Charlie's Big-Hearted Aunt

In this loosely updated version of Brandon Thomas’ timeless farce (in this case updated means 1940) we see three reprobate Oxford students played by Arthur Askey, his old Radio Band Waggon partner Richard 'Stinker' Murdoch and a young Graham Moffatt (already a film veteran) getting up to a number of outrageous shenanigans to prevent looming expulsion.

Arthur Linden-Jones (our 'Arthur') is a bit of a lad to say the least and the film gets off to what some may regard as a sizzling start. The fearless little fellow has to walk around a high window ledge abutting the college facade in order to retrieve his mortar board on a statue of the college founder - having placed it there the night before in a drunken wager with fellow roomer 'Stinker' Burton (Stinker Murdoch).

This lands him in trouble and the Proctor (Felix Aylmer) forbids him from playing the lead in the college production of 'Charley's Aunt' as a punishment. The role is allotted to the student occupying the room above - but although his name will now appear instead of Arthur's on the poster, Arthur is STILL going to play the coveted part. However, Arthur and his roommates hadn't reckoned on the Proctor turning up to see the production. He recognises Arthur and all hell brakes loose as the set is completely wrecked in a hilarious chase sequence - much to the pleasure of the audience (people do actually want to see 'a play that goes wrong' particularly if the consequences are farcical anyway). The upshot is that our intrepid three are called before the Dean of Bowgate (J. H. Roberts) and told they are going to be 'sent down'… oh, the disgrace of it all! Arthur is, of course, among other things very quick witted and soon grasps the fact that the Dean - himself with a most ardent interest in archaeology - needs money for an expedition. Of course, Arthur comes up with a solution in no time! Things, however, don't go quite according to plan. Where the word 'farce' is concerned we nearly always have a character who will be mistaken for another character (quite often deliberately) and this is no exception.

Arthur cheekily tells the Dean that the disgrace of being ‘sent down’ could well have an adverse affect on their (yes, all three of them!) aunt's health. The aunt in question is none other than the illustrious Lady Blessington-Smythe (Jeanne De Casalis) - a woman (simply just known as Aunt Lucy) is well known for sponsoring expeditions. Of course, Aunt Lucy isn't really their aunt. With the prospect of someone sponsoring archaeological exhibitions creeping up on the horizon the question of the lads being 'sent down' obviously will have to be reviewed. A wily bird our Arthur!
The Dean's attractive young daughter Betty (Phylis Calvert in an early role) pays the boys a visit in their dormitory and shows them a letter her father has written to Lady Blessington-Smythe who lives in Birmingham. Crikey! Something's got to be done. Arthur, with the help of his two roommates and the old dorm attendant Jerry (Moore Marriott) manages to get the envelope and replace its contents with a blank sheet of paper. Some clever chicanery is involved here. Trouble is someone is now going to have to impersonate Lady Blessington-Smyth in order to satisfy the Dean and obviously this will have to be Arthur. To complicated things further we later discover that the Proctor had a little dalliance with the real Lady Blessington-Smyth before she married into the aristocracy… and was himself nearly ‘sent down’ as a result of it. Nevertheless the crusty old fellow is excited to hear that his old flame is returning to the college. In these farces everyone HAD to be convinced by the female impersonator.

Askey, in his heyday, was always a highly energetic performer and here is no exception. He is, needless to say, about as convincing in drag as was Old Mother Riley but it isn't really important. There are plenty of nice touches and it's amusing to see Felix Aylmer as a comedic foil. Graham Moffatt is an unlikely undergraduate although the right age. His old partner Moore Marriott (another 'Band Waggoner') is doing his usual 'business' in the role of crafty old Jerry. The tall, well-spoken and not altogether unattractive Murdoch is the odd one out among the 'grotesques' but nevertheless comedy was as much his mistress as theirs.

We have some nice one-liners thrown in for good measure courtesy of the screenwriter trio and director Walter Forde was a man who knew a thing or two about comedy (and thrillers too). It's well paced film (though admittedly a bit of an old hat) but with a team like this on board you'd have to be practically devoid of a sense of humour not to get a fair few laughs. And don't we just need some of them these days!

Charlie’s (Big Hearted) Aunt is presented in a new HD remaster (both on Blu-ray and DVD) with the following Special Features: Arthur Askey interview on The Russell Harty Show (1973), 1969 edition of Frost On Saturday feat ‘Stinker’ Murdoch, two editions of Jokers Wild from 1970 feat Arthur Askey, Image Gallery plus Limited edition booklet written by Steve Rogers.