 Six fiercely robust and subversive clowns, the Crazy Gang comprised three comedy double acts (Nervo and Knox, Flanagan and Allen, Naughton and Gold) originally brought together for stage shows at the London Palladium in the early 30s.
One such show, O-Kay For Sound, became their first film in 1937 (d. Marcel Varnel), and, although its cinematic technique was rudimentary, it remains a brilliant record of their comic skills, which drew on circus acrobatics, slapstick, quickfire cross-talk and a healthy disregard for social and cultural hierarchies.
Further films included Alf's Button Afloat (1938), The Frozen Limits (1939) and Gasbags (1940) (all d. Marcel Varnel), wherein they uncover a secret German training camp for Hitler impersonators. After World War II, they concentrated on stage work, though Life Is A Circus (d. Val Guest, 1958) was an affectionate valedictory for the by-then elderly Gang.
Andy Medhurst, Encyclopaedia of British Cinema
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