Thank You, Jeeves! (1936) User Reviews

Wodehouse's eternal dour butler

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 12 December 2013]

Although he's third billed in this film, David Niven finally was noticed by critics in the role of eternal playboy Bertie Wooster. But the first billed individual here Arthur Treacher was typecast for the rest of his life playing P.G. Wodehouse's dour butler Jeeves.

This was a B film for 20th Century Fox one of the first under the banner of the new company and it doesn't quite make an hour's running time. Still both Niven and Treacher got their starts.

Niven has been described as the man who carried more films with charm than any other actor. That's what Bertie Wooster's about, a rich young and bored heir who is forever getting in situations because he doesn't have to work for a living. This was Wodehouse satirizing the British upper classes between the World Wars. Yet Wooster is likable and charming if completely useless.

One fine boring evening Virginia Field changes all that by crashing the Wooster living space being pursued by some men. Then she leaves after spending the night and Niven wants to find her and over Treacher's objections they pursue her as well as her original pursuers.

Arriving at an inn they blunder into things without knowing exactly who the players are. In the end thanks to Jeeves it all turns out all right.

I remember Arthur Treacher years ago when he was through acting and was an announcer for the Merv Griffin Show. I got to meet him and let us say he was Jeeves to the nines.

Thank You, Jeeves is one of two films Treacher played Jeeves, but he played a lot of butlers after that. That's because he was so good at them.

Jeeves & Wooster - Sir P. G. Wodehouse's Classic Creations

[Ron Oliver · 7/10 · 25 February 2000]

When muddleheaded Bertie Wooster - London playboy & man about town - gets himself into trouble, he can always rely on the inimitable Jeeves, his gentleman's gentleman, to extricate him from the plight. When Bertie becomes involved with a beautiful mystery woman, Jeeves must utilize brawn, not brain, to rescue him from a dangerous gang of international thieves. Hopefully, Wooster will once again be able to say, `THANK YOU, JEEVES!'

Very loosely based on one of his novels, Sir P. G. Wodehouse's immortal characters come alive in this, the first of two Jeeves films produced by 20th Century Fox. At only 57 minutes long, the film wastes no time in getting into its funny business. Fans of the short stories & novels will notice that liberties were taken with the characters. Jeeves is less of the all-knowing automaton; in fact, he uses not his cerebral matter but a knowledge of fisticuffs to catch the villains. Bertie is still rather zany, but his (eventual) success with the fair sex has noticeably improved.

Having played butlers so often, Arthur Treacher here has the plum role of his career. He is perfect as Jeeves: tall, with forbidding intellect - but not afraid to unbend and sing a rousing hunting song or swing a mean battle-ax. David Niven is a lot of fun as Wooster, vague & a bit befuddled, but loyal & brave in defending his lady love. She is played nicely by Virginia Field. Willie Best has some very funny moments as a stranded saxophonist who adds to the hilarity.

vaguely Wodehouse but still fun

[DJJOEINC · 5/10 · 1 August 2007]

Thank You Jeeves! - 1936 Hollywood adaptation of the P.G. Wodehouse characters.Arthur Treacher does a good job as Jeeves and David Niven is fine as Bertie Wooster- but aside from the funny opening drum sequences and some great one-liners- this movie feels like the screenwriter is trying to sandwich the Wodehouse characters into a whodunnit Thin Man style or something.Things really go south when they pick up a wayward sax player played by Willie Best-who shucks and jives his way thru most of the second half of the movie-although he is part of a funny sequence where he is playing the sax and Jeeves is dancing-has to be seen to be believed.This is more a curio-than a true adaptation of the Wodehouse books- it has enough funny stuff to sustain it's 53 minute run time- but it will be a disappointment to hardcore fans of the Wodehouse prose.The DVD has a good 24 minute biography on Wodehouse. C+

Mildly amusing, but could have been so much more.

[otter · 20 July 1999]

I have two problems with this movie.

First: If you've ever read any of P.G. Wodehouse's classic "Wooster and Jeeves" stories you will be sadly disappointed by this adaption. Only the names are left from the original, this is a vehicle for British comic actor Arthur Treacher and nothing else.

Second: Treacher as Jeeves hogs every scene, and the enchanting (elsewhere) David Niven is left with nothing but feeding him a few pathetic straight-man lines. What a waste, he's one of my favorite actors and would have made a perfect Wooster had they let him anything try.

So, what we have is a glorified Music 'All turn by Mr. Treacher preserved on film. Many critics seem to like it, they may be right, I was too blinded by my love of the books to be objective.

For fellow Plum fans I recommend the fairly recent adaptations done by Hugh Fry and Stephen Laurie, I believe they're available on video. They're well done and faithful.

Jeeves & Wooster

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 8 January 2022]

I don't know much about Jeeves & Wooster, so all I have to go on is this short B movie starring David Niven, Virginia Field, and Arthur Treacher.

Niven plays Bertie Wooster, a playboy who drives his butler Jeeves (Treacher) crazy, so much so that Jeeves gives his notice at one point. In the first scene, Bertie is playing the drums (terribly) along with a recording until there are complaints from the neighbors.

A beautiful blond (Virginia Field) appears at the door, soaked from a rainstorm, and being followed. For Bertie, it's love at first sight. He takes her wet coat and while hanging it up, he sees a telegram stating that she is headed for Mooring Manor. She pretends to fall asleep on the couch, and he gently places a blanket over her and retires to his room - and Jeeves locks him in.

The next day, she's gone, and there are people watching Bertie's house. He decides suddenly that he needs peace and quiet, and decides to go to Mooring Manor. It's there that they become involved with Scotland Yard, traitors, and stolen plans.

Amusing, fast-moving film that provided a great showcase for both Treacher and Niven; this was the first B under the new company, 20th Century Fox. Apparently this plot bears no resemblance to the Wodehouse novel of the same name. I hadn't realized Wodenhouse was such a controversial figure until reading up on him.

Both Niven and Treacher do their roles beautifully - Niven as a frivolous playboy and Treacher as the very correct butler.

Regarding the racism mentioned, yes, there is some, but I prefer to look at the positives. First of all, Willie Best created the character he played - and it was his way of making fun of what white people thought of most blacks.

In this, he plays a jazz musician who plays the saxophone. He hitches a ride with Jeeves and Wooster, and during the drive, he introduces Bertie to the nuances of jazz. He is involved in the ending slapstick, but he also helps Jeeves & Wooster. There is also a funny bit where Jeeves teaches him to play one of his favorite songs on the sax.

David Niven holds a special place in my heart, as I read two of his books when I first became interested in films. He died of ALS, a horrible disease; and the porters at Heathrow Airport sent a huge wreath to his funeral saying: "He made every porter feel like a king." Nice way to be remembered.

Very funny, but the racism ruins it

[HotToastyRag · 6/10 · 22 February 2018]

In the opening scene of Thank You, Jeeves, we hear a big swing band and David Niven is seen playing the drums. The camera zooms out, and we see that in his "flair", he continually drops or throws his drumsticks over his shoulder, but miraculously, a stick is replaced in his hand and he keeps playing. We also see that he's alone in his room; there is no big band accompanying him. And he's a terrible player! And his valet, Arthur Treacher, is mildly standing by with an endless supply of drumsticks, waiting for his master to lose one so he can place a replacement in his hand. It's pretty hilarious.

Arthur Treacher, known for his many roles of servitude in Shirley Temple movies, plays Jeeves in this 1930s comedy about the random adventures of a gentleman and his valet. David Niven, in one of his first starring roles, plays the gentleman. The timing that bounces off the two is priceless, and much of the film feels ad-libbed in their casualty and naturalness together. While The Niv is wealthy, idle, and in search of adventure, Arthur Treacher is always there to lend a helping hand, hence the title.

While there are some hilarious moments in Thank You, Jeeves!, the appalling racism that was present in many 1930s films kind of ruins the rest of the film. The two leads pick up a hitchhiker, Willie Best, and he's constantly treated and portrayed as stupid, ignorant, and as a blight on the rest of the story. It's pretty awful, and had the men picked up a white hitchhiker, I'm sure the plot would have included different gags.

However, if you love Arthur Treacher, or if you want to see a young, hilarious David Niven, you can sit through this hour movie for the good parts. Just know what you're getting in for when Willie Best shows up

Great if you are NOT a Jeeves & Wooster fan.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 8 December 2010]

I must point out to you at the onset that I have NEVER seen one of Jeeves & Wooster films nor have I ever read anything by P.G. Wodehouse. So I cannot compare this film to any of the films or stories--and I have no idea how close this film is to the actual characters. But, I do have some of the Fry & Laurie versions on my Netscape queue and might just try one or two of his novels and will update this review at a later date.

This B-movie reminds me a lot of the Bulldog Drummond films, though instead of making the leading man a brave and macho hero, Wooster is still brave but a bit daft. This man is no action-hero--more a man looking for excitement and blundering into it. This made for a pleasant character--but one that is hard to love. However, his manservant Jeeves was terrific and I loved the very low-key performance that Arthur Treacher gave. He was sophisticated, proper and yet, oddly, surprisingly tough. And, despite being in the employ of Wooster, it seems that Jeeves was the smarter and more competent.

The film begins with the upper-class twit, Wooster, lamenting that he'd bored and craves adventure. In true movie form, a plot drops right into his lap involving a woman on the run from a gang that is trying to steal top-secret plans. Unfortunately, Wooster thinks SHE is the spy and, for a while, does his best to help the gang. Ultimately, it's up to Jeeves to save the day. Along the way, they pick up some comic relief and the total package is quite trivial--but quite fun. Thanks to a breezy script and decent acting, it's well worth seeing....and a bit silly. My score of 7 is relative to other B-films...making it a bit better than average and worth seeing.

Willie Best as a Wodehouse character?

[JohnHowardReid · 6/10 · 27 November 2016]

In the period when I was a really voracious reader of books, all Wodehouse's works were not only banned and removed from sale in shops and taken off the shelves in libraries, but they were piled into huge bonfires and burnt. Plum was regarded as a traitor and as far as I am aware, he has never been formally re-instated even when the true facts became known. Although I'm the sort of person who haunts bookshops and libraries, I've never ever seen a Wodehouse book, or even a reproduction of the cover art of a Wodehouse book, let alone have I actually held one in my hand.

Needless to say, none of Wodehouse's movies have ever been aired on local TV, so I pounced on this Fox DVD and managed to smuggle it through Customs. I might have saved myself the trouble. There is nothing controversial in "Thank You, Jeeves", but it is mildly amusing – thanks more to the strenuous efforts of the players than anything much in the way of rolling-on-the-floor hilarity in the text itself. If this sort of Bowery Boys' slapstick (complete with Willie Best), is the best that Wodehouse has to offer, maybe it explains why all his books and movies are still shunned in my country, even though the ban itself has presumably been lifted.

P. G. Wodehouse's Bertie & Jeeves get the Hollywood formula treatment.

[maksquibs · 4/10 · 16 November 2007]

He only gets third billing (behind Arthur Treacher & Virginia Field), but this was effectively David Niven's first starring role and he's charmingly silly as P. G. Wodehouse's dunderheaded Bertie Wooster, master (in name only) to Jeeves, that most unflappable of valets. As an adaptation, it's more like a watered-down THE 39 STEPS than a true Wodehousian outing. And that's too bad since the interplay between Treacher & Niven isn't too far off the mark. Alas, the 'B' movie mystery tropes & forced comedy grow wearisome even at a brief 57 minutes. Next year's follow-up (STEP LIVELY, JEEVES) was even more off the mark, with no Bertie in sight and Jeeves (of all people!) forced to play the goof.

It's the butler's job to keep his employer out of trouble.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 23 January 2017]

Fast moving, lavish B comedy is the first of two leading role for Mr. Fish n' Chips himself, Arthur Treacher. Seemingly born to play a butler, he's dryly droll, excessively loyal and completely in charge. Like Mr. Belvedere after him, Jeeves made everybody think that they were in charge when really the truth was obvious. The subject of his subordination is the young David Niven, seen in the opening complaining about been oh so rich and bored. The next 55 minutes is certainly anything but boring.

For starters, they become involved with mystery girl Virginia Field who is being chased a la The 39 Steps by alleged Scotland Yard detectives. Beleaguered saxophonist Willie Best gets the ride of his life when picked up by Niven and Treacher who end up being chased by the men following Field, creating more comical adventure. There's a hysterical sequence with Best playing his sax and Treacher dancing, unaware that there's a trap door underneath them. This is a fun adaption of P.G. Wodehouse's series of stories, later adapted for several plays and an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. This version is delightfully witty, often over the top and filled with plenty of surprises.

Great, if you're a Jeeves & Wooster fan

[bdabagia · 8/10 · 28 September 1999]

Arthur Treacher and David Niven were terrific in the first big-screen adaptation of P.G. Wodehouse's classic comedy series. As a lifelong Wodehouse fan, I only wish there were more Jeeves & Bertie movies with those two. (The 80s BBC series comes close.) Both were exceptionally funny, although in "Thank You Jeeves" Niven's talents were pretty much wasted in favor of Treacher's. By the way, check out Arthur Treacher's appearance in two 1964 episodes of "The Beverly Hillbillies." He's a riot!

Appalling

[dwl-884-343675 · 17 April 2011]

This must be, by a very large margin, one of the worst adaptations of all time of Wodehouse's immortal Jeeves and Wooster novels.

It features an intelligent sex-mad Bertie, a singing, dancing, and pugilistic Jeeves, an unnecessary black saxophonist, and so on and so on.

One can only hope that Wodehouse (whose name appears in very small type in the credits) simply took the money and ran.

If I could give it zero out of ten (or even better, minus several hundred, I would) but as the system doesn't allow me to I give it a resentful zero. How on earth did it get to rate 6.3?

The mind boggles.