Me and Marlborough (1935) review - A weirdly charming, loud historical comedy

If you love dusty old British comedies where women put on a fake mustache and everyone suddenly loses their minds, Me and Marlborough is a fun little relic. But if you can't stand theatrical 1930s stage acting or extremely loud singing in muddy fields, stay far away from this one. 🍿

The plot is pretty simple. Kit Ross (played by the very energetic Cicely Courtneidge) gets her husband drafted into the army in 1709, so she does what any sensible wife would do—she dresses up as a dude to go find him.

Yes, it's that classic "nobody notices she's clearly a woman" trope. Honestly, she doesn't even try that hard to sound like a guy, which makes the whole thing kind of hilarious.

There is a scene early on in a tavern where she's trying to act macho, and she keeps accidentally tripping over her own sword. It goes on a bit too long, but Courtneidge has this physical comedy style that you just don't see anymore.

The movie has some weird pacing issues. One minute they are singing a jolly song about marching, and the next, there's a surprisingly tense scene where someone might actually get shot.

It reminds me of those odd genre shifts you get in other obscure films from the era, like Destination Unknown, where the movie can't decide if it wants to be a drama or a lighthearted romp.

Also, let's talk about the husband. He is basically a wet blanket.

I kept wishing Kit would just leave him to the army and go have adventures with the Duke of Marlborough instead. The Duke is played by Tom Walls, who seems to be having the time of his life wearing a massive wig.

There's this one extra in the background during a battle scene who is just holding a musket and looking directly at the camera with a look of pure confusion. I couldn't stop staring at him. 😅

The musical numbers are... loud. They feel like they were recorded in a giant tin can, which is typical for 1935, but it still hurts the ears a bit if you have headphones on.

Still, there's a certain charm to how cheap some of the outdoor sets look. You can tell they just found a nice hill in Hertfordshire and told sixty guys to run back and forth until they looked like an army.

It's not a masterpiece, and some of the jokes are so old they practically have cobwebs on them. But if you like British music hall humor, it's a cozy watch.

Odd details I noticed:

• The Wig Budget: Clearly where all the money went. Tom Walls looks like he's wearing a sleeping sheep on his head.
• That soldier who fell over: Watch the left side of the screen during the first march. Someone definitely tripped.
• The instant romance: A girl falls in love with Kit-as-a-man in about four seconds flat. Classic.