Oh Mr Porter!

Oh Mr Porter is a Will Hay film from 1937. I have seen this film quite a few times and enjoyed it every time. I also invariable find new things to laugh about as it is easy to miss jokes while you are busy laughing over one. I do have this movie on DVD but since all my films are still packed in boxes I found it online. I was in need of a laugh after been dizzy over the last few weeks.

There are other interesting trivia about this film too. This film is also included in a blog as one of the 100 favourite films. This gives some information about the movie as well. As per usual I am not trying to give a synopsis of the film but just my perception of it.

Mr Porter is the brother in law of a senior railway official and so has been given a job in the railway. He is so hapless that he has been moved to all sorts of jobs and yet again he has messed up. However, his sister insists that he be promoted and not fired. So a job of station master (a promotion indeed!) is found at a small place called Buggleskelly in Ireland. He is blessed with 2 equally wretched helpers who have little interest in running this station where no train stops and the station looks derelict. Mr Porter maybe hapless but he certainly is keep and dedicated railway worker as he does all he can to get the station on the railway map again.

To this end he starts an excursion train which is hired by the Buggleskelly Wednesday football team. However the train leaves the station but does not make it even past the next signal junction. The hunt for the train is the second half of the story. It is funny how despite all things always seem to work out for Mr Porter! He certainly puts Buggleskelly on the map…. and not just the railway one. The speech is fast and the accents do sometimes make it hard to catch (especially when you are laughing) the wordplay which is excellent. The visual comedy is also aplenty and with almost every action taken by Mr Porter. The fast train ride through stations reminds me every time of the other train fun from one of the St. Trinians movies. The three way phone conversation between Mr Porter, the man at the signal junction and the boss of the railways is hilarious. The windmill scene where Mr Porter and his associates are trying to escape had me in stitches. Oh I can go on for a lot longer than the time of the film to identify every thing that makes me giggle non-stop. But it will be better if you find the jokes for yourself.

So here is the link to see Oh Mr Porter – enjoy!