Jack's the Boy


Jack's the Boy is a 1932 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Jack Hulbert, Cicely Courtneidge, Francis Lister and Peter Gawthorne. It became well known for its song "The Flies Crawled Up the Window", sung by Hulbert, which was released as a record and proved a major hit. The film was released in the U.S. as Night and Day.

Plot

Policeman Jack attempts to track down a gang responsible for a smash and grab raid, thereby proving his worth to his disapproving father, a Scotland Yard detective.

Cast

The film was voted the fourth best British movie of 1932.
British Pictures wrote, "As entertainment, it's curious. Hulbert and Courtneidge clown about nicely but it's hard to see how this film was one of the biggest hits of its year. Opportunities for them to "do their stuff" are poked into the narrative in the oddest places. They search a thief's flat and spontaneously break into a silly dance. It would be charming if it wasn't so bloody irritating. Perhaps the most interesting bits of the film now are the sequences filmed on location both on the streets of London and in Madame Tussauds. All in all, it's a film which has dated badly and which doesn't show off the stars to their best advantage"; while TV Guide wrote that though the "Dialog drags a bit, as though it's being read for the stage. Hulbert saves his performance with a lot of likable charm"; and Allmovie called it a "breezy quota quickie," concluding that "Matching Jack Hulbert laugh for laugh is his wife and longtime stage partner Cicely Courteneidge"; and Screenonline noted that "Jack's the Boy is acknowledged as one of the team's best films."