Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt

Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt
Directed by	Walter Forde
Produced by	Edward Black (producer)
Written by	Brandon Thomas (farce) J.O.C. Orton (screenplay) & Marriott Edgar (screenplay) & Ralph Smart (screenplay)
Starring	See below
Music by	Louis Levy
Cinematography	Arthur Crabtree
Edited by	R.E. Dearing
Production company	Gainsborough Pictures
Distributed by	General Film Distributors (UK)
Release date	31 August 1940
Running time	75 minutes
Country	UK
Language	English

Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt is a 1940 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde starring Arthur Askey and Richard Murdoch as Oxford 'scholars'.

The film is one of many to be made based on the Victorian farce Charley's Aunt. Arthur Askey's professional nickname was "Big-Hearted Arthur", which was added to the title to distinguish it from Jack Benny's version, for its (limited) American release.

Oxford students Arthur (Arthur Askey), Stinker (Richard Murdoch), and Albert (Graham Moffatt) are in danger of being "sent down" (expelled) for bad behaviour. Learning the Dean of Bowgate College is an amateur Egyptologist, Arthur—who had just played the lead in a stage version of "Charley's Aunt"—poses as Albert's wealthy Aunt Lucy, who might finance an archeological expedition if the Dean is lenient on her nephew and his friends. Unfortunately, the real Aunt Lucy picks this day to pay a visit to Oxford herself, with calamitous results.

Aside from the Oxford setting and the premise of a male student impersonating his wealthy aunt, the film bears little resemblance to the original play. In one brief sequence, the play "Charley's Aunt" is shown being performed by the Oxford students.