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
Director
John Paddy Carstairs
