Poor Old Bill

Poor Old Bill is a 1931 British comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring Leslie Fuller, Iris Ashley and Syd Courtenay. It marked the film debut of a very young Peter Lawford, playing the child of the main character, Bill (Leslie Fuller).

Poor Old Bill
Directed by	Monty Banks
Screenplay by	Val Valentine
Based on	an original story by Lola Harvey & Syd Courtenay
Produced by	Walter C. Mycroft
Starring	Leslie Fuller Iris Ashley Syd Courtenay
Cinematography	Claude Friese-Greene
Production company	British International Pictures
Distributed by	Wardour Films (UK)
Release date	22 June 1931 (1931-06-22) (UK)
Running time	51 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Premise

A man sponges off an old comrade from the First World War who believes he has saved his life during the war, although this ultimately proves not to be true.

Cast

• Leslie Fuller as Bill
• Iris Ashley as Emily
• Syd Courtenay as Harry
• Peter Lawford as Horace
• Hal Gordon as Jack
• Robert Brooks Turner as Mick
• Dick Francis as Constable

Critical reception

TV Guide gave the film one out of four stars, calling it an "Interesting conception for a farce," but concluded that, "Unfortunately, the idea is carried on much too long, stretching what little material there is."

Bibliography

• Sutton, David R. A chorus of raspberries: British film comedy 1929–1939. University of Exeter Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0-85989-603-0.

External links

• Poor Old Bill at IMDb