''A Cuckoo in the Nest'' is a 1933 British film, directed by

Tom Walls Thomas Kirby Walls (18 February 1883 – 27 November 1949) was an English stage and film actor, producer and director, best known for presenting and co-starring in the Aldwych farces in the 1920s and for starring in and directing the film adapt ...

, with a script by

Ben Travers Ben Travers (12 November 188618 December 1980) was an English writer. His output includes more than 20 plays, 30 screenplays, 5 novels, and 3 volumes of memoirs. He is best remembered for his long-running Aldwych farce, series of farces first ...

. It is a screen adaption of the original 1925

Aldwych farce The Aldwych farces were a series of twelve stage farces presented at the Aldwych Theatre, London, nearly continuously from 1923 to 1933. All but three of them were written by Ben Travers. They incorporate and develop British low comedy styles, ...

of the same title. The film was remade in 1954 as '' Fast and Loose''. It was made at

Lime Grove Studios Lime Grove Studios was a film, and later television, studio complex in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The complex was built by the Gaumont Film Company in 1915. It was situated in Lime Grove, a residential street in Shepherd's Bush, and ...

. The film's sets were designed by

Alfred Junge Alfred Junge (29 January 1886, Görlitz, Silesia (now Saxony), Germany – 16 July 1964, London) was a German-born production designer who spent a large part of his career working in the British film industry. Junge had wanted to be an artis ...

Synopsis

Peter and Barbara Wyckham plan to travel by railway from London to a country house in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, but Peter misses the train. Another intending traveller in a similar plight is Marguerite Hickett, an old friend of Peter's from the days before their marriages. They decide to hire a motor car and drive to Somerset, but the car breaks down and they seek refuge at the local inn. Only one bedroom is available, and as it is very clear that the landlady, Mrs Spoker, will not admit an unmarried couple, Peter and Marguerite check in as husband and wife. Barbara jumps to the conclusion that Peter and Marguerite have run away together. First her parents, Major and Mrs Bone, and then Marguerite's husband and finally Barbara descend on the inn. It becomes clear to everyone that Peter and Marguerite are blameless, and both couples are reconciled.

Cast

*Major Bone –

* *Peter Wyckham –

Ralph Lynn Ralph Clifford Lynn (8 March 1882 – 8 August 1962) was an English actor who had a 60-year career, and is best remembered for playing comedy parts in the Aldwych farces first on stage and then in film. Lynn became an actor at the age of 18 ...

* *Marguerite Hickett –

Yvonne Arnaud Germaine Yvonne Arnaud (20 December 1890 – 20 September 1958) was a French-born pianist, singer and actress, who was well known for her career in Britain, as well as her native land. After beginning a career as a concert pianist as a child, Ar ...

* *Mrs Spoker –

Mary Brough Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

* *The Rev. Cathcart Sloley-Jones –

Robertson Hare John Robertson Hare, OBE (17 December 1891 – 25 January 1979) was an English actor, who came to fame in the Aldwych farces. He is remembered by more recent audiences for his performances as the Archdeacon in the popular BBC sitcom, ''All Gas ...

* *Noony – Gordon James* *Barbara Wyckham –

Veronica Rose Veronica Rose (8 July 1911 – 25 January 1968) was a British stage and film actress. During the 1930s she appeared in a number of films directed by or starring her father-in-law Tom Walls, including several Aldwych Farce adaptations. Selecte ...

*Mrs Bone – Grace Edwin* *Pinhorn – Mark Daly *Claude Hickett –

Cecil Parker Cecil Parker (born Cecil Schwabe, 3 September 1897 – 20 April 1971) was an English actor with a distinctively husky voice, who usually played supporting roles, often characters with a supercilious demeanour, in his 91 films made between ...

*Alfred –

Roger Livesey Roger Livesey (25 June 1906 – 4 February 1976) was a British stage and film actor. He is most often remembered for the three Powell & Pressburger films in which he starred: ''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'', ''I Know Where I'm Going!' ...

* *Gladys –

Norah Howard Norah Howard (12 December 1900 - 2 May 1968) was a British actress of stage and screen. Biography She was born as Norah Lillian Emily Smeed on 12 December 1900, in Fulham, London, England, her father was Alfred Howard Smeed. She changed her sta ...

*Landlord –

Frank Pettingell Frank Edmund George Pettingell (1 January 1891 – 17 February 1966) was an English actor. Pettingell was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, and educated at Manchester University. During the First World War he served with the King's Liverpool Re ...

*Kate – Joan Brierley ::''Source:

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

''"A Cuckoo in the Nest"
British Film Institute, accessed 14 February 2013 Cast members marked * were the creators of the roles in the original stage production."Aldwych Theatre", ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 23 July 1925, p. 12

Notes

External links

* 1933 films 1933 comedy films Aldwych farce British comedy films 1930s English-language films British films based on plays Films directed by Tom Walls Films set in England Films set in London Gainsborough Pictures films Films shot at Lime Grove Studios British black-and-white films 1930s British films {{1930s-UK-comedy-film-stub