Boys in Blue, The (1983) – Nostalgia Central

Northern comedians Cannon and Ball (arguably the most popular comedy duo in the country at the time) join the police force for their first feature film.

The duo are the local bobbies in the predictably named village, Little Botham, in the county of Dorminster. The village has virtually no crime, thanks to the money-making efforts of Sergeant Tommy Cannon and Constable Bobby Ball.

The police station has an interconnecting door to Bobby’s supermarket and Tommy’s betting shop, conveniently letting them serve in the shop and take bets while on duty.

But the peace is shattered when the county’s Chief Constable (Eric Sykes) discovers their 10-year undetected crime record and issues a closure notice on the tiny substation.

Worried, Cannon and Ball plan a crime they can solve to save their jobs. They decide to steal valuable paintings and conveniently recover them from a smuggler’s cave.

With the help of the local cockney lord of the manor (Roy Kinnear) and a crafty coastguard (Jon Pertwee), the boys in blue set up their crime. But their continued efforts to save the station – and their jobs – get them involved with some real art thieves and a UFO.

The film is a loose remake of Will Hay’s Ask A Policeman (1939).

Critics hated it, but fans loved it.

PC Bobby Ball
Bobby Ball
Sergeant Tommy Cannon
Tommy Cannon
Kim
Suzanne Danielle
Mr Lloyd
Roy Kinnear
Chief Constable Cranshaw
Eric Sykes
Chief Superintendent
Jack Douglas
Chief Superintendent’s Driver
Ken Barker
John Hilling
Edward Judd
Hilling’s Secretary
Su Douglas
Coastguard
Jon Pertwee
Farmer
Arthur English
Herdsman
Billy Burden
Estate Agent
Nigel Lambert
Fred the Postman
Eric Francis
Customs Officers
Richard Borthwick
John D. Collins
Police Radio Operator
Laurence Harrington
High Street Policeman
Richard Hunter
Heavy Set Man
Peter Rutherford
WPC Radio Operator
Rosemary Williams
Fisherman
Tommy Wright

Director
Val Guest