Rotten Tomatoes

Movies / TV

    Celebrity

      No Results Found

       View All       Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

      Where There's a Will

      1936 1h 20m Comedy List
      Reviews 60% Audience Score Fewer than 50 Ratings American thieves use an unsuspecting bloke (Will Hay) to launch their plan. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

      View All (2) audience reviews
      Audience Member No one stutters and blusters and thinks more of himself than he ought to quite like Will Hay, an English comedian who opened for W. C. Fields, and shares something of the latter's uniquely brilliant comic delivery, and virtually none of his cynicism or misanthropy. This time, Hay is a down-on-his luck lawyer trying (and mostly failing) to pay the rent, to (literally) keep the lights on, to impress his daughter (who is under the mistaken impression that her father is a well-to-do attorney) while she's in town for Christmas, and (always) to find a way to sneak another drink. Of course, things get complicated when he finds himself inadvertently mixed up with a gang of American bank robbers who seem to have stepped out of a Damon Runyon story, and the whole thing culminates at a big Christmas party with Scotland Yard chasing everybody around and Hay dressed up as Santa Claus. What's marvelous about Hay's particular brand of comedy (he not only starred in the film, but also co-wrote the script, and even directed some of his other pictures, though frequent collaborator William Beaudine helms this one) is the beating heart at the core of all the apparent frivolity--when it looks like Hay will finally be revealed to his daughter as the fraud he is, there's real heartbreak beneath the humor. And Hay and Beaudine surround his bumbling would-be lawyer with a whole host of vibrant players, interesting faces, terrific voices, and scene stealers, creating a sort of Wodehousian wonderland in which to set their screwball story. It's a shame that Hay remains largely forgotten today, especially when a number of his films (this one included) seem to be in the public domain and are now so easily available from sites like Internet Archive. There are funnier comedies than "Where There's a Will," but there are few so disarmingly warm and sweet and charming. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Like most Hay films, it's a lot of fun--I'll have a double double then!! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

      Show Less Cast & Crew Show More Cast & Crew

      Photos

      View All Where There's a Will photos

      Where There's a Will

      Where There's a Will (1936) Where There's a Will (1936) View more photos

      Movie Info

      Synopsis American thieves use an unsuspecting bloke (Will Hay) to launch their plan.
      Director
      William Beaudine
      Producer
      Michael Balcon
      Production Co
      Gainsborough Pictures
      Genre
      Comedy
      Original Language
      English
      Runtime
      1h 20m