Turned Out Nice Again (1941) George Formby is familiar to generations of Britons, yet almost completely unknown in the backward U.S.A., and this is the first opportunity I have had to enjoy one of his movies. George is a shop foreman in an underwear factory and must deal with the clash between old and new ways both at home and on the job. His personality is rather like that of Arthur Lake's Dagwood in the Blondie movies - a good-hearted goof who stumbles into success in the end. Along the way he sings a few cheerful tunes in his reedy tenor, accompanied by his banjo-uke. This is from past the mid-point of his 20+ year film career, and I shall certainly be seeing more of him in the future. This film brought to mind two aspects of the British character which may always be a mystery to me - Lancashire as a comedic nexus, and the passion for keeping pigeons. A perfectly harmless and quite enjoyable time. I especially enjoyed the fact that not a single frame of film was shot outdoors - some of the soundstage "exterior" sets were tiny scenes about the size of my bedroom, obviously unreal, adding to the fantasy element of the picture. 8/10
George Formby and Peggy Bryan
