Will Hay, Britain’s greatest film comedian

» Home and Latest news
» Will Hay biography
» Graham Moffatt biography
» Moore Marriott biography
» Filmography and VHS
» DVDs
» More on Oh, Mr Porter!
» Remake Hell
» Gainsborough Studios
» Will Hay links
» Will Hay audio files
» You may also enjoy…
» Your letters
» The NTG Will Hay Forum
» Contact me
» Yahoo! Group
» Exit to site index

This site was last updated 2006-10-21, with a new store.

© Steve Day

» Exit to Stella Street
» Exit to World of Pub
» Exit to Jeremy Hardy
» Exit to sday.info

Please visit my new Amazon store for Will Hay goodies!

 

 

 

You May Also Enjoy…

If you enjoy watching Will Hay and like his style of comedy, there are some other people whose work may appeal to you. I hope to build here a list of other people to try.

This will begin briefly and will be expanded soon.

  • Laurel and Hardy: the greatest comedy double act that ever breathed. There is a box set of 21 DVDs coming out in May 2004; a must!
  • W C Fields: like Will Hay’s character, W C Fields’ was severely flawed. The distinction was that whereas Hay was always trying to cover his tracks (by saying the opposite of what his gut instinct told him to say), Fields didn’t give a damn. He is probably one of the funniest men ever to appear in films. For me, the highlight of his career is The Bank Dick.
  • Buster Keaton: A contributor has raised the issue of a similarity between Keaton’s film The Navigator and Hay’s Windbag the Sailor. In both, an incompetent man finds himself on a ship and has to do his best to control the situation. Is this a coincidence, or was Hay inspired by silent comedy’s most gifted clown?
  • Arthur Askey: A contemporary of Will Hay, who went on far longer, about whom I know very little at present. He was in The Ghost Train, which people confuse with Oh Mr Porter.
  • George Formby: Another of Hay’s main contenders for box office. Notable for playing a Banjolele (not a ukelele!) and never going to a dentist.
  • Robb Wilton: a mysterious man, of whom I have a few recordings, that I shall try to get online soon. His most famous work is probably the sketch in the fire station, and his “The Day War Broke Out” monologue.
  • Max Miller: the greatest worker of an audience this country has ever seen, probably. There’ll never be another… My great aunt used to buy him drinks. Didn’t everyone?
  • The Marx Brothers: a similar comic style, but much more manic, and with musical interludes. Finally, some of their greatest films have broken out on DVD!