Where There's a Will (1936) User Reviews

Will still brill

[Spondonman · 7/10 · 25 May 2008]

This was definitely one of the great Will Hay's lesser efforts – the whole film seemed at best subdued at worst laboured. Although overall I still like it as an ordinary British pre-War comedy film somehow with a mild Aldwych atmosphere, it's just not one of his classics.

He plays Benjamin Stubbins a penniless seedy solicitor cum jack of all trades who happens to have rich relations in the country, and a cluttered office in the City directly above a bank. Unfortunately he makes the acquaintance of a gang of acquisitive gun-toting thieves who think he's a useful contact to have in the furtherance of their aims. The main subplot has him pretending to be a Somebody to his daughter which seems to totter pointlessly in and out of the story. Favourite bits: Some of the sparse interplay between Hay and his young office boy Graham Moffat – though Hartley Power as the American gangster had better patter; the quaint fancy dress Christmas Party at the country house and climax.

Hay was excellent in his role even if the film itself could have done with a bit of (beautiful thought!) Tom Walls' lunacy to spark some life into the proceedings. But it's still a pleasant 76 minutes with plenty to savour and worth it to the fan.

I'll have a double double then.

[hitchcockthelegend · 6/10 · 31 August 2009]

Benjamin Stubbins {Will Hay} is an incompetent solicitor, who unbeknown to himself, is involved in a bank robbery.

Between 1934 and 1943, Will Hay made 18 feature length films. Starting out working for British International Pictures {3 films}, then Gainsborough Pictures {9} and finally doing his last five films for that bastion of old time British cinema, Ealing Studios. For those counting, the odd one out is Where's That Fire? Which was made by Twentieth Century-Fox. All of them are of varying quality, but each one, including the lesser lights such as this William Beaudine directed piece, showcase what a comic talent Will Hay was. Hay was a master of acting with his face as much as his voice and bodily movement. Given a good script, and a good supporting cast from which to feed off, Hay managed to give British cinema some of its finest comedy entries. Oh Mr Porter! Ask A Policeman and My Learned Friend are fit to grace any list of Great British cinema.

So where does that leave Where There's A Will? Well as a Hay performance it's really rather good. Suitably playing the buffoon with maximum cheek and incredulity, it's Hay who keeps the film from being a so so piece. That it isn't anything more than time filling entertainment outside of Hay himself, is down to the thinly plotted writing {surprising with the talented Sidney Gilliat co-writing} and the lack of decent comic villains. While Graham Moffatt, who along with Moore Marriott helped Hay realise his comedic ability in his career high points, is badly wasted. But still it's charming enough in spite of its lazy screenplay, none more so than with its breezy Christmas finale at the Wimpleton family estate, and it does find Hay on particularly entertaining form. 6.5/10

Like most Hay films, it's a lot of fun.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 5 July 2011]

In the US, Will Hay is pretty much an unknown comic. I only heard about him recently when I downloaded some public domain films--and I have since downloaded as many of Hays' movies as I could find. Otherwise, you won't find his films on Netflix or your corner video store. So, if you want to see his films here in America, follow the download links on IMDb.

Most every Hay film I have seen is pretty much the same formula. Hay is a ne'er-do-well who has bit bottom. Yet, through a series of events that seem to fall into his lap, by the time the film is over, he's a hero. This isn't really a complaint--as many comedians' films of the day followed similar formulas.

In this case, Hay plays a lawyer who is incompetent and hasn't a single client. Not surprisingly, he has creditors at every corner. What is a surprise is that he has a daughter--one that lives with his brother-in-law who is raising her as a genteel lady. The daughter has no idea her father is a loser--and the family helps Hay keep up the illusion that he's a successful business man. However, this ruse becomes almost impossible to maintain when Hay gets an honest to goodness client, as the client is completely dis-honest and hires Hay just to use his office to commit a bank heist. There is a lot more to the film than this, but it's filled with the usual humor and wit you'd expect from a Hay film. Clever and worth seeing.

Early Thirties Feel to It

[bugsmoran29 · 21 May 2015]

"where There's a Will' has an early Thirties look to it. The jazz in the background really gives it an old-time feel overall. I would have liked to have seen more Graham Moffat who plays the smart alec office boy. Will Hay is always a victim of circumstances and mistaken identity. In this film he plays a heavy-drinking and down-at-the-heels lawyer who is not doing well and is the shame of his family. However, his fortunes begin to turn when he gets involved with three American crooks. The blond who plays the leading lady is hot stuff. Will Hay is the British answer to W.C. Field. His movies are always very enjoyable if you're willing to give them a chance.

If you like a good 1930s comedy you will love this

[1930s_Time_Machine · 7/10 · 24 September 2023]

After a slow start, this builds up into the perfect comedy heist movie. Although no longer a school teacher, Will Hay is the same unpleasant but somehow loveable silly old git. It's not to OH MR PORTER standards but is still one of his best.

Compared with his first Gainsborough picture, BOYS WILL BE BOYS, in terms of plot, humour and production standards, this it at a noticeably higher level. It's not just a display of Will Hay's tried and trusted old music hall act, this is a proper film - an American crime caper! The Americans in the cast fit seamlessly into this making it seem both typically English and also American. Maybe having an American director helped? Director William Beaudine wasn't just contracted to make this, he was actually involved in its writing so being completely on board with this project from its inception ensures a lovingly well made picture.

