Marcel VARNEL

Of all British directors, Marcel Varnel is probably the one most closely associated with the musical hall comedy style which was in its heyday in the 1930s. He directed three vehicles for Arthur Askey, eight for Will Hay and nine for George Formby as well as four featuring the Crazy Gang. For a director known for such characteristically British fare it's ironic that Varnel was actually born in Paris on 16 October 1894 as Marcel Hyacinth Le Bozec. He attended Charterhouse and the French Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, before starting his career as a stage actor in Paris. He switched to directing musical comedies and in 1925 made a successful move to Broadway. His first films were made in Hollywood in the early 1930s and were mainly stage adaptations, but in 1934 he moved again, this time to Britain.

His British career started with a series of long forgotten musicals and comedies, but his future path was cemented by Good Morning, Boys! (1937) which made a big screen star of music hall comedian Will Hay. Varnel's theatrical training stood him in good stead and he was able to fashion sympathetic vehicles for British comics of the period which effectively displayed their individual talents. Askey's chirpy persona is at its best in Band Waggon (1940), based on his long-running radio show, while Alf's Button Afloat (1938) is a fine record of the surreal anarchy of the Crazy Gang. The Formby vehicles were too often threadbare productions which mechanically overworked George's already well established character as a cheerfully gormless northerner, but audiences couldn't get enough.