Those Were the Days (1934 film)

Those Were the Days
Those Were the Days
Directed by	Thomas Bentley
Written by	Jack Jordan; Frank Launder; Frederick A. Thompson;
Based on	The Magistrate; by Arthur Wing Pinero
Produced by	Walter C. Mycroft
Starring	Will Hay; Iris Hoey; Angela Baddeley; Claud Allister; George Graves; John Mills;
Cinematography	Otto Kanturek
Edited by	Edward B. Jarvis
Music by	Idris Lewis
Production; company	British International Pictures
Distributed by	Wardour Films
Release date	28 March 1934;
Running time	80 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Those Were the Days is a 1934 British comedy film directed by Thomas Bentley and starring Will Hay, Iris Hoey and John Mills. It was based on Arthur Wing Pinero's 1885 farce The Magistrate and was the first of two Hay movies based on Pinero's plays, the other being Dandy Dick. The film also features music hall acts of the time^[1] – acts of a type rarely committed to film. It is primarily remembered as Will Hay's first major screen role.^[2]

The film was produced and released by British International Pictures and was shot at the company's Elstree Studios. The film's sets were designed by the art director Duncan Sutherland.

Plot summary

The strait-laced magistrate Brutus Poskett (Will Hay) is concerned that his wife (Iris Hoey) may be older than he believes her to be, especially as his young stepson (John Mills) seems very precocious for an apparently fifteen-year-old boy.

Mrs Poskett tries to stop an impending visit from her first husband's friend (Claud Allister), who knows her true age, by confronting him at a local music hall. However, unbeknown to her, Poskett has also been persuaded to go to the music hall with his "adolescent" stepson and, in an ensuing melée Poskett's wife and her sister are arrested.

The following day, Poskett sentences both to seven days imprisonment, failing to recognise them as they are heavily veiled.

Cast

Will Hay as Magistrate Brutus Poskett
Iris Hoey as Agatha Poskett
Angela Baddeley as Charlotte
Claud Allister as Capt. Horace Vale
George Graves as Col. Alexander Lukyn
John Mills as Bobby
Jane Carr as Minnie Taylor
Marguerite Allan as Eve Douglas
H. F. Maltby as Mr. Bullamy
Laurence Hanray as Wormington
Syd Crossley as Wyke
Wally Patch as Insp. Briggs
Jimmy Godden as Pat Maloney

References

^ The film features the music hall acts of Lily Morris, Harry Bedford, the gymnasts Gaston & Andree, Sam Curtis and Frank Boston & Betty, together with a blackface performer erroneously claimed to be G. H. Elliott.
^ "BFI Screenonline: Hay, Will (1888-1949) Credits". www.screenonline.org.uk.