South American George

South American George is a 1941 British, black-and-white, comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring George Formby in a dual role, Linden Travers, Enid Stamp-Taylor, Felix Aylmer, Ronald Shiner as Swifty, Mavis Villiers and Herbert Lomas.^[2] It was produced by Columbia (British) Productions.

South American George
Swedish theatrical poster
Directed by	Marcel Varnel
Written by	Leslie Arliss Norman Lee Austin Melford (Additional dialogue)
Produced by	Ben Henry Marcel Varnel
Starring	George Formby Linden Travers Enid Stamp-Taylor Felix Aylmer
Cinematography	Arthur Crabtree
Edited by	Edward B. Jarvis
Music by	Harry Bidgood
Production company	Columbia British Productions
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures Corporation
Release date	27 December 1941 (1941-12-27) (UK)
Running time	92 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Box office	£135,168 (UK)[1]

Synopsis

A press agent hurries to bring in a substitute after a South American opera star flops. A lookalike takes over from the tenor, but chaos ensues when the bogus singer finds himself hunted by paid assassins.^[3][4]

Cast

• George Formby as George Butters/Gilli Vanetti
• Linden Travers as Carole Dean
• Enid Stamp-Taylor as Frances Martinique
• Jacques Brown as Enrico Richardo
• Felix Aylmer as Mr Appleby
• Ronald Shiner as Swifty
• Alf Goddard as Slappy
• Gus McNaughton as George White
• Mavis Villiers as Mrs Durrant
• Herbert Lomas as Mr Butters
• Cameron Hall as Muriel George
• Eric Clavering as Mr Durrant
• Beatrice Varley as Mrs Butters

Critical reception

According to TV Guide, "Formby's comic talents give the unlikely story a few fun moments, though the film is for the most part a hit-and-miss effort".^[5]