Will Hay Collection [DVD]

Great set of Will Hay films made in the 30s and 40sSo a few anomalies are too be expected due to it's age one would have given this 5 stars if not for on the film WHERE THERE'S A WILL.as sadly there is around 40 seconds of audio dropout in the scene where the gangster are counting there stolen loot in their hotel room and conversing with each other Will hay is not in this scene thankfully and for some very strange reason you can still read the subtitles if you choose this option. as to what the gangster in the hotel room are conversing about but one can hardley here this in audio because of the very poor to bad sound quality of sound dropout.! then after 40 seconds of sound dropout the sound resumes back to normal and so then good quality once again.! this is also very strange as there is no dropout in sound quality at the same point in the movie when viewed on YouTube ect.! So a little odd and one has to ask why this is..? On this particular film in this boxset and so a little disappointing in this respect as to this dvd boxset and i would therefore very much recommend viewing WHERE THERE'S A WILL in this collection first as it may be a one off fault and not necessarily a fault on every dvd boxset of this format also in ask a police man the picture is a little shaky here in parts but only for a second or so but otherwise good quality and generally viewable and apart from this all the orther films are fault free and play most excellently with good picture and sound quality according to there age and are very viewable and acceptable and all in all a very good boxset in general of the late great Will Hay.!

An interesting and informative book on a man known almost solely for his comedy.

This box set features nine movies from comedian Will Hay and being completely honest it is a mixed bag. Some of the movies seem to have dated much more than others and while every film has it's moments, there is little doubt that Will Hay was at his most effective when he starred alongside Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt. Having said that though, I thought the most disappointing DVD was 'Convict 99' which is very highly regarded and starred all three but for some reason I found it slow and ponderous.By far the highlight is 'Oh, Mr Porter' which is still funny and has stood the test of time. 'Ask A Policeman', 'Good Morning Boys' and 'Windbag The Sailor' are also good fun but 'Hey! Hey! USA' starts off OK but soon runs out of steam. Virtually every single movie has a similar plot with Will as an inept person of authority who somehow emerges as the hero. He pops up as a headmaster, sea captain, lawyer, station master, prison governor and chief of police and is totally incompetant at each job but prevails in the end.It goes without saying that this collection is an absolute must for fans of Will Hay. A lot of the comedy might not seem that funny nowadays but this is humour from a distant age and it does have bags of charm. If you are thinking of buying this collection then I also recommend the excellent book  Will Hay  by Graham Rinaldi.

There is one film I didn't care for, but the others were superb, packaging was excellent

From the golden age of comedy, Will Hay is one of the greatest British comedians of all time. A major star of the 1930's. Hay relishes playing pompous, incompetent, authority figures. His misanthropic antics have inspired many great funny men and never fail to raise a full-hearty laugh.Aside from his day job as a comedian, Hay was a dedicated and respected amateur astronomer. His personal observatory sat in his garden in Mill Hill, the dome very visible from the main Hendon Road. He became a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1932. He is noted for having discovered a white spot on the planet Saturn in 1933; the spot lasted for a few months and then faded. He also measured the positions of comets with a micrometer he built himself, and designed and built a blink comparator. He wrote the book Through My Telescope in 1935. At his death, his telescopes were bequeathed to University College, London, and are still used for teaching astronomy.He was also one of Britain's first private pilots and gave flying lessons to Amy Johnson.These films on DVD are to be thoroughly recommended to all Will Hay fans.

A bit early, perhaps to write a full review, as I have so far watched just three of the nine dvds in the set, but, that said, I can only recommend it as a fine collection of the best of British humour. Will Hay is priceless in his role as the incompetent person risen to a position of responsibility, whether as a teacher, lawyer or captain of an ocean-going cargo ship, or whatever, and each story is a genuine story, so that this is far from being a "screwball comedy" of the American kind. Each dvd has about 1 hour 20 minutes viewing, and, on the basis of the three I have seen, the time does not drag, but passes by agreeably, as one is taken back to the 1930s to watch good wholesome and genuinely funny films.

I love this set films I think it’s great so far 9 dvds I think in set total .Got through about 4 of them so far great old movies very pleased sofar

Like many of the reviews posted here, I remember Will Hay from my early youth. Unlike many of the British films and sitcoms from past decades that keep appearing and reappearing on Sky and TV these treasures have disappeared completely.Will Hay's style is such a generous one. He allows his fellow comedians to set him up as the fall guy, he delivers them the lines to finish himself off and to look ridiculous. I particularly love a scene in 'Ask a Policemen' where the three bobbies set a speed trap (on foot) armed with moveable road sign showing 30mph, a stopwatch and a pad and pencil. It's truly hilarious.I may be a cynic but the storylines in these films have been re-done and re-done - but in my opinion not to this standard. He was a genius.Highly recommended.