Only the genius of Will Hay could make such an unpleasant, selfish and incompetent character a hero. He's horrible to his colleagues, he's lazy and corrupt but from the first moment he's on screen we're rooting for him. Why we find him so likeable makes no sense, it just does.

Crime comedy with some laughs

[russjones-80887 · 6/10 · 3 April 2021]

Penniless solicitor Benjamin Stubbins takes on a job from a group of Americans who say that they want to track down their ancestors from Scotland. In reality they want to rob the bank below his office but soon Stubbins realises his mistake and tries to thwart their getaway.

A vehicle for Will Hay in which, typically, he plays a bungling character. The humour is patchy, and the best scenes are those early on in the interplay with his office boy, played by Graham Moffat, but there's enough laughs to make it worthwhile. Hay fans will enjoy.

Rather slow-paced but Will Hay makes this one.

[alexanderdavies-99382 · 6/10 · 12 September 2019]

"Where There's a Will" mightn't go down as one of Will Hay's best films but he maintained my interest throughout. The material is rather inconsistent and the direction sluggish. Marcel Varnel would have been far better a choice. The scene with Hay and the butler getting drunk is very well done and the film does build to a good climax. Graham Moffatt has nothing to do, no point in him being included. Luckily, this would all change for the better before long. I'm not sure why there were American actors cast for the film, the people of the United States wouldn't understand Will Hay's humor as it's distinctly British.

Not his best but still worth watching

[malcolmgsw · 7/10 · 7 November 2020]

Director William Beaudine has over 300 credits,including Will Hays first film Dandy Dick.The problem with this script was the including of American gangsters,partly Hays fault as a co writer There are some funny scenes such as those with Graham Moffatt.

Where There's a Hay

[sol- · 5/10 · 6 July 2006]

Will Hay's funniest films were generally written by Marriott Edgar and Val Guest, with Marcel Varnel in the director's chair. Working with William Beaudine as director and a different team of writers, it is perhaps not surprising that this is not one of Will Hay's better films. There are some funny moments to be had, whenever young Graham Moffatt is on screen in particular, but in general little imagination can be seen in both the screenplay and Beaudine's vision of the material.

Nearly half an hour passes before the crime plot at the centre of the film starts to develop, with nothing but jokes to sustain it for the first third of its duration. The film not only progresses slowly because of this, it also has no real atmosphere either. The characters are all stereotypes too: the clever and dumb criminals, the altruistic daughter, the disapproving family members, although given a couple of exceptions for Moffatt's office boy and Martin, the easily drunken butler.

What the film does do very well is jokes that rely on how scenes are cut together in order for them to work. For example, one character says "I wonder what is holding him up", which is followed by a shot in another scene of the man she was talking about literally held up by some rope or cloth. It is hardly a poor film, although the coincident reliance plot is nothing to boast about. It is an amusing one and a half hours, but nothing hysterically funny, nor anything thought provoking or particularly clever.

Oh Mr Hay

[Prismark10 · 2/10 · 8 August 2019]

Will Hay films seem to get less funnier as the years roll by.

Maybe the memory cheats and you just realise he was probably never that funny in the first place.

In Where There's a Will he has a short routine with the rotund Graham Moffatt who plays the office boy who reads western comics.

Hay plays Benjamin Stubbins an incompetent solicitor with no clients, plenty of debt and fond of a drink. His daughter lives in a stately home with wealthy in laws who pretend to her that her father is doing well.

Stubbins is taken in with a wealthy American who gives Stubbins an advance to trace his family roots. The American and his gang plan to rob a bank and Stubbins office is conveniently located and they just want him out of the way.

Once Stubbins discovers what is happening it is too late and his fingerprints are all over the bank safe.

This really is atrocious stuff, painfully unfunny. Some knockabout stuff at the end redeems it somewhat.

The only people who are going to like this movie are those who think. If it's old, in black and white. It must be a classic!

Loads of memorable bits of dialogue. Forgettable plot.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 30 April 2022]

Will Hay is aabsolutely as an incompetent solicitor who is at the mercy of a merciless landlady, a sassy office boy, assorted friends and a group of Americans trying to get him involved in a scam. The seams with the office boy truly are hysterical as the young lad knows he's smarter than his boss and give him a hard time throughout. There is also a memorable scene with Hay in debt with the landlady who is asking hey for the rent he owes, only for him to find $5 which has been stuck in his pocket by another tenant, handing it to her, only for that tenant to remove the $5 bill from her pocket. Later, Hay and the friend get into trouble for being intoxicated, with the intention having been simply the use of alcohol to numb a sore tooth.

The film culminates with an elaborate costume party at Christmas time which results in the attendees being robbed at gunpoint, resulting in a hysterical chase with some very merry music accompanying it. After a while, I realized that there really wasn't a main plot, just a bunch of skits and a shell of a conflict thrown in. It didn't matter because I was enjoying all the comedy in spite of the fact but I couldn't even remember what the film was all about as it went from svene to svene. Dated but a fun light-hearted British comedy.

Not one of the best

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 6 January 2019]

WHERE THERE'S A WILL is one of the earlier Will Hay comedies and not one of the funniest either. It's a stilted, slightly overlong tale in which Hay plays the usual hapless individual who ends up getting caught up with a gang of robbers and becoming an accomplice of sorts. There are many staged gags and the like, but they're quite drawn out and pedestrian at times. Graham Moffatt shows up for the first of many appearances with Hay and poverty row director Beaudine handles the static direction, but aside from Hay's sterling efforts there's little here to write home about.