Who Done It? – 1956 | 85mins | Comedy | B&W

Plot Synopsis

Who Done It? inasmuch as it is a vehicle for a famous comedian, was something of a throwback to the days of Basil Dean, except that in this case the reputation had first been made through the new medium of television rather than on the music-hall stage that launched Gracie Fields and George Formby. By 1956 the podgy-faced Benny Hill had established himself as the clown on the hearth. In the film he was cast as an ice-rink attendant and would-be private detective who uncovers a plot to assassinate Britain’s top scientists and, with the aid of a blonde, prevents the transmission of secret plans, getting involved in a chase which ends with the spies’ capture in a stock-car stadium. Such a plot-line would be standard for a Formby or Will Hay film, and the reappearance of Garry Marsh, a stalwart of the ATP days, reinforces the sense of déjà vu. Benny Hill went on to international success as a TV star with The Benny Hill Show.

Extract© George Perry: Forever Ealing.