Meet Mr. Penny

❧

Wikipedia

Meet Mr. Penny
Directed byDavid MacDonald
Written by
Based onradio series by Maurice Moiseiwitsch
Produced byJohn Corfield
Starring
CinematographyBryan Langley
Production
company
Distributed byAssociated British Film Distributors
Release date
  • June 1938 (1938-06)
Running time
70 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£20,212[1]

Meet Mr. Penny is a 1938 British comedy film directed by David MacDonald and starring Richard Goolden, Vic Oliver and Fabia Drake. It was written by Victor Kendal and Doreen Montgomery based on the BBC radio series The Strange Adventures of Mr. Penny (1936) by Maurice Moiseiwitsch, in which Goolden played Mr. Penny.[2]

Premise

Timid solicitor's clerk Henry Penny and his neighbours attempt to prevent the destruction of their local vegetable-growing allotment, on which property tycoon Mr Allgood plans to build a warehouse.

Cast

Production

It was made at Welwyn Studios by British National Films.[3][4]

In August 1937 it was announced John Corfeld of British National had secured the film rights.[5]

The film was intended to be the first in a series of Mr Penny movies,[6] the unproduced sequel being The Pennys Abroad.[7]

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Richard Goolden's brilliant broadcast improvisations as Mr. Penny were a joy to many listeners, and it was inevitable that sooner or later a character with so wide and ready-made an appeal should be claimed by the cinema and seen as well as heard. Such a transformation is not without its dangers, for Mr. Penny is an artist in words, and the cinema is a record of action; but though it sometimes appears that Richard Goolden finds the pace of this boisterous farce a little too much for him, when all is said and done Mr. Penny's many friends will find in his performance the authentic Mr. Penny of their imagination. ... The production is competent, if unadventurous, and the film will have a very wide appeal."[8]

Kine Weekly wrote: "Refreshing comedy of suburbia, put over by the shy humour of Richard Goolden, popular radio character comedian. Story complications seldom deviate from hide-bound theatrical convention, and there is considerably more talk than direct action, but the atmosphere is lifelike, and so are the types. Friendliness of fundamentals and directorial shrewdness conserve mass and family appeal. Good popular light entertainment, with a ready-made public in the star's considerable fans."[9]

Picturegoer wrote: "A popular radio character-comedian, Richard Goolden, makes a very good impression in his screen debut but the material at his command is very theatrical and too full of verbiage for complete success. ... Vic Oliver is very good as the financier, as is Fabia Drake as Mrs. Penny. There is a slight, conventional love interest, introduced competently by Kay Walsh and Patrick Barr. Sound support comes from Charles Farrell and John Ambler. Domestic humour is good, but some of the farcical situations seem rather dated."[10]

The Evening Chronicle wrote "the material is not always cinematic but admirers of Mr Penny will find it entertaining."[11]

The Guardian felt "the London atmosphere is well caught and the whole film is mildly satisfying."[12]

References

  1. ↑ Chapman, Llewella. "'The highest salary ever paid to a human being': Creating a Database of Film Costs from the Bank of England". Journal of British cinema and television, 2022-10. Vol. 19, no. 4. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 470–494 at 480.
  2. ↑ "Meet Mr. Penny". BBC Programme Index. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  3. ↑ Wood p.98
  4. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (14 September 2025). "Forgotten British Film Moguls: Lady Yule". Filmink. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  5. ↑ "Chatter- London". Variety. 4 August 1937. p. 60.
  6. ↑ "Show topics". Grimsby Evening Telegraph. 5 March 1938. p. 2.
  7. ↑ "ENGLISH FILM NOTES With a Few Glimpses of Australian Work", The Australian Woman's Mirror, Sydney: The Bulletin Newspaper, 31 May 1938, nla.obj-427095620, retrieved 15 August 2025 – via Trove
  8. ↑ "Meet Mr. Penny". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 5 (49): 131. 1 January 1938. ProQuest 1305802130.
  9. ↑ "Meet Mr. Penny". Kinematograph Weekly (1618): iii. 21 April 1938 – via ProQuest.
  10. ↑ "Meet Mr. Penny". Picturegoer. 8: 22. 5 December 1938. ProQuest 1771116718.
  11. ↑ "Mr Penny filmed". Evening Chronicle. 15 November 1938. p. 11.
  12. ↑ "Mr Penny and others". The Guardian. 9 August 1938. p. 11.

Bibliography

  • Wood, Linda. British Films, 1927-1939. British Film Institute, 1986.