Frankie Howerd was still best known as the headliner on radio’s Variety Bandbox when he took his first real starring role in only his third film outing.
His famous nuances and grimaces were not really suited to the big screen and this tepid comedy about Willie Joy – a former racetrack dogsbody who finds himself protecting a champion greyhound from some dastardly crooks did not prove otherwise.
Director John Paddy Carstairs would later guide Norman Wisdom through many of his hit comedies, but he fails to make Howerd tick here, and what fun there is comes from such dependable supporting players as Stanley Holloway and AE Matthews.
Willie Joy
Frankie Howerd ‘Captain’ Jack Montague
Stanley Holloway Lord Reginald Cranfield
A.E. Matthews Lady Emily Cranfield
Joan Hickson Vincent
Tony Wright Blagg
Alfie Bass Bert Benton
Lionel Jeffries Susan Stora
Susan Beaumont John Wyndham
Terence Longdon Max
Colin Gordon Mr Carruthers
Richard Wattis Plug Ugly
Danny Green Marlene
Barbara Archer Blenkinsop
William Kendall Haines
Ewen Solon Mr Smithers
Reginald Beckwith Pertwee
Michael Ward Barry
Tom Gill Clinton
Jack Lambert
Willie Joy 
John Wyndham
