''Chick'' is a 1936 British

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by

Michael Hankinson Michael Kyrle le Fleming Hankinson (11 February 1905 –) was a British screenwriter, film editor and film director, director. He wrote and directed the 1936 crime film ''Ticket of Leave (film), Ticket of Leave'' for Paramount British.Low p.399 D ...

and starring Sydney Howard,

Betty Ann Davies Betty Ann Davies (24 December 1910 – 14 May 1955) was a British stage and film actress active from the 1920s to the 1950s. Davies made her first stage appearance at the Palladium in a revue in 1924. The following year she joined Cochran's Youn ...

and

Fred Conyngham Fred Conyngham (June 8, 1901 – May 8, 1974) was an Australian actor from Sydney. He was the son of George Conyngham, an actor and stage manager. The younger Conyngham began his career as a specialty dancer. He left musical comedy for drama; ...

. It is based on the 1923 novel of the same title by

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during th ...

, which had previously been made into a 1928 silent film. The film was made at

Elstree Studios Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...

.Wood, Linda. British Films, 1927-1939. British Film Institute, 1986. p. 89. The hall porter at an

Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of Oxford and Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most famous universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collectively, in contrast to other British universities, and more broadly to de ...

College inherits an

Earldom Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

and enjoys a series of adventures.

Cast

* Sydney Howard as Chick Beane *

as Peggy *

as Sir Anthony Monsard *

Cecil Humphreys Cecil Humphreys (1883–1947) was a British film and theatre actor who played in 46 films between 1916 and 1948, mostly in supporting roles as doctors, aristocrats, and generals. Among his best-known roles were Judge Linton, in the 1939 version ...

as Sturgis *

Mae Bacon Mae Bacon (1897–1981) was a British actress. She was often credited as Mai Bacon. She was the eldest daughter of Hartley Bacon, who was living in Roundhay, Leeds at the time of The Great War. Early acting career During the early stages of Worl ...

as Gert *

Wallace Geoffrey Wallace Geoffrey was a British writer and actor. Partial filmography Actor * ''Brown Sugar'' (1931) * '' The House Opposite'' (1931) * '' The Flying Fool'' (1931) * '' Detective Lloyd'', a serial * '' Life Goes On'' (1932) * ''Aren't We All?'' (1 ...

as Latimer *

Aubrey Mather Aubrey Mather (17 December 1885 – 16 January 1958) was an English character actor. Career Mather