Who Done It? (1956)

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

A Michael Balcon Production. An Ealing Studios Film, never theatrically released in the U.S.A. U.K. release through Rank Film Distributors: 19 March 1956. British Board of Film Censors' Certificate: "Suitable for Universal Exhibition". Australian release through British Empire Films: 25 July 1957. 7,659 feet. 85 minutes. Cut by the distributor to 82 minutes (including "General Exhibition" censorship certificate and B.E.F. logo) in Australia. (Available on a very good Optimum DVD).SYNOPSIS: Dill (rhymes with Hill) tries his luck as a private eye.NOTES: Film debut of TV comedian, Benny Hill, and the last comedy produced at Ealing Studios. Ealing, the production company, survived a few more years by transplanting itself to M-G-M's studios at Borehamwood. Ironically, the actual Ealing Studios themselves were taken over by the British Broadcasting Corporation.COMMENT: The script certainly packs in plenty of promising ideas, but, alas, most of them are not developed for their utmost comic effect. After a wonderfully funny opening in which Dill inadvertently wrecks both an ice show and a police station, the script tries desperately for more laughs. But a lack of writing talent, combined with Basil Dearden's heavy-handed direction, all but stifle any further merriment. Fortunately, one plus factor survives all attempts to smother her spark: — Belinda Lee, whose spirited performance more than saves the day. Oddly, in its unfairly negative review, The Motion Picture Guide describes Hill as a "popular but utterly sleazy British comic." Popular certainly — at its peak in Britain alone his show enjoyed over twelve million viewers — but sleazy? Impish is surely the right word. MPG must be confusing Hill with some other British comedian. I have a friend, a dear old lady, who's as strait-laced as they come. Spends most of her time in church. Hill is her favorite comedian. Wouldn't miss one of his shows for quids. Benny can do no wrong as far as she's concerned. She thinks he's an absolute riot!OTHER VIEWS: Plenty of honest, clean fun. — F. Maurice Speed.Clarke's somewhat desperate script is still sufficiently superior in its situations to make Who Done It? considerably more amusing than any other recent vehicle for a new comedian. — D.H. in the Monthly Film Bulletin.Appearing for the first time in a full-length feature film, although they have appeared in a number of documentary films — the Dagenham Girl Pipers are seen in a hilarious sequence. In fact, Belinda Lee, who plays the romantic lead, impersonates one of the pipers. In the twenty-five years of their existence the Dagenham Girl Pipers have played to many millions of people. - Ealing publicity.

An Ealing spy caper to showcase the talents of Benny Hill who has a dual role. He plays Hugo Dill who gets the chance to be a private detective after he wins some money and a bloodhound in a mystery magazine competition.Pretty soon Hugo gets caught up in a plot involving a weather changing machine being smuggled out of Britain and him being put up as a ringer for one of the foreign scientists that will set him up to be a fall guy.He also inadvertently gets help from showgirl Frankie (Belinda Lee) who provides beauty and brawn as she is naturally strong and beats up the henchmen.As a showcase for Hill, it allows him don various disguises and play up the bumbling fool who causes pandemonium and elicit exasperation from the local police inspector.This is not one of the best Ealing comedies, it is rarely shown on television. There are some funny scenes such as Frankie knocking out the audience when she bangs a drum. Hill does his best to take advantage of a rare starring role in movies with a persona far removed from his saucy ITV sketch comedies of the 1970s and 1980s.It was nice to spot several familiar actors such as Irene Handl, Charles Hawtrey and Harold Goodwin but overall this felt like a thin plot that was padded with slapstick.

when this film was made Benny Hill was a rising TV star and Ealing Stucios was about to close down to turn over to BBC TV.It is difficult to believe that T.E.B.Clarke could turn out such an inane unfunny script as this.Maybe they were looking to Hill as a sort of lowbrow Alce Guiness to try and replicate his success in "Kind Hearts And Coronets".There is a very distinguished cast of supporting actors.however even such an expert comedy actor as Garry Marsh is reduced to hamming it up to try and extract laughs from the feeble script.It is interesting to note that this was Hills one and only starring effort in film.In his other films he was part of a supporting cast.Maybe if he had been allowed to write this film it would have been a lot funnier.It couldn't have been worse.

Benny Hill as a bumbling Private Eye? Oh yes, and his first film really shows us the beginnings of his massive comedic talents. While it is obviously a low budget production, the slapstick gags & rapid-fire quips will keep any Benny Hill fan in stitches. This film is also a great addition to any collection of his many fans as it reveals the "Funniest Man Alive" before he became so famous on TV. I bought a used DVD of this movie because it was all I could find available, but that's the nice thing about DVD's...they don't wear out like VHS tapes do. Not a film for people who prefer sophisticated, under-played humor, but if you like the 3 Stooges, Abbot & Costello, or Martin & Lewis, you're going to love "Who Done It?".