''Big Fella'' is a 1937 British
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by
J. Elder Wills
James Ernest Elder Wills (1900–1970) was a British person who had a lengthy career in the film industry.
He mainly worked as an art director, but he also worked in other roles, including director.
Films he was involved in include ''Tiger Ba ...
and starring
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for his p ...
,
Elisabeth Welch
Elisabeth Margaret Welch (February 27, 1904July 15, 2003) was an American singer, actress, and entertainer, whose career spanned seven decades. Her best-known songs were " Stormy Weather", " Love for Sale" and "Far Away in Shanty Town". She was ...
and
Roy Emerton
Roy Emerton (9 October 1892 – 30 November 1944) was a British film actor.
Earlier in his life, he was a sailor, stoker, docker, railway worker, and miner and served in the First World War. He played in a great number of popular London stage p ...
. It is loosely based on the novel ''Banjo'' by
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the t ...
writer
Claude McKay
Festus Claudius "Claude" McKay OJ (September 15, 1890See Wayne F. Cooper, ''Claude McKay, Rebel Sojourner In The Harlem Renaissance (New York, Schocken, 1987) p. 377 n. 19. As Cooper's authoritative biography explains, McKay's family predated ...
.
Plot
''Big Fella'' is set on the docks and streets of
Marseilles
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
.
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for his p ...
stars in the leading role, as a street-wise but honest dockworker who struggles with deep issues of integrity and human values.
Elisabeth Welch
Elisabeth Margaret Welch (February 27, 1904July 15, 2003) was an American singer, actress, and entertainer, whose career spanned seven decades. Her best-known songs were " Stormy Weather", " Love for Sale" and "Far Away in Shanty Town". She was ...
plays opposite him as a café singer in love with him. Robeson's wife,
Eslanda Robeson
Eslanda "Essie" Cardozo Goode Robeson (December 15, 1895 – December 13, 1965) was an American anthropologist, author, actress, and civil rights activist. She was the wife and business manager of performer Paul Robeson.
Biography
Early y ...
, appears as the café owner.
Reception
The movie received praise, particularly for the music, featuring Robeson and Welch, and for Robeson's performance.
Cast
*
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for his p ...
as Banjo
*
Elisabeth Welch
Elisabeth Margaret Welch (February 27, 1904July 15, 2003) was an American singer, actress, and entertainer, whose career spanned seven decades. Her best-known songs were " Stormy Weather", " Love for Sale" and "Far Away in Shanty Town". She was ...
as Amanda 'Manda'
*
Roy Emerton
Roy Emerton (9 October 1892 – 30 November 1944) was a British film actor.
Earlier in his life, he was a sailor, stoker, docker, railway worker, and miner and served in the First World War. He played in a great number of popular London stage p ...
as Spike
*
James Hayter as Chuck
* Lawrence Brown as Corney
* Eldon Gorst as Gerald Oliphant
* Marcelle Rogez as Marietta
* Eric Cowley as Ferdy Oliphant
*
Joyce Kennedy
Joyce Kennedy (1898–1943) was a British stage and film actress
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such ...
as Mrs. Oliphant
*
Dino Galvani
Dino Galvani (born Candido Galvanoni; 27 October 189014 September 1960) was an Italian-British actor, who made his career in Britain on stage and radio and in films. He is remembered for his role in the popular BBC radio comedy series ''ITMA'' fr ...
as Gendarme
*
Anthony Holles as Gendarme
*
Margaret Rutherford
Dame Margaret Taylor Rutherford, (11 May 1892 – 22 May 1972) was an English actress of stage, television and film.
She came to national attention following World War II in the film adaptations of Noël Coward's '' Blithe Spirit'', and Osca ...
as Nanny
References
External links
*
1937 films
British musical drama films
1930s musical drama films
British black-and-white films
Films set in France
Films based on American novels
Films directed by J. Elder Wills
Films shot at Beaconsfield Studios
Films scored by Jack Beaver
1937 drama films
1930s English-language films
1930s British films
{{1930s-UK-film-stub