The First Frenchman of British Film

Like many of George Formby’s previous films, ‘Get Cracking’ was directed by Marcel Varnel. Varnel also worked with other British comedy legends such as Arthur Askey and Will Hay (and I will be focussing on ‘Ask a Policeman’ next). Surely the man who turned out such loved and remembered comedy classics as ‘Oh, Mr Porter!’ should be a bit more famous than he seems to be.

I searched the British Newspaper Archive for his obituary to try and find out more about his life. However, all I could find was the same single paragraph marking his death, tucked away at the bottom of the page in numerous provincial news sheets.  And it’s not as if he died when his star had long since faded.

Don't be fooled by the friendly smile...the man'a foreigner doncha know.

Varnel was killed in 1947, when he was aged just 53. He had been working up to the end, and his car crash death was unexpected. But there it is – a single paragraph stating that the French-born Varnel had trained in Hollywood then spent the 1930s and 40s making films in Britain. They all stressed that he was a British citizen at the time of his death, as if that had some kind of bearing on his demise, or the sadness of it. There is no mention of family, no quotes from Formby or Askey. What a sad dismissal from this life for someone who helped to make so many people happy. It just goes to show that directors then were held in nothing like the esteem that they are today.

I can only find two write-ups on Marcel Varnel that are anything approaching more in-depth than his sad obituary. One of these is his page on the BFI website – not contemporary with his life or death of course. There is also an article about ‘Oh, Mr Porter!’ in the Coventry Evening Telegraph (November 1937) that does give us a glimpse behind the curtain. It points out how remarkable Varnel’s success is…

“…but then you probably forget that Varnel is a Frenchman. For a foreigner to grasp and handle such essential English humour…is an achievement.”

It seems that Varnel was viewed as a Frenchman first and Director second. What a difference a few miles of water can make to a man’s reputation.

Click here to download stories about the 1945 audience for 'I Know Where I'm Going'