Mister Ten Per Cent

Plot

Percy Pointer, a construction worker and amateur dramatist, writes a drama 'Oh My Lord' and hopes to have it professionally produced. A dishonest producer agrees to back the play, hoping that it will be a disaster, so that he can claim insurance on its failure. To Percy's distress, the first audience see the play as a slapstick comedy, not the drama he intended it to be.

The play is a hit and audiences love it. But Percy is upset by the turn of events and attempts to ruin the production. It then emerges that in his ignorance of showbusiness contracts, he has signed away 10% of any revenue to so many people that he actually owes 110% of the money.

His attempts to sabotage the production lead to his being banned from the theatre. But with great resourcefulness, he manages to enter the theatre backstage and create havoc. With the audience thinking this is a part of the comedy and hugely enjoying it, Percy takes to the stage and addresses the audience, asking them why they find his drama so funny. No-one can find an answer, but they cheer him anyway.

The last scene, with chaos backstage, owes much to the Marx Brothers film, A Night at the Opera (1935).

The sleeve notes of the 2014 DVD release of the film open with the words "Predating Mel Brooks The Producers by a year...", drawing attention to the uncanny resemblance between the plots of the two films.

Cast