Adapted from Arthur Pinero's relentlessly popular stage farce The Magistrate, Those Were the Days was a perfect early vehicle for the comedic brilliance of Will Hay.

Hay's feature-length debut is a typically entertaining study of the upstanding but ineffectual magistrate, Mr Poskett, while a youthful John Mills is the 20-year-old stepson who must pretend to be 15 to preserve the secret of his mother's falsified age; Angela Baddeley and veteran character-comedians Claude Allister, H.F. Maltby and George Graves are among an impressive supporting cast.

Presented in a brand-new digital transfer from the original film elements, this rare cinematic gem – directed by former variety star Thomas Bentley – notably includes a wonderful evocation of the atmosphere of an 1890s music hall, with Lily Morris and Harry Bedford among a number of leading acts featured.

Cast In Alphabetical Order

Angela Baddeley as Charlotte Verrinder Claud Allister as Capt. Horace Vale George Graves as Col. Alexander Lukyn H.F. Maltby as Mr. Bullamy Harry Bedford as Himself Iris Hoey as Agatha Poskett Jane Carr as Minnie Taylor Jimmy Godden as Pat Maloney John Mills as Bobby Poskett Laurence Hanray as Wormington Lily Morris as Herself Marguerite Allan as Eve Douglas Syd Crossley as Wyke Wally Patch as Inspector Briggs Will Hay as Magistrate Brutus Poskett

Crew

Produced by Walter C. Mycroft Directed by Thomas Bentley Adapted by Fred Thompson, Frank Launder & Frank Miller From Sir Arthur Pinero's play 'The Magistrate' Running Time 77 minutes. Theatrical Release 1934