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	==External links==		==External links==
	* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160310022732/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a55be4c/ ''The Black Sheep of Whitehall''] at the [[British Film Institute]]{{better source needed\|reason=Help request: a live link can be searched for at https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/search/expert - if available, replace the archive URL with the live link. Or if none found, remove this 'better source needed' template. \| date=October 2023}}		* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160310022732/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a55be4c/ ''The Black Sheep of Whitehall''] at the [[British Film Institute]]
	* {{BBFC title\| AFF003237 }}		* {{BBFC title\| AFF003237 }}
	* {{IMDb title\| 0033398 }}		* {{IMDb title\| 0033398 }}

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External links

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	* {{BBFC title\| AFF003237 }}		* {{BBFC title\| AFF003237 }}
	* {{IMDb title\| 0033398 }}		* {{IMDb title\| 0033398 }}

	~~{{Basil Dearden}}~~
	~~{{Michael Balcon}}~~

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Sheep of Whitehall, The}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Sheep of Whitehall, The}}

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{{short description|1942 film by Basil Dearden, Will Hay}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The Black Sheep of Whitehall
| image = The_Black_Sheep_of_Whitehall_UK_quad_poster.jpg
| caption = Original British [[film poster#United Kingdom|quad format]] film poster by [[Dudley Pout]]
| director = [[Basil Dearden]] [[Will Hay]]
| producer = [[Michael Balcon]] S.C. Balcon (associate producer)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a55be4c|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310022732/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a55be4c/|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 March 2016|title=''The Black Sheep of Whitehall'' (1942)|work=BFI Film Forever|access-date=20 June 2019}}</ref>
| writer = [[John Dighton]] [[Angus MacPhail]]
| starring = [[Will Hay]] [[John Mills]] [[Basil Sydney]] [[Henry Charles Hewitt (actor)|Henry Hewitt]] [[Felix Aylmer]] [[Thora Hird]]
| cinematography = [[Eric Cross (cinematographer)|Eric Cross]] [[Günther Krampf]]
| editing = [[Ray Pitt]]
| studio = [[Ealing Studios]]
| distributor = [[United Artists]] {{small|(UK)}}
| released = {{film date|df=y|1942|01|08|UK}}<ref name=Ad />
| runtime = 80 min.<ref name=BBFC />
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
}}

'''''The Black Sheep of Whitehall''''' (the opening credits read ''Black Sheep of Whitehall'') is a 1942 British [[black-and-white]] [[comedy film|comedy]] [[war film]], [[film director|directed]] by [[Will Hay]] and [[Basil Dearden]], starring [[Will Hay]], [[John Mills]], [[Basil Sydney]] and [[Thora Hird]] in her screen debut. It was [[film producer|produced]] by [[Michael Balcon]] and [[Ealing Studios]].

==Plot==
When he is forced to vacate the office of his debt-ridden correspondence college, 'Professor' Will Davis ([[Will Hay]]) goes to the Ministry of International Commerce at [[Whitehall]] in order to confront his one-and-only student, [[Public relations|PR]] man Bobby Jessop ([[John Mills]]). To get Davis off his back, Jessop proposes to get him a job at Whitehall. Jessop then leaves in order to fetch a Professor Davys at the railway station. The professor is a leading [[economist]] who has returned from a long stay in [[South America]] in order to advise the British government on a trade treaty with the South American nations, which could be crucial to Britain's war effort.

The clueless Davis is mistaken for the expert and gets involved in a series of interviews, giving answers based on [[gambling]], [[confidence trick|con jobs]], [[double entendres]] or just plain ignorance. These scenes are very funny and are made more so by the reactions of an increasingly incredulous Joss Ambler as government minister 'Sir John'. Jessop later returns with 'Professor Davys' and the confusion is sorted out, though it has left the [[BBC]] interviewers in a state of mental collapse. Jessop then discovers that the man he brought with him is in fact Crabtree ([[Felix Aylmer]]), a member of a group of [[fifth column]]ists working for [[Nazi Germany]].

Jessop promises Davis a job if he will help him track down the real Professor Davys ([[Henry Charles Hewitt (actor)|Henry Hewitt]]), who is being held in a [[safe house]] by Crabtree's associates. Assuming a number of disguises, Davis and Jessop set off to foil the plot before the treaty is compromised.

==Main cast==
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
* [[Will Hay]] as Will Davis
* [[John Mills]] as Bobby Jessop
* [[Basil Sydney]] as Costello
* [[Henry Charles Hewitt (actor)|Henry Hewitt]] as Professor Davys
* [[Felix Aylmer]] as Crabtree
* Owen Reynolds as Harman
* [[Frank Cellier (actor)|Frank Cellier]] as Dr Innsbach
* [[Joss Ambler]] as Sir John
* Frank Allenby as Onslowe
* [[Thora Hird]] as Joyce
* [[Margaret Halstan]] as Matron
* Barbara Valerie as Sister Spooner
* [[Leslie Mitchell (broadcaster)|Leslie Mitchell]] as Radio interviewer
* [[George Woodbridge (actor)|George Woodbridge]] as Male Nurse
* [[George Merritt (actor)|George Merritt]] as Stationmaster
* [[Aubrey Mallalieu]] as Ticket Collector
* [[Kenneth Griffith]] as Butcher's Boy
* [[Cyril Chamberlain]] as BBC Producer
* [[Katie Johnson (English actress)|Katie Johnson]] as Irate Train Passenger
* [[Ronald Shiner]] as Porter
{{div col end}}

==Reception==
Having been cleared by the British censors on 27 October 1941,<ref name=BBFC>[http://www.bbfc.co.uk/search/releases/any/any/any/any/any/0/any/any/aff003237/any/any/any/any?advanced=true BBFC: ''Black Sheep of Whitehall (1941)''] Linked 2015-05-05</ref> the film premiered at the [[Odeon Marble Arch|Regal Cinema]] by Marble Arch in London on 8 January 1942.<ref name=Ad>[http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=kenlib&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=CS102578728&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0 The Times, 8 January 1942, page 6: ''Picture Theatres: Regal – The Black Sheep of Whitehall''] Linked 2015-05-05</ref> The reviewer for ''[[The Times]]'' wrote:<blockquote>"Any story which gives Mr. Will Hay the chance to be himself is good enough, and ... 'The Black Sheep of Whitehall' manages for long stretches at a time to step out of the way of its own complicated plot and leave Mr. Hay to his own devices."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=kenlib&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=CS134429228&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0|title=New Films in London - Regal|work=The Times|date=12 January 1942|page=8}}</ref></blockquote>

==Notes==
Hay and Mills had worked before, most notably on ''[[Those Were the Days (1934 film)|Those Were the Days]]'' (1934). This was the first film of three where Basil Dearden and Will Hay shared the director credit, the other two being ''[[The Goose Steps Out ]]'' (1942) and ''[[My Learned Friend]]'' (1943).<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0370547/#director IMDb: ''Will Hay - Director (3 credits)''] Linked 2015-05-05</ref>

Broadcaster [[Leslie Mitchell (broadcaster)|Leslie Mitchell]] is in the film driven to a nervous breakdown while interviewing Hay's character. Mitchell, best remembered for his ''[[Movietone News]]'' voiceovers, was a commentator for the [[BBC Television Service]] from its first transmissions on 2 November 1936.

The film is generally considered to be Thora Hird's screen debut, although she did make an uncredited appearance in another film (''[[The Big Blockade]]''), released earlier that same year, as a German barmaid.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160310022732/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a55be4c/ ''The Black Sheep of Whitehall''] at the [[British Film Institute]]{{better source needed|reason=Help request: a live link can be searched for at https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/search/expert - if available, replace the archive URL with the live link. Or if none found, remove this 'better source needed' template. | date=October 2023}}
* {{BBFC title| AFF003237 }}
* {{IMDb title| 0033398 }}

{{Basil Dearden}}
{{Michael Balcon}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Sheep of Whitehall, The}}
[[Category:1942 films]]
[[Category:1940s war comedy films]]
[[Category:British black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Will Hay]]
[[Category:Films directed by Basil Dearden]]
[[Category:Films produced by Michael Balcon]]
[[Category:Ealing Studios films]]
[[Category:British World War II propaganda films]]
[[Category:1942 directorial debut films]]
[[Category:British war comedy films]]
[[Category:Films set in London]]
[[Category:1942 comedy films]]
[[Category:1940s English-language films]]
[[Category:English-language war comedy films]]

The Black Sheep of Whitehall - Revision history

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