Joey Boy

Harry H. Corbett - Joey Boy Thompson
Stanley Baxter - Benny "The Kid" Lindowski
Bill Fraser - Sgt. Dobbs
Percy Herbert - Mad George Long
Lance Percival - Clarence Doubleday
Reg Varney - Rabbit Malone
John Arnatt - Brigadier Chapman

Comic yarn directed by Frank Launder following the misadventures of a motley crew of East End spivs during World War II. Despite pretensions to follow in the same vein as the Boulting Brothers Private’s Progress there’s a distinct lack of humour here, the combined talents of TV comics Harry H. Corbett, Reg Varney and Stanley Baxter are sadly wasted in this fitful film.

Joey Boy Thompson (Harry H. Corbett) runs a successful black market operation and gambling club running beneath his East London fish shop in wartime Britain. But, after a police raid, Joey and his cronies are offered a difficult choice by the police inspector - either serving time in prison or volunteer for the army. After opting for the latter, the lads decide they are in their element - and quickly set up successful gambling and liquor operations to exploit their fellow troops. When they are sent overseas to Italy the outcome is similar, despite an initial scare when a mulish colleague conspires to make them volunteer for a dangerous mission. When V.E. Day finally arrives, Joey and his gang are spending time in jail for impersonating military policeman. Salvation in the shape of his commanding officer, who asks Joey to start a social club to boost troop morale, they open an establishment called ‘Joeys’ that just about falls short of being a brothel. Ultimately, a visiting Parliamentary delegation discovers what’s taking place at the club, and Joey and the boys are soon demobbed back to Civvy Street.