Back-Room Boy
Encyclopedia
Back-Room Boy is a 1942 British
comedy
film
directed by Herbert Mason
and starring Arthur Askey
, Googie Withers
, Graham Moffatt
and Moore Marriott
. A man from the Met Office
is sent to a lighthouse on a remote Scottish island to monitor the weather. He hopes to escape from woman, but soon finds the island overrun by them.
plays a young, absent-minded meteorologist
(Arthur Pilbeam). He gets himself assigned to a remote Scottish
lighthouse
to avoid women, after he is jilted by his fiancée. He will be the only occupant of the island.
Then the island starts to fill up with stowaway
s and the survivors of a sinking boat. Things are crowded until the people start to disappear, one-by-one. Pilbeam has stumbled across a group of Nazi
spies
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Herbert Mason
Herbert Mason
-Director:* The First Offence * His Lordship * East Meets West * Take My Tip * Strange Boarders * The Silent Battle * A Window in London * Dr. O'Dowd...
and starring Arthur Askey
Arthur Askey
Arthur Bowden Askey CBE was a prominent English comedian.- Life and career :Askey was born at 29 Moses Street, Liverpool, the eldest child and only son of Samuel Askey , secretary of the firm Sugar Products of Liverpool, and his wife, Betsy Bowden , of Knutsford, Cheshire...
, Googie Withers
Googie Withers
Georgette Lizette "Googie" Withers CBE, AO was an English theatre, film and television actress. She was a longtime resident of Australia with her husband, the actor John McCallum, with whom she often appeared.-Biography:...
, Graham Moffatt
Graham Moffatt
Graham Moffatt was a British character actor and comedian.Born in Hammersmith, London, he is best known for a number of films where he appeared with Will Hay and Moore Marriott as 'Albert': an insolent, overweight, overgrown-schoolboy type character, loosely reminiscent of Billy Bunter.His first...
and Moore Marriott
Moore Marriott
Moore Marriott was a British character actor most notable for a series of films he made with Will Hay in the 1930s.-Career:...
. A man from the Met Office
Met Office
The Met Office , is the United Kingdom's national weather service, and a trading fund of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...
is sent to a lighthouse on a remote Scottish island to monitor the weather. He hopes to escape from woman, but soon finds the island overrun by them.
Plot
Arthur AskeyArthur Askey
Arthur Bowden Askey CBE was a prominent English comedian.- Life and career :Askey was born at 29 Moses Street, Liverpool, the eldest child and only son of Samuel Askey , secretary of the firm Sugar Products of Liverpool, and his wife, Betsy Bowden , of Knutsford, Cheshire...
plays a young, absent-minded meteorologist
Meteorology
Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
(Arthur Pilbeam). He gets himself assigned to a remote Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
to avoid women, after he is jilted by his fiancée. He will be the only occupant of the island.
Then the island starts to fill up with stowaway
Stowaway
A stowaway is a person who secretly boards a vehicle, such as an aircraft, bus, ship, cargo truck or train, to travel without paying and without being detected....
s and the survivors of a sinking boat. Things are crowded until the people start to disappear, one-by-one. Pilbeam has stumbled across a group of Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
spies
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
.
Reception
In his book about 1940s British cinema, Realism and Tinsel, Robert Murphy describes the film as "the funniest if the least original of the Askey comedies".Cast
- Arthur AskeyArthur AskeyArthur Bowden Askey CBE was a prominent English comedian.- Life and career :Askey was born at 29 Moses Street, Liverpool, the eldest child and only son of Samuel Askey , secretary of the firm Sugar Products of Liverpool, and his wife, Betsy Bowden , of Knutsford, Cheshire...
- Arthur Pilbeam - Moore MarriottMoore MarriottMoore Marriott was a British character actor most notable for a series of films he made with Will Hay in the 1930s.-Career:...
- Jerry - Graham MoffattGraham MoffattGraham Moffatt was a British character actor and comedian.Born in Hammersmith, London, he is best known for a number of films where he appeared with Will Hay and Moore Marriott as 'Albert': an insolent, overweight, overgrown-schoolboy type character, loosely reminiscent of Billy Bunter.His first...
- Albert - Googie WithersGoogie WithersGeorgette Lizette "Googie" Withers CBE, AO was an English theatre, film and television actress. She was a longtime resident of Australia with her husband, the actor John McCallum, with whom she often appeared.-Biography:...
- Bobbie - Vera FrancesVera francesVera Frances worked with actors with such as Arthur Askey, Tommy Handley, George Formby, Dinah Sheridan, John Mills, Alastair Sim.Vera's father was a props and special effects man for Gainsburough pictures, at Grove studio's in Shepherds Bush and put her forward for an audition in 'Back-Room Boy'...
- Jane - Joyce HowardJoyce HowardJoyce Howard was a British film actress.-Filmography:* Freedom Radio * Love on the Dole * The Common Touch * Back-Room Boy * The Night Has Eyes...
- Betty - John SalewJohn Salew-Selected filmography:* The Silent Battle * Sailors Don't Care * Once a Crook * One of Our Aircraft Is Missing * The Day Will Dawn * Secret Mission * It Always Rains on Sunday...
- Steve Mason - George MerrittGeorge Merritt (actor)George Merritt was a British film and television actor.-Selected filmography:* The W Plan * The Lodger * I Was a Spy * Crime on the Hill * The Silver Spoon...
- Uncle - Aubrey MallalieuAubrey MallalieuAubrey Mallalieu was an English actor with a prolific career in supporting roles in films in the 1930s and 1940s....
- West - D. J. WilliamsD. J. Williams (actor)D. J. Williams was a British actor. He also directed one film, The Shuttle of Life, which starred Evelyn Brent.-Selected filmography:* Look Up and Laugh * Scrooge * Captain Bill * Silver Blaze...
- McIntyre