''Born Lucky'' is a 1933 British

rags to riches Rags to riches refers to any situation in which a person rises from poverty to wealth, and in some cases from absolute obscurity to heights of fame, fortune and celebrity—sometimes instantly. This is a common archetype in literature and popul ...

musical-comedy drama, directed by

Michael Powell Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company The Archers, they together wrote, produced and directed a seri ...

and starring Rene Ray and

John Longden John Longden (11 November 1900 – 26 May 1971) was an English film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1926 and 1964, including five films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Biography Longden was born in the West Indies, the son o ...

. The screenplay was adapted from the 1928 novel ''Mops'' by Marguerite Florence Barclay. ''Born Lucky'' is one of eleven

quota quickies Quota may refer to: Economics * Import quota, a trade restriction on the quantity of goods imported into a country * Market Sharing Quota, an economic system used in Canadian agriculture * Milk quota, a quota on milk production in Europe * Indi ...

directed by Powell between 1931 and 1936 of which no print is known to survive. The film is not held in the

BFI National Archive The BFI National Archive is a department of the British Film Institute, and one of the largest film archives in the world. It was founded as the National Film Library in 1935; its first curator was Ernest Lindgren. In 1955, its name became the N ...

(nor in this case do they even hold any stills or publicity material), and is classed as "missing, believed lost". This was the first film that the great cinematographer

Oswald Morris Oswald Norman Morris, (22 November 1915 – 17 March 2014) was a British cinematographer. Known to his colleagues by the nicknames "Os" or "Ossie", Morris's career in cinematography spanned six decades. Life and career Morris was raised in Mi ...

worked on as a clapper boy.

Plot

Mops (Ray), so called because of her striking curly hair, is an orphan living in the East End of London with her guardian Turnips (

Talbot O'Farrell Talbot O'Farrell (born William Parrot; 27 July 1878 – 2 September 1952) was an English music hall singer (a tenor, whose repertoire included both sentimental and comic songs) and film actor. Biography He was born in the north of England ...

), whose nickname derives from his craft of carving flowers out of vegetables, which he sells to earn a few extra coppers to augment his income as a lighting-man at the local music hall. Mops performs there and earns a living wage, but has to contend with the unwanted advances of the manager. When he tries to force himself on her, Turnips beats him up and both he and Mops are sacked. Unable to pay the rent, they are turned out of their home and decide to head off for

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, where they know there is seasonal work to be found picking hops. The work is hard and ill-paid, and finding enough to eat is a problem. Mops strikes up a friendship with a younger itinerant (Longden), who seems downhearted but is soon cheered up. One evening Turnips goes to a bakery to buy a loaf but does not have enough money. He begins to argue and a fight breaks out; Turnips is arrested and sentenced to a term of imprisonment. Mops visits him in the cells and he suggests she return to London and register with a training centre to try to obtain a position in service. Having taken the advice, Mops finds a place as kitchen-maid with Lady Chard. As the lowest in the servants' pecking-order she is given the most menial jobs and is bullied by more senior domestics. Early one morning when she is alone in the kitchen she hears a knock, and opens the door to find the man she befriended on the road. She helps him out of a predicament, and they begin walking out together after he successfully applies for a position with playwright Frank Dale. Some time later Mops is dismissed from her post after being blamed for starting a fire in the house. She goes to visit her beau, and finds him smartly-dressed and in conversation with a theatrical impresario. He admits that he is really Frank Dale, and all along he has been using her as research material for his new play. On being told of Mops' music hall background, Frank and the impresario offer her the lead role in the play. Both the play and Mops are overnight sensations, and she is welcomed by society. After Frank has rid himself of his grasping fiancée, and Mops has exacted her revenge on the magistrate who imprisoned Turnips, the couple are married and the future looks bright for them and the newly released Turnips.

Cast

* Rene Ray as Mops *

as Frank Dale *

as Turnips *

Ben Welden Ben Welden (born Benjamin Weinblatt; June 12, 1901 – October 17, 1997) was an American character actor who played a wide variety of Damon Runyon-type gangsters in various movies and television shows. Early years Welden was born in Toledo, Oh ...

as Harriman *

Barbara Gott Barbara Gott (1872–1944) was a Scottish stage and film actress. In 1913 she made her West End debut in Stanley Houghton's '' Trust the People''. Partial filmography * ''Betta, the Gipsy'' (1918) * '' The Romance of Lady Hamilton'' (1919) - ...

as Cook * Helen Ferrers as Lady Chard * Roland Gillett as John Chard * Paddy Brown as Patty

Reception

Surviving contemporary reviews show a muted critical response to the film. ''

Kine Weekly ''Kinematograph Weekly'', popularly known as ''Kine Weekly'', was a trade paper catering to the British film industry between 1889 and 1971. History ''Kinematograph Weekly'' was founded in 1889 as the monthly publication ''Optical Magic Lantern a ...

'' wrote: "'The treatment shows some imagination, if the stars shine but dimly", adding that the hop-picking sequences were "picturesque and original". ''Picturegoer Weekly'' found less to impress, stating: "It is all very naïve and the continuity is rather ragged owing to an excess of varied detail which makes for lack of cohesion".''Picturegoer Weekly'' review
powell-pressburger.org ''Retrieved 12 August 2010''

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Born Lucky 1933 films 1933 musical comedy films British musical comedy films Films directed by Michael Powell Films by Powell and Pressburger Lost British films British black-and-white films 1930s English-language films Films based on British novels 1933 lost films Lost musical comedy films 1930s British films