Oh, Mr Porter!
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Oh, Mr Porter! (with minor variations in punctuation) can refer both to a song and a film inspired by the song.
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[edit] Music hall song
Oh! Mr Porter is an old British music hall song, and was part of the repertoire of singer Marie Lloyd. Written in 1893 by George LeBrunn, its lyrics include this chorus:
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Herman's Hermits recorded a cover version of the song in the 1960s.
[edit] 1937 movie
Today, the phrase is best known as the title of a 1937 British film Oh, Mr Porter! starring British comedy actor Will Hay, and is nowadays his best-known film. It also included his two regular supporting actors, Graham Moffatt and Moore Marriott. The Guardian newspaper described the film as "perfectly representing a certain type of bumbling British humour," despite being directed by a Paris-born director, Marcel Varnel. Varnel considered the film his best work. The film critic Barry Norman included it among his 100 best films of all time. Fellow critic Derek Malcolm also included the film in his The Century of Films. The plot was loosely based on The Ghost Train.
The film was clearly inspired by the song "Oh! Mr Porter", as Will Hay's character is Mr. William Porter, although he is not in fact a railway porter, but the stationmaster of the Northern Irish station of "Buggleskelly" (this leads to some amusing confusion!). Also a snatch of the song can be heard over the opening credits.
[edit] Parodies
The film was parodied in the spoof documentary Norbert Smith, a Life, as Oh, Mr Bank Robber starring "Will Silly".
The song was also modified for use in the BBC situation comedy Oh, Doctor Beeching! sung by Su Pollard.
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