An elderly Aladdin wraps up his days on earth by hiding the lamp, determined to prevent it from getting into evil hands. That's evil hands, not idiotic, and when the titled character, seaman Alf, gets his hands on what remains of it years later, the navy ship he's on, already in a state of constant upheaval due to his antics (along with others in his gang of comical nitwits) better watch out.
With Alastair Sim as the Genie, still magically present in the button part of the now melted lamp, this is a lively British comedy that is filled with lots of delightful visual gags. Bud Flanagan, as Alf, and his gang are quadruple the zaniness of 30's comedy teams, minus the polish of the American comedy teams. Those funny men (and a few women) had a mixture of sophistication, verbal with and Mack Sennett like speedy pacing, appealed to all audience, but the Crazy Gang, as they were known, were meant for the British working class and didn't hold up as well as the others.
In limited doses, however, they're quite amusing, but I think it's the type of humor you will probably laugh at once and keep to yourself if you find them as amusing as the others. Certainly their wit is not going to appeal to everybody. But in the case of this one, they're bety madcap in their use of visuals, relying on special effects for humor, pretty much the Olsen and Johnson of the British working class. It's a physically fun looking film, featuring the crazy gang in drag in an opera spoof and lots of misunderstandings concerning the ship's officers, ending with a frenetic chase sequence. The button might not fit into all the right holes, but when it does, it manages to keep everything together.
With Alastair Sim as the Genie, still magically present in the button part of the now melted lamp, this is a lively British comedy that is filled with lots of delightful visual gags. Bud Flanagan, as Alf, and his gang are quadruple the zaniness of 30's comedy teams, minus the polish of the American comedy teams. Those funny men (and a few women) had a mixture of sophistication, verbal with and Mack Sennett like speedy pacing, appealed to all audience, but the Crazy Gang, as they were known, were meant for the British working class and didn't hold up as well as the others.
In limited doses, however, they're quite amusing, but I think it's the type of humor you will probably laugh at once and keep to yourself if you find them as amusing as the others. Certainly their wit is not going to appeal to everybody. But in the case of this one, they're bety madcap in their use of visuals, relying on special effects for humor, pretty much the Olsen and Johnson of the British working class. It's a physically fun looking film, featuring the crazy gang in drag in an opera spoof and lots of misunderstandings concerning the ship's officers, ending with a frenetic chase sequence. The button might not fit into all the right holes, but when it does, it manages to keep everything together.