George Formby

Acting

George Formby

Born May 26, 1904 · Wigan, Lancashire, England, UK

Died March 6, 1961 · aged 56

George Formby (born George Hoy Booth) was the archetype "cheeky chappie" northern English comedian. Trained originally as a jockey, he often appeared on horseback in his films. Best known for his buck-toothed grin and his ukulele.

Known For

Let George Do It!Let George Do It! · 1940
Let George Do It!
6.21940
MovieComedyMusic
Shortly after the start of World War II, a ukelele player (George) takes the wrong boat and finds himself in (still uninvaded) Norway. He is mistaken for a fellow British intelligence agent by a woman (Mary), and becomes involved in trying to defeat Nazi agents.
Keep FitKeep Fit · 1937
Keep Fit
6.31937
MovieComedy
A weak, cowardly barber gets fit to win over a beautiful woman. However, she prefers his muscle-bound rival until George challenges him to a boxing match.
Keep Your Seats, PleaseKeep Your Seats, Please · 1936
Keep Your Seats, Please
6.51936
MovieDramaMusic
Despite being on his uppers, George is still prepared to pawn his beloved banjo in order to help his girlfriend save her niece from the orphanage. Help seems to be at hand when George is left a fortune by his old auntie, but unfortunately his inheritance is hidden inside a chair which has already been auctioned off! Can George and his chums track down his rightful due before his grasping solicitor (Alastair Sim, in an early film appearance) snatches the lot? It's hard to say, but he still finds time to perform both the title song and the classic 'When I'm Cleaning Windows'.
I See IceI See Ice · 1938
I See Ice
6.51938
MovieComedy
George Bright is a props man in an ice ballet company, and a keen amateur photographer who accidentally snaps crooks at work. Comic complications ensue....
Feather Your NestFeather Your Nest · 1937
Feather Your Nest
8.01937
MovieMusicComedy
A worker at a gramophone record factory surprisingly creates a hit song.
Boots! Boots!Boots! Boots! · 1934
Boots! Boots!
5.51934
MovieComedy
Musical comedy starring George Formby alongside his wife Beryl in his first ever feature film. George plays John Willie, the shoeshine boy at the upmarket Crestonian Hotel. He's a cheeky little man with no time for authority, a head full of dreams, a pocketful of songs and a heart full of love for the hotel's scullery maid (Beryl Formby). After causing more than his fair share of chaos at the hotel, he finally gets the chance to redeem himself - and show off his hidden musical talents - when he finds himself topping the bill at the hotel's Gala Cabaret Night. Songs include: 'Why Don't Women Like Me?', 'Sitting on the Ice in the Ice Rink' and 'I Could Make a Good Living at That'.
Come on George!Come on George! · 1939
Come on George!
6.01939
MovieComedy
George Formby, who plays George, a stable boy. He also has the unique ability to soothe an anxious racing horse. Expectedly, George races the horse and wins
Off the DoleOff the Dole · 1935
Off the Dole
6.61935
MovieComedyMusic
Without a job, a young man is given the opportunity to run his ill uncle's private-detective agency. He finds himself mixed up with everything from an unfaithful husband who is a secret nudist to a schoolteacher who believes his pupil's father is beating him.

Filmography

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Get CrackingGet Cracking · 1943
Get Cracking
6.31943
MovieComedyWar
Get Cracking is a 1943 British comedy war film, directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Dinah Sheridan, Ronald Shiner and George Formby. It was produced by Marcel Varnel, Ben Henry and Columbia (British) Productions. This comedy explores the wayward rivalry between mechanic and Home Guard Lance Corporal George Singleton (George Formby) and an adversary also in the Home Guard (Ronald Shiner). When the rival Home Guard units of Major Wallop and Minor Wallop are sent on battle manoeuvres, George Singleton (Formby) launches his own unique style of commando raid against neighbouring Major Wallop to steal a Vickers machine gun. The raid fails and Singleton loses his Lance Corporal's stripe, so he and a little evacuee girl named Irene (Vera Frances) decide to fall back on 'Plan B' - to build their very own tank.

George Singleton

It's in the AirIt's in the Air · 1938
It's in the Air
5.91938
MovieComedy
George Brown is rejected as an Air Raid Warden and in doing so sees his potential to join the Royal Air Force. His dreams could soon come true as he realises that in fact his friend has left behind some very important papers, he dons a his Royal Air Force uniform and delivers the papers when he is mistaken for a dispatch driver from HQ. He soon becomes the butt of jokes from his sergeant which ends him staying indefinitely at the air base. George soon falls in love with the Sergeant Major's daughter and when he discovers his real identity he threatens to report him. On the day of an annual inspection George attempts to escape the base and ends up in a plane, while the inspecting officer watches on, George's plane display is mesmerizing and the inspecting officer insists he should be commended, in order to save their skins George manages to land the plane and is accepted as a flyer by the RAF.

George Brown