Until a copy was found by the BBC television in 1975, this was considered a lost film. "Where's That Fire?" is an often over looked comedy. Will Hay plays Captain Viking of the Bishop Wallop fire station in his usual seedy incompetent fashion. He and his trusty assistants Albert (Graham Moffatt) and Harbottle (Moore Marriott) run an antiquated Victorian fire tender but seldom put out any fires. After the Town Hall burns down they find that their jobs are on the line. Viking tries to solve their problems by inventing a new fire retardant foam and also renting the tender to a film production company, who may not be quite what they seem.

More ambitiously staged than most of the team's efforts, "Where's That Fire?" has several brilliantly orchestrated slapstick sequences. One has our trio trying to put up their new firemen's pole, causing a traffic jam, wrecking a china shop, bothering a man confined to bed with gout and finally demolishing his roof. Charles Hawtrey has an amusing cameos as a schoolboy 'swot' who provides geometrical and linguistic advice. There is also an elaborate FX sequence when a local garage gets set ablaze. Harbottle mistakenly connects the hoses to the fuel pumps instead of the water mains.

Ultimately, the film succeeds because of the timeless characters that have been created. Some of the jokes may have dated but the interaction between the three leads is still credible today. Hay's blustering inanity, Marriott's rambling Octogenarian and Moffatt's wide boy are all still accessible. The dialogue between them is loaded with that unique sense of British irony and sarcasm. Two visitors disbelieve that Hay is the Captain of the fire station. "Tell them what I am" he says to Graham Moffatt. "What? Out loud" he replies. "Where's That Fire?" is a wonderful piece of cinema, from a quieter more gentler time. Recommended to those seeking nostalgia and to those who may wish to familairise themselves with the work of Will Hay.

XoD.