Marcel Varnel

Astonishingly the most accomplished director of British comedies in the thirties was French. Marcel Varnel began his film career in Hollywood in 1924 and came to Britain in the mid-thirties, working with Will Hay, George Formby and the Crazy Gang. His skill lay in keeping his films moving, and not allowing the comic temperature to drop. Oh Mr Porter! (1937) is his masterpiece, and one of the funniest films in the history of cinema.