My Friend the King

My Friend the King is a 1932 British comedy film, directed by Michael Powell and starring Jerry Verno. The film was a followup to Two Crowded Hours, Powells unexpectedly popular directiorial debut of the previous year, with comedian Verno reprising his role as a chirpy Cockney taxi driver who gets mixed up in shady doings. This film however was less wellreceived, with Powell recalling it as a complete failure, also noting that he worked on six films during 1932 and that they couldnt all be good...and they werent.

Taxi driver Jim Verno befriends Ruritanian child King Ludwig while the latter is on a visit to London. A plot is afoot by sinister forces to kidnap Ludwig, and Jim becomes caught up in the drama. After the child is abducted Jim uses all his ingenuity, including crossdressing as a Countess and becoming involved in a car chase, to rescue him from his captors.Contemporary reviewers enjoyed Vernos performance but felt he was let down by the feeble material with which he had to work, with Bioscope commenting a better vehicle really should have been devised for a comedian of such ability as Verno. Picturegoer Weekly found There is not much subtlety about the burlesque, but it is presented with plenty of action...not great stuff this, but helps pass threequarters of an hour quite pleasantly. ........

Source: Wikipedia