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Clip description
In Sunday services, Smiley (Keith Calvert) has volunteered to pump the organ for Mrs Gaspen (Ruth Cracknell) as part of his campaign to be good. One of his school rivals pushes a goat into the church, as the congregation sings a hymn. Smiley tries frantically to get rid of it, while not letting the organ stop. The policeman (Chips Rafferty) doesn’t see what’s ahead as he brings the collection plate forward. The vicar (Gordon Chater) can’t believe his eyes.
Curator’s notes
The style of comic acting is broader in the sequel. In this clip alone, we see Keith Calvert, Ruth Cracknell and Gordon Chater perform exaggerated double takes and Chips Rafferty take an unlikely pratfall after failing to see or hear a goat that’s right in front of him.
The broad acting suggests that Anthony Kimmins wanted the film to be simply more commercial, rather than as good or better than its predecessor. In the end it was neither of those things, but this is one of the film’s better comedy scenes because the mayhem caused by the goat is well orchestrated and contrasts nicely with the pious church setting. Note a very young Ruth Cracknell in her first screen role, and Gordon Chater as the vicar, in almost his first screen appearance.
