Boys Will Be Boys (1935) in Color — Starring Will Hay & Gordon Harker

Boys Will Be Boys (1935) — Buy This Classic in Color

Experience the side-splitting British comedy classic Boys Will Be Boys (1935) Colorized, directed by William Beaudine, starring the incomparable Will Hay in his signature role as the fraudulent schoolmaster, a perfectly crafted comedy in which the hapless Dr. Doolittle Doody Doolin Alec Smart — actually a petty conman with a forged diploma — bluffs his way into the headmastership of the prestigious Doddermore Academy, a school for the sons of the aristocracy, where he discovers that his new students are a collection of scheming young criminals who make his own dishonesty look amateurish, leading to a hilarious battle of wits between the fake headmaster and his thoroughly disreputable pupils, now available for purchase in stunning color for just €15.00. This digitally enhanced version brings this beloved classic to vivid new life. Own this DRM-free digital download today.

Plot Summary

Alec Smart is a small-time confidence man whose latest scam involves impersonating an academic. Armed with a forged diploma, a borrowed gown, and an inexhaustible supply of bluster, he applies for and miraculously obtains the position of headmaster at Doddermore Academy — a once-prestigious boarding school for the sons of the upper classes that has fallen on hard times.

Smart — now styling himself as a distinguished educator — arrives at Doddermore expecting to enjoy the comfortable life of a respected headmaster while knowing as little about education as it is possible to know. His ignorance extends to every academic subject, his disciplinary methods are nonexistent, and his idea of running a school is to avoid doing anything that might reveal his total incompetence.

His plans for a quiet, profitable life of fraud are immediately shattered by his encounter with the students of Doddermore. These are not ordinary schoolboys — they are the idle, spoiled, and thoroughly cunning sons of the aristocracy, and their talent for mischief, deception, and criminal enterprise would make a Dickens villain weep with admiration.

The boys quickly realize that their new headmaster is a fraud, and rather than exposing him, they exploit his vulnerability to pursue their own schemes. The result is a sustained comic war between the fake headmaster and his scheming students, with each side trying to outmaneuver the other through increasingly elaborate deceptions.

Complicating matters further is the presence on the school’s board of governors of Colonel Doddermore, a pompous and suspicious aristocrat who senses that something is wrong with the new headmaster but cannot quite put his finger on what it is.

The comedy builds to an elaborate climax involving a cricket match, a stolen diamond necklace, and a series of impersonations and deceptions that bring all the film’s threads together in a crescendo of perfectly timed farce.

Cast & Crew

Director: William Beaudine

Stars: Will Hay as Dr. Alec Smart, Gordon Harker as Colonel Crableigh, Jimmy Hanley as Cyril Brown, Davy Burnaby as Colonel Doddermore, Claude Dampier as Percy Doolittle

Will Hay delivers a masterclass in comic performance — his ability to portray simultaneous pomposity and panic, confidence and incompetence, authority and terror, makes his fraudulent headmaster one of the great comic creations of British cinema.

Why Buy This Classic in Color?

The colorization of Boys Will Be Boys brings the world of the English boarding school to charming life — the mellow golden Cotswold stone of Doddermore Academy’s buildings surrounded by green lawns and playing fields, the deep navy and maroon of the school blazers and caps worn by the scheming pupils, the academic black of the headmaster’s flowing gown that Smart wears to conceal his lack of genuine credentials, the rich dark wood of the headmaster’s study with its leather chairs and book-lined walls, the bright green of the cricket pitch where the elaborate climactic scheme unfolds, the warm amber of morning light falling through the tall windows of the school dining hall, the deep red of the sports pavilion where the stolen necklace is hidden, the cheerful blue of the summer sky above the school grounds during outdoor scenes, the subdued browns and greens of the English countryside surrounding the school, and the warm golden glow of the school’s interior on a winter evening. Now also available in colour. Buy Boys Will Be Boys (1935) Colorized today for €15.00 and own this beloved classic in a DRM-free format.

Historical Significance

Boys Will Be Boys was the first major vehicle for Will Hay’s fraudulent schoolmaster character, a creation that became one of the most beloved and enduring figures in British comedy. Hay had developed the character over years of music hall performance, refining the persona of the pompous, incompetent authority figure who is always one step away from exposure. The film established the formula that would serve Hay through a series of classic comedies throughout the 1930s and early 1940s — the bumbling fraud placed in a position of authority where his desperate attempts to maintain his imposture create escalating chaos. The English boarding school setting tapped into a rich vein of British comedy that extends from Dickens through Evelyn Waugh, and Hay’s subversion of the typical school story — where the schoolmaster is worse than his pupils — gave the genre a fresh and hilarious twist. Director William Beaudine, an American working in British cinema, handled the material with efficiency and good comic timing. Through colorization, this foundational British comedy classic is preserved for modern audiences.

Technical Details

• Format: MP4 digital download
• Resolution: HD 720p
• Colorized: Yes, professional AI-assisted colorization
• Audio: Original English mono soundtrack
• Runtime: Approximately 75 minutes
• DRM-free: Yes — watch on any device
• Instant download: Available immediately after purchase
• Price: €15.00

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Movie-Specific Questions

Q: Is this the first Will Hay schoolmaster film?
A: Yes, Boys Will Be Boys was the first major film built around Hay’s fraudulent schoolmaster character, which he had developed in music hall and would continue to develop in subsequent films.

Q: Is this similar to the St. Trinian’s films?
A: There are similarities — both feature schools where the pupils are more criminal than the criminals and the authority figures are hopelessly outmatched. Hay’s films predate the St. Trinian’s series by nearly two decades.

Q: Do Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt appear?
A: No, this pre-dates Hay’s famous partnership with Marriott and Moffatt. Those classic collaborations began with Windbag the Sailor (1936) and continued through several beloved films.

Digital Download Questions

Q: What format is the download?
A: The film is delivered as a high-quality MP4 file in HD 720p resolution, compatible with virtually all modern devices and media players.

Q: Is the download DRM-free?
A: Yes, your purchase is completely DRM-free. You own the file outright and can watch it on any device without restrictions or recurring fees.

Q: How quickly will I receive the download?
A: Your download link is available immediately after payment is confirmed. You can begin watching Boys Will Be Boys (1935) Colorized within minutes of your purchase.

Related Colorized Classics

• Good Morning, Boys! (1937)
• Ask a Policeman (1939)
• Oh, Mr. Porter! (1937)
• My Learned Friend (1943)
• The Goose Steps Out (1942)