I Thank You (film)

I Thank You
I Thank You
	Opening title card
Directed by	Marcel Varnel
Screenplay by	Marriott Edgar; Val Guest;
Based on	an original story by Howard Irving Young
Produced by	Edward Black
Starring	See below
Cinematography	Arthur Crabtree
Edited by	R. E. Dearing
Music by	Noel Gay
Production; company	Gainsborough Pictures
Distributed by	General Film Distributors (UK)
Release date	20 October 1941 (UK);
Running time	83 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

I Thank You is a 1941 black and white British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Arthur Askey, Richard Murdoch, Graham Moffatt and Moore Marriott.^[1] It was produced by Edward Black at Gainsborough Pictures.^[2] The title of the film is the literal version of Arthur Askey's famous catch-phrase which he idiosyncratically pronounced as "Ay-thang-yaw".

Plot summary

In London during the Second World War at the time of the Blitz, Arthur and Stinker are a couple of out-of-work variety entertainers who use great ingenuity in their efforts to get financial assistance to "put on a show". Hoping to put their proposal to the formidable Lady Randall, a former music hall star, they infiltrate her house, with Stinker in the guise of a servant and Arthur (in drag) as a cook. After some farcical events, they achieve their aim when Lady Randall is persuaded to sing an old music hall favourite "Waiting at the Church" at an impromptu show located underground at Aldwych tube station, being used during the war as an underground bomb shelter.^[3]

Cast

Arthur Askey as Arthur
Richard Murdoch as Stinker
Lily Morris as Lady Randall
Moore Marriott as Pop Bennett
Graham Moffatt as Albert Brown
Peter Gawthorne as Dr. Pope
Kathleen Harrison as Cook
Felix Aylmer as Henry Potter
Eleanor Farrell as herself
Charlie Forsythe as himself
Addie Seamon as herself
Issy Bonn as himself
Cameron Hall as Lomas
Wally Patch as Bill
Roberta Huby as Bobbie
Noel Dainton as Police Sergeant
Phyllis Morris as Miss Pizer

Soundtrack

Arthur Askey - "Hello to the Sun" (Written by Noel Gay and Frank Eyton)
Arthur Askey and Richard Murdoch - "Half of Everything Is Yours" (Written by Noel Gay and Frank Eyton)
Eleanor Farrell - "Oh Johnny, Teach Me to Dance" (Written by Noel Gay and Frank Eyton)
Charlie Forsythe - "Let's Get Hold of Hitler" (Written by Noel Gay and Frank Eyton)
Lily Morris - "Waiting at the Church" (Written by Fred W. Leigh and Henry E. Pether)

Critical reception

The Radio Times gave the film two out of five stars, and wrote, "not even the hard-working Arthur Askey and Richard Murdoch plus Will Hay old boys Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt can warm up this tepid "upstairs-downstairs" charade";^[4] whereas Sky Movies rated the film three out of five stars, describing it as a "cheerful, long-unseen British wartime romp...It's all directed by that master of comic organisation, Frenchman Marcel (Oh, Mr Porter!) Varnel. It's not one of his best, and some of it looks pretty dated now, but some scenes still raise a hearty chuckle."^[5]