''29 Acacia Avenue'' is a play by Denis and
Mabel Constanduros
Mabel Constanduros (' Tilling; 29 March 1880 – 8 February 1957) was an English actress and screenwriter. She gained public notice playing Mrs.Buggins on the radio programme '' The Buggins Family'', which ran from 1928 to 1948. As well as writi ...
. Its 1945 British
comedy-drama
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
film adaptation, directed by
Henry Cass
Henry Cass (24 June 1903 – 15 March 1989) was a British director, particularly prolific in film in the horror and comedy genres. Previously an actor, he was also a prolific stage director of classical theatre at the Old Vic in the 1930s.
In 19 ...
, was released in the U.S. as ''The Facts of Love''.
Premise
Peter Robinson falls in love with the naïve country girl Fay and the worldly, wealthy and already-married Joan, and lives with them both (and Joan's husband) at his parents' house. However, one day Peter's parents unexpectedly return from holiday, and all hell breaks loose.
Cast
*
Gordon Harker
William Gordon Harker (7 August 1885 – 2 March 1967) was an English stage and film actor.
Harker was one of the sons of Sarah Elizabeth Harker, née Hall, (1856–1927), and Joseph Harker (1855–1927), a much admired set painter for the ...
as Mr. Robinson
*
Betty Balfour
Betty Balfour (born Florence Lilian Woods; 27 March 1902 – 4 November 1977) was an English screen actress, popular during the silent era, and known as the "British Mary Pickford" and "Britain's Queen of Happiness". She was best known to au ...
as Mrs. Robinson
*
Jimmy Hanley
Jimmy Hanley (22 October 1918 – 13 January 1970) was an English actor who appeared in the popular Huggetts film series, and in ITV's most popular advertising magazine programme, ''Jim's Inn'', from 1957 to 1963.
Early life
Born in Norwich, No ...
as Peter Robinson
*
Carla Lehmann
Carla Lehmann (26 February 1917 – 1 December 1990) was a Canadian-born stage, film and television actress.
Career
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in Canada, Lehmann was the youngest of the five children of Dr Julius Lehmann and Elsa Hillerns. Sh ...
as Fay
*
Hubert Gregg
Hubert Robert Harry Gregg (19 July 1914 – 29 March 2004) was a British broadcaster, writer and actor. In his later years, he was known for the BBC Radio 2 "oldies" shows ''A Square Deal'' and ''Thanks for the Memory''. He was also a novelist, ...
as Michael
*Jill Evans as Joan
*
Henry Kendall as Mr. Wilson
*
Dinah Sheridan
Dinah Sheridan (born Dinah Nadyejda Ginsburg; 17 September 1920 – 25 November 2012) was an English actress with a career spanning seven decades. She was best known for the films '' Genevieve'' (1953) and '' The Railway Children'' (1970); the l ...
as Pepper
*
Megs Jenkins
Muguette Mary "Megs" Jenkins (21 April 1917 – 5 October 1998) was an English character actress who appeared in British films and television programmes.
Life and career
Jenkins was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, the daughter of a construction ...
as Shirley
*
Noele Gordon
Joan Noele Gordon (25 December 1919 – 14 April 1985) was an English actress and television presenter. She played the role of Meg Mortimer (originally Richardson) in the long-running British soap opera '' Crossroads'' from 1964 to 1981, wit ...
as Mrs. Wilson
*
Guy Middleton
Guy Middleton Powell (14 December 1906 – 30 July 1973), better known as Guy Middleton, was an English character actor, film character actor.
Biography
Guy Middleton was born in Hove, Sussex, and originally worked in the London Stock Exch ...
as Gerald
*
Aubrey Mallalieu
Aubrey Mallalieu (8 June 1873 – 28 May 1948) was an English actor with a prolific career in supporting roles in films in the 1930s and 1940s.
Mallalieu began life as George William Mallalieu, the son of William Mallalieu (c. 1845–1927), a ...
as Martin
Critical reception
Allmovie
AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne.
History
AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...
wrote, "one of the few
low-budget
A low-budget film or low-budget movie is a motion picture shot with little to no funding from a major film studio or private investor. Many independent films are made on low budgets, but films made on the mainstream circuit with inexperienced or ...
British programmers to enjoy a reasonably widespread American release...The film weaves three separate romantic
subplot
In fiction, a subplot is a secondary strand of the plot that is a supporting side story for any story or for the main plot. Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and place or thematic significance. Subplots often involve supporting c ...
s into an entertaining unified whole"; though
Sky Movies
Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema ...
called the film "one wartime
West End success that didn't transfer too well to screen, ending up embarrassingly stagey"; but the ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
'' thought that although the film "fails to fully disguise its theatrical origins...it nevertheless makes for pleasant period entertainment, with particularly likeable performances from British veterans Gordon Harker and Betty Balfour as the parents."
References
External links
*
*
English plays
1945 films
1945 comedy-drama films
British comedy-drama films
Films directed by Henry Cass
Films set in London
Films set in Sussex
Films produced by Sydney Box
Columbia Pictures films
British black-and-white films
1940s British films
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