Just William

UK, 1940. Directed by Graham Cutts. Dicky Lupino, Fred Emney, Basil Radford, Amy Veness, Roddy McDowall, Iris Hoey, Simon Lack.

Though looking very creaky now, and despite the fact that Dicky Lupino makes a somewhat chubbier version of William than rests in most people’s imaginations, this is an entertaining little film which succeeds in capturing some of the flavour of Richmal Crompton’s characters. Interesting to see a comparatively young Fred Emney as William’s father and future international star Roddy McDowall in one of his earliest roles before moving to Hollywood.