User Reviews

Note: The public domain version of this movie ran only 69 minutes--far shorter than the running time listed on IMDb.

I have never heard of the Australian comic, George Wallace and assume he was some sort vaudeville-style comic from the early 20th century. IMDb really has no information on the man other than he made a few movies. In this, his first film, he seems to be acting in a style strongly reminiscent of a dance hall comic. While he certainly was not a brilliant comic, at least in this film, he is pleasantly entertaining though far from sophisticated in his style and delivery. However, it's not all that funny. It could have used an infusion of some more jokes.

The film has a somewhat conventional plot through the first third. George obtains a job working as a stagehand. However, the guy he replaced is angry and does his best to hurt him. When George is klunked on the head, he has an extended dream about him becoming the king of a fictional land. This is somewhat reminiscent of "Duck Soup" (particularly the song and dance numbers) but far more conventional. As king, there are many schemes to bump him off but George manages to trick them into thinking he's dead. By the end, however, George is off the hook--as he really isn't the king after all.

This musical comedy, one of Australia's first, stars George Wallace, who was Australia's most successful film comedian of the 1930s, and made five films in the 30s.

Wallace plays Tommy Dodds a simple working man who gets odd jobs between periods of unemployment. He gets a job as a theatre hand, but is knocked out by the man whose job he took, and falls unconscious. He dreams he is discovered as the heir to the throne of Bitonia, and heads off to a formal European court with his buddy Jim. There he wisecracks his way through ceremonies, and puts down an attempt on his throne, before waking up to find himself a theatre hand again.

Wallace is entertaining: he jokes, mocks the pretension of the European court, sings witty songs and tap-dances. It's quite a good production, with a big cast, impressive sets and costumes.

Like many American films of the time, the humour and dialogue is a bit dated. If you enjoy 30s comedies, this stands up pretty well. But the 30s is another world, and most of the films do look a bit silly now.

But as an artefact of Australian cinema it is very interesting, and it's good to hear the language and expressions Wallace uses, some of which are still used today, and others which have died out.