trying to hide his Stewie Griffin like head with a Chaplin/Hitler like mustache is very difficult to get past while watching this extremely dated British musical comedy. He's supposed to be a variation of the down on his luck cheery old chap who gets himself into one predicament after another, and it's by accident that he makes a bundle selling something for more than he paid for it in an auction he was manipulated to bid on.
Having been unable to pay his rent, he is now in a position to buy shares into the boarding house he lives in and is mistreated by the co-owner until he stands up to her and refuses to be her kicking post anymore. With the help of kitchen maid Pat Kirkland, a musical comedy star of the British stage, Willis attempts to put on a show which results in the participation of Tommy Trinder and Max Wall and several obstacles which threatened to prevent the show from going on.
A few innocuous but pleasant musical numbers help boost this up a little, but the attempts at humor in this fail miserably. The characters in the boarding house are a plethora of stereotypical personalities from the nearly deaf old lady to the pranksterous twelve year old who keeps knocking Willis down when she slides down the banister, and for the most part, they are very unpleasant. Willis's attempt at playing Napoleon is embarrassingly bad, a 30's version of Anthony Newley without the satisfaction of a decent singing voice. Even at 75 minutes, just seems interminably long. Any attempts at sunshine in this musical is blinded by a solar eclipse of the soul.
Having been unable to pay his rent, he is now in a position to buy shares into the boarding house he lives in and is mistreated by the co-owner until he stands up to her and refuses to be her kicking post anymore. With the help of kitchen maid Pat Kirkland, a musical comedy star of the British stage, Willis attempts to put on a show which results in the participation of Tommy Trinder and Max Wall and several obstacles which threatened to prevent the show from going on.
A few innocuous but pleasant musical numbers help boost this up a little, but the attempts at humor in this fail miserably. The characters in the boarding house are a plethora of stereotypical personalities from the nearly deaf old lady to the pranksterous twelve year old who keeps knocking Willis down when she slides down the banister, and for the most part, they are very unpleasant. Willis's attempt at playing Napoleon is embarrassingly bad, a 30's version of Anthony Newley without the satisfaction of a decent singing voice. Even at 75 minutes, just seems interminably long. Any attempts at sunshine in this musical is blinded by a solar eclipse of the soul.