''Boots! Boots!'' is a 1934 British

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Bert Tracy Bert Tracey was a British silent film and talkie actor. He also directed one film, '' Boots! Boots!'', in 1934 which marked the film debut of George Formby as an adult. Tracy was born on June 16, 1889, in Manchester, England. He acted in 47 sile ...

and starring

George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961) was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he s ...

Beryl Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961) was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he s ...

, and Arthur Kingsley. It was made by Blakeley's Productions, Ltd. (later

Mancunian Films Mancunian Films was a British film production company first organised in 1934. From 1947 it was based in Rusholme, a suburb of Manchester, and produced a number of comedy films, mostly aimed at audiences in the North of England. History Founded b ...

) at the Albany Studios in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

.Richards p.196 The premiere of the film was in

Burslem Burslem ( ) is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Tunstall, Fenton, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent form part of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It is often referred to as the "mother town" of Stoke on Trent. ...

, Stoke-on-Trent.

Cast

- John Willie *

- Snooky * Arthur Kingsley - Hotel Manager * Tonie Forde - Chambermaid * Lilian Keyes - Lady Royston * Donald Read - Sir Alfred Royston * Constance Fletcher - Mrs Clifford *

Betty Driver Elizabeth Mary Driver, (20 May 1920 – 15 October 2011) was a British actress and singer, best known for her role as Betty Williams in the long-running ITV soap opera, ''Coronation Street'', a role she played for 42 years from 1969 to 2011, a ...

- Betty *

Wallace Bosco Wallace Charles Bosco (31 January 1880 in St Pancras, London – 1973 in Richmond upon Thames, Surrey) was an English film actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" i ...

- Mr Clifford * Myfanwy Southern - Reception Clerk * Bert Tracey - The Chef * Harry Hudson and his Orchestra - Themselves

Outline

Producer John E. Blakeley had no prior experience in film production; he had seen comedian George Formby doing his stage act and approached him to star in a feature film. Blakeley's modest studio was a one-room loft space above a taxi garage. The makeshift stage was not soundproofed, so whenever the crew members wanted to film a scene, they had to signal the garage to stop its noisy work below. The studio also had pictorial limitations, and couldn't replicate much more than simple room interiors (many scenes were staged in cramped corners). Thus the nightclub scenes in ''Boots! Boots!'' were filmed in near-darkness, hiding the absence of set decorations, with a single spotlight trained on the performer being photographed. The film is a patchwork of songs and jokes tied to the misadventures of bumbling John Willie, played by Formby. ("John Willie" was a character made famous by Formby's father, George Formby, Sr., in music halls of the early 1900s.) Despite the crude photography and recording, and the minuscule budget of £3,000, ''Boots! Boots!'' became an enormous hit. It was reissued in 1938, in a shortened 55-minute form, to capitalize on Formby's later fame; for six decades this abridged version was the only one in circulation, until an uncut, 80-minute print was located and restored for DVD release.

References

Bibliography

* Richards, Jeffrey. ''The Age of the Dream Palace''. Routledge & Kegan, 1984.

External links

*
''Boots! Boots!'' at the George Formby Society
1934 films 1934 comedy films British comedy films Films shot in Greater Manchester British black-and-white films 1930s English-language films 1930s British films {{1930s-UK-comedy-film-stub