The story of A Fire Has Been Arranged
A Fire Has Been Arranged opens in 1935 with a premise that's equal parts noir and slapstick: three small-time crooks—Bud, Ches, and Hal—pull off a jewellery store robbery, stash their loot somewhere safe, and promptly get caught. Ten years later, they're released from prison with one thing on their minds: retrieving their buried treasure. But here's where the plot twists. The site where they hid the jewels? It's now home to a thriving department store. Well, thriving isn't quite the word—the store is drowning in debt, and its owners, Shuffle and Cutte, are watching their business collapse. When our three ex-cons are apprehended acting suspiciously around the property, they're hauled before management. That's when Cutte sees an opportunity: what if the store burned down? Insurance money solves everything. The crooks, still desperate to dig up their fortune, find themselves reluctant participants in an arson scheme—a plot that spirals in ways none of them anticipated.
Behind the making of A Fire Has Been Arranged
Director Leslie S. Hiscott helmed this 66-minute British comedy at Twickenham Studios, one of the UK's most productive facilities during the 1930s. The screenplay came from H. Fowler Mear and Michael Barringer, adapting a story by Mear and James A. Carter. The cast was anchored by Chesney Allen and Bud Flanagan, who were already known as a comedy duo in British entertainment circles. Flanagan and Allen had built a reputation for music-hall style humor, and their chemistry carries much of the film's comedic weight. The supporting cast included Harold French, Mary Lawson, and—in a smaller role that would become far more significant to British cinema—a young Alastair Sim, who was still in the early stages of what would become a legendary career in character acting. Hal Walters and C. Denier Warren rounded out the ensemble. The film concludes with the song "Where the Arches Used To Be," a nod to the music-hall traditions that influenced both the film's tone and its stars' backgrounds. Box office records from the 1930s are notoriously incomplete, but the film found enough of an audience to secure distribution and remain in circulation through various revival circuits and, eventually, streaming platforms.
What makes A Fire Has Been Arranged stand out
There's something genuinely charming about a film that doesn't take itself seriously—and A Fire Has Been Arranged wears its low stakes like a badge of honor. The plot is deliberately ridiculous, which is precisely the point. You've got career criminals who can't seem to catch a break, store owners desperate enough to commit felonies, and a scheme that hinges on the assumption that nobody will ask too many questions. The humor lands in the gaps between what the characters intend and what actually happens. When Flanagan and Allen play off each other, there's a rhythm to their banter that feels lived-in; they're not performing at the audience so much as inviting you into a world where petty crime and bad luck are treated as cosmic jokes. What's striking is how the film doesn't try to be clever about its own absurdity—it simply commits to the premise and lets the characters stumble through the consequences. The supporting performances, especially Sim's, add texture to what could have been a one-note farce. Even at a modest 66 minutes, the pacing keeps things moving; there's no bloat, no scenes that overstay their welcome. The IMDb rating of 5.5/10 probably reflects modern audiences encountering 1935 British comedy sensibilities for the first time—the humor is broad, the plot mechanics are creaky, and the moral framework is decidedly odd by contemporary standards. But that's exactly why it endures: it's a genuine artifact of its time, unvarnished and unashamed.
Where to stream A Fire Has Been Arranged online
If you're curious about this curious little film, you can find A Fire Has Been Arranged on Prime Video. The platform has become an increasingly rich repository for classic and obscure British cinema, and this 1935 gem sits alongside everything from Hitchcock to contemporary dramas. Movie OTT tracks current streaming availability across multiple platforms, so you can see exactly where titles are available in your region without having to hunt through each service individually. The Where to Watch widget at the top of this page will show you the most up-to-date availability, but Prime Video is your current destination for this particular film. It's the kind of title that rewards curious viewers willing to spend an hour with something genuinely weird and dated—not a masterpiece, but a perfectly preserved relic of British comedy in the 1930s.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Who directed A Fire Has Been Arranged?
Leslie S. Hiscott directed the film, working at Twickenham Studios with a screenplay by H. Fowler Mear and Michael Barringer. Hiscott was a prolific British director of the era, known for comedies and crime pictures.
Q: What's the runtime of A Fire Has Been Arranged?
The film runs 66 minutes, making it a brisk watch by any standard. It doesn't waste time getting to the premise or dragging out its absurdities.
Q: Is A Fire Has Been Arranged based on a true story?
No, it's an original screenplay adapted from a story by H. Fowler Mear and James A. Carter. The plot is entirely fictional—a comedy premise rather than a real crime or historical event.
Q: Where can I watch A Fire Has Been Arranged?
A Fire Has Been Arranged is currently available on Prime Video. You can check the Where to Watch widget above for the most current streaming options in your region.
Q: Does A Fire Has Been Arranged have a famous actor in it?
Yes, Alastair Sim appears in the cast. Though this was early in his career, Sim would go on to become one of Britain's most celebrated character actors, famous for roles in films like Scrooge and The Ladykillers.
Final thoughts on A Fire Has Been Arranged
A Fire Has Been Arranged isn't going to change your life. It won't make your best-of lists or become the film you can't stop thinking about. But that's not really what it's trying to do. This is a 1935 British comedy that knows exactly what it is: a 66-minute romp through a deliberately ridiculous plot, powered by performers who understand how to mine humor from chaos and misfortune. If you're the kind of viewer who appreciates cinema as a historical artifact—who enjoys seeing how comedy worked before the modern era, how British sensibilities shaped film humor, how small films got made and distributed—then A Fire Has Been Arranged is absolutely worth your time. It's available on Prime Video, and Movie OTT can help you navigate what's streaming where across all the platforms you subscribe to.
