The Flies Crawled Up the Window
Encyclopedia
"'The Flies Crawled Up the Window" is a British song
originally sung by the actor Jack Hulbert
in the 1932 comedy film Jack's the Boy
. The lyrics describe the antics of various flies
as they crawl up windows. In the film it is sung by Hulbert's character, Jack Brown, to his disproving father after he has returned drunk from an evening out.
The film proved to be a major success, and the song was equally popular. Hulbert was pursued to the South of France
by HMV
who persuaded him to release it as a record. The song was later covered by other singers such as Pat O'Malley
- sometimes with additional verses added.
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
originally sung by the actor Jack Hulbert
Jack Hulbert
John Norman "Jack" Hulbert was a British actor, specialising primarily in comedy productions.-Biography:Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, he was the elder and more successful brother of Claude. He was educated at Cambridge and appeared in many shows and revues, mainly with the Cambridge Footlights. He...
in the 1932 comedy film Jack's the Boy
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. A policeman attempts to track down a gang responsible for a smash and grab raid, thereby proving his worth to his disaproving father...
. The lyrics describe the antics of various flies
Fließ
Fließ is a municipality in the Landeck district and is located5 km south of Landeck on the upper course of the Inn River. It has 9 hamlets and was already populated at the roman age; the village itself was founded around the 6th century. After a conflagration in 1933 Fließ was restored more...
as they crawl up windows. In the film it is sung by Hulbert's character, Jack Brown, to his disproving father after he has returned drunk from an evening out.
The film proved to be a major success, and the song was equally popular. Hulbert was pursued to the South of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
by HMV
HMV
His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
who persuaded him to release it as a record. The song was later covered by other singers such as Pat O'Malley
J. Pat O'Malley
James Patrick O'Malley was an English singer and character actor, who appeared in many American films and television programs during the 1940s–1970s, using the stage name J. Pat O'Malley...
- sometimes with additional verses added.