The Girl Who Couldn't Quite

'Hall porter forced to join Navy while tracking spies.' (British Film Catalogue)

Allied propaganda in the form of cartoons and newsreels shows the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.

Charting the military escapades of serial bungler Tommy Josser, Josser in the Army sees the hapless hero in France during wartime, where he masquerades as a German general, unmasks a spy, gets captured and then makes a spectacular airborne escape!

This lively comedy of 1933 provided an early film role for Leslie Fuller, and sees the wildly popular, rubber-faced actor and entertainer – once touted as Elstree's own Clark Gable – playing identical twins with very different ambitions: one is a policeman who longs to join a circus, the other a farm hand who wants to be a policeman!

A north-country chimney sweep standing for Parliament is opposed by a local bigwig. His campaign is imperiled when his artist son, Tony, falls in love with a girl who has reason to hope that the bigwig will be elected.

With Britain on the brink of war, an enemy spy plans to steal secret documents and lay the blame on Clive Stanton.

The Idol of Paris is based on Paiva, Queen of Love, a novel by Alfred Schirokauer. Set in the mid-19th century, the film traces the rags-to-riches story of a girl named Theresa. Sleeping her way to the top, she becomes a highly sought-after Parisian courtesan, one worthy of the attentions of the Emperor Napoleon. But Theresa has no time for the Emperor, not with such virile lovers as Hertz around and about.

A safecracker, just released from prison, falls in love with a young woman who wants him to go straight. He finds, however, that going straight is easier said than done.

Eden Philpotts' "provincial" comic novel and play The Farmer's Wife was first filmed in the silent era by Alfred Hitchcock. The 1940 talkie version was directed by Leslie Arliss, son of stage star George Arliss. The story remained the same: A middle-aged widower attempts to select a wife from his rural district's eligible females (Basil Sydney). Three unsuccessful dalliances later, the farmer settles for his housekeeper, whom the audience has been rooting for all along. The Farmer's Wife is a prime example of the sort of fare that struck a proper chord with British filmgoers, but whose appeal would be lost to any other nationality.

A farce concerning the attempts of a naval officer to avoid a visit from his wife's overbearing mother-in-law, and cope with a former girlfriend at the same time.

Bumbling policeman P.C. Josser is dismissed from the force after a disastrous attempt to distinguish himself at a nightclub. Mistaking his own comrades for criminals, he inadvertently "bowls them over like nine-pins," leading to his immediate firing. After losing his job, Josser sets himself up as a private detective. He is hired by a young lady who owns a racehorse and needs protection for her "favourite" horse before a big race. To protect the animal, Josser goes undercover as a stableman. Despite his efforts, the horse is drugged, leading to further comedic mishaps as he attempts to solve the case and redeem his reputation.

Dave Smalley buys a lost Archaeopteryx fossil by accident at an auction and uses the reward money for this to buy a share in his landlady's lodging- house. She turns him into an exploited man-of-all-work about the house, but after a lady guest persuades him that he resembles Napoleon he becomes convinced that he is a born leader and mounts a takeover bid to reverse their roles.

Capt. Johnnie Gray is enlisted by Mr. J.G. Reeder to infiltrate a gang of forgers in Dartmoor jail on behalf of the Bank of England.

Gormless George Trotter moves down from Manchester to the bright lights of London in search of fame and fortune on the stage - only to find himself the prime suspect in a bizarre murder mystery!

To help out his exact double, George Formby (in a dual role) takes the place of a noted South American tenor. This way he can help the opera star fulfill contract obligations and also win the heart of the man's lovely press agent, Linden Travers.

Charles Peace leads a double life, by day he's a respected local businessman, but by night he's a professional thief who stops at nothing, not even murder, to get what he wants.