''Banana Ridge'' is a 1942 British comedy film directed by Walter C. Mycroft and starring

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 Ga ...

Alfred Drayton Alfred Drayton (1 November 1881 – 26 April 1949) was a British stage and film actor. Drayton worked in a brewery when he was 18 but having a good deal of amateur dramatics experience decided to go on stage. His first appearance on stage was ''T ...

and

Isabel Jeans Isabel Jeans (16 September 1891 – 4 September 1985) was an English stage and film actress known for her roles in several Alfred Hitchcock films and her portrayal of Aunt Alicia in the 1958 musical film '' Gigi''. Early life and career Bo ...

. The film is based on a 1938 stage play of the same name 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 series of farces first staged in the ...

. It was made at

Welwyn Studios Welwyn Studios was a British film studio located at Broadwater Road, Welwyn Garden City, in Hertfordshire. The facility operated between 1928 and 1950. The studios were first constructed by British Instructional Films, and converted to make sou ...

. Michael Denison accompanied his wife

Dulcie Gray Dulcie Winifred Catherine Savage Denison, (''née'' Bailey; 20 November 1915 – 15 November 2011), known professionally as Dulcie Gray, was a British actress, mystery writer and lepidopterist. While at drama school in the late 1930s she met ...

for her

screen test A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film or in a particular role. The performer is generally given a scene, or selected lines and actions, and instructed to perform in front of a came ...

for the film, which led some years later to his casting in his breakthrough role in ''

My Brother Jonathan ''My Brother Jonathan'' is a 1948 British drama film directed by Harold French and starring Michael Denison, Dulcie Gray, Ronald Howard and Beatrice Campbell. It is adapted from the 1930 novel '' My Brother Jonathan'' by Francis Brett Young, ...

''.Warren p.91 The film was a success at the box office. Hare and Drayton appeared together in another comedy '' Women Aren't Angels'' the following year. Two colleagues come to worry that a mysterious young man may be their son from liaisons with the same woman during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. They are persuaded to give him a job at "Banana Ridge" one of the company's

rubber plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

s in the

Malay States The monarchies of Malaysia refer to the constitutional monarchy system as practised in Malaysia. The political system of Malaysia is based on the Westminster parliamentary system in combination with features of a federation. Nine of the state ...

. The young man's romance with the bosses' daughter threatens this plan, as does his mother's plan to reveal who is his real father.

Cast

as Willoughby Pink *

as Digby Pound *

as Sue Long *

Nova Pilbeam Nova Margery Pilbeam (15 November 1919 – 17 July 2015) was an English film and stage actress. She played leading roles in two Alfred Hitchcock films of the 1930s, and made her last film in 1948. Early life Pilbeam was born in Wimbledon, Sur ...

as Cora Pound * Adele Dixon as Mrs Ellie Pound * Valentine Dunn as Mrs Pink * Stewart Rome as Sir Ramsey Flight * John Stuart as Chief Police Officer Staples * Audrey Boyes as Typist * Patrick Kinsella as Jonesy * Basil Lynn as Mason * Gordon McLeod as Mr. Tope *

Mignon O'Doherty Mignon O'Doherty (1890 – 1961) was an Australian actress who worked in British theatre, film and television. O'Doherty was born in Brisbane, the daughter of Dr. Edward O’Doherty and Isabel Maud French. She was the granddaughter of Young Ir ...

as Mrs. Bingley * Ley On as Chinese 'Boy' *

Wally Patch Walter Sydney Vinnicombe (26 September 1888 – 27 October 1970) was an English actor and comedian. He worked in film, television and theatre. Biography Vinnicombe was born in Willesden, Middlesex and began working on the music hall stages in ...

as Police Officer * Lloyd Pearson as Mr. Bingley * Charles Stewart as Dance Instructor *

as Bit Part

References

Bibliography

* Murphy, Robert. ''Realism and Tinsel: Cinema and Society in Britain, 1939-1949''. Routledge, 1992. * Warren, Patricia. ''Elstree: The British Hollywood''. Columbus Books, 1988. *Wood, Linda. ''British Films, 1927–1939''. British Film Institute, 1986.

External links

* 1942 films 1942 comedy films British comedy films Films set in London Films set in Malaysia Films shot at Welwyn Studios British black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films {{1940s-UK-comedy-film-stub