No Monkey Business is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Gene Gerrard, June Clyde and Renée Houston. It was written by Joe May, Károly Nóti (as Karl Noti), Roger Burford and Val Guest.
Contents
Plot
After a music hall performer has his performing partner, an ape, confiscated by his financial creditors he persuades his assistant to dress up and impersonate the animal so that he can continue his act. However a series of embarrassments arise when they are invited to stay at a country house by a young woman who wishes to demonstrate to her father her theory that apes are as intelligent as people.
Production
The film was made by the independent company Radius Productions at the British and Dominion Studios at Elstree.
Reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "A cheerful and amusing film, a trifle padded in places and rushing to a sudden conclusion, but rich in comic situations of which the actors take full advantage. ... This type of film especially depends on experienced acting to make the most of its material and here the cast is uniformly good."
Kine Weekly wrote: "Farcical comedy extravaganza, a farrago of conventional but popular nonsense which turns at a smooth pace on the never failing pivot of animal impersonation. The tone of the humour, which is closely allied to the music hall, is, of course, definitely old fashioned, but there is enough new life injected into it by the strong and talented cast for it to get over once again with the masses."