| My Learned Friend | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Basil Dearden Will Hay |
| Written by | John Dighton Angus MacPhail |
| Produced by | Michael Balcon Robert Hamer |
| Starring | Will Hay Claude Hulbert Mervyn Johns |
| Cinematography | Wilkie Cooper |
| Edited by | Charles Hasse |
| Music by | Ernest Irving |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Ealing |
Running time | 74 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
My Learned Friend is a 1943 British, black-and-white, comedy, farce, directed by Basil Dearden with his regular collaborator, Will Hay, as the film's star in the role of William Fitch. The principal supporting roles were taken by Claude Hulbert and Mervyn Johns . Character roles went to Laurence Hanray as Sir Norman, Charles Victor as "Safety" Wilson, Ernest Thesiger as Ferris and Ronald Shiner as the Man in Wilson's café.[1] It was produced by Michael Balcon, Robert Hamer and Ealing Studios.
The film's title refers to a tradition in British law: when addressing either the court or the judge, a barrister refers to the opposing counsel using the respectful term, "my learned friend".
This was Will Hay's last film; Hay went on to star as "Doctor Muffin" in The Will Hay Programme that aired on the radio in 1944. The humour of My Learned Friend took a darker turn than any of Hay's earlier films.