Will Hay
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia William Thomson "Will" Hay (6 December 1888 – 18 April 1949) was an English comedian, actor, film director and amateur astronomer. Description above from the Wikipedia article Will Hay, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of... Read full bio →
Featured Characters
Roles you can spot in Whatthemovie snapshots
My Learned Friend
An insane murderer is on the loose, and gunning for the men who put him away. Will Hay is on the list, and co-opts Claude Hulbert to try and stop him from meeting a grisly end.
The Big Blockade
Wartime propaganda piece reporting on the success of the economic blockade of Germany in the early years of the war.
The Ghost of St. Michael's
Will Hay, back in his role as a hapless teacher, is hired by a grim school in remotest Scotland. The school soon starts to be haunted by a legendary ghost, whose spectral bagpipes signal the death of one of the staff. Hay, assisted by Claude Hulbert and Charles Hawtrey, has to unravel the mystery before he becomes the next victim.
Ask a Policeman
The mirthful adventures of Police Sergeant Samuel Dudfoot and his two constables, Albert Brown and Jeremiah Harbottle, who stage a fabricated crime wave to save their jobs - then find themselves involved in the real thing.
Old Bones of the River
In this British comedy, a professor travels up river in Africa to open schools. But his new pupils are not receptive and when the commander of the local base succumbs to malaria, he takes on his duties too. Aided by the crew of the boat he arrived on he starts collecting taxes from the locals!
Hey! Hey! U.S.A!
Dr Twist has to pose on a liner as a famous professor and is asked to tutor Bernie, the son of a millionaire. To avoid awkward US immigration questions, Twist enlists the help of a gangster to smuggle him into the country. But two rival gangs plan to kidnap Bernie - and Twist becomes, er, twisted up!
Convict 99
A disgraced school master, Benjamin Twist, is mistaken for a tough prison governor and assigned the charge of a prison for particularly hardened criminals. Believing he is being sent to a school rather than a prison, he celebrates accordingly only to find that his drunkenness accidently lands him on the wrong side of the prison bars.
Oh, Mr. Porter!
With the help of a relative, a hopeless railway employee is made stationmaster of Buggleskelly. Determined to make his mark, he devises a number of schemes to put Buggleskelly on the railway map, but instead falls foul of a gang of gun runners.
Good Morning, Boys!
Dr. Benjamin Twist (Hay) and his pupils become involved with art thieves on a trip to Paris. Hay’s seamy schoolmaster act is supported by a fine cast including Charles Hawtrey and Lilli Palmer.
Windbag the Sailor
A bragging sea captain's maritime experience actually extends to navigating a coal barge down inland waterways. His tall tales catch him out when he is coerced into commanding an unseaworthy ship by an unscrupulous shipping agent who means to have it wrecked.
Where There's a Will
Will Hay plays the pennyless, bungling solicitor Benjamin Stubbins, who arrives at his office to find his insolent office boy (Graham Moffatt) with his feet up on the desk, reading a wild west magazine, which Hay confiscates so that he can read it later.
Dandy Dick
A church vicar tries to come up with 1,000 pounds to fix the church's crooked steeple. After a variety of schemes fails to raise the required amount of money, he decides to bet what little savings he has on Dandy Dick, a nag running at the local racetrack who's a 10-to-1 shot.
Boys Will Be Boys
Will Hay is a teacher in a prison, who applies for the Headship of Narkover, a public school. This is the first screen appearance of Hay in his (to be ) famous schoolmaster role, in a story based on Dr Smart-Alec, the character created by John Cameron Andrieu Bingham Michael Morton (J.B. Morton, "Beachcomber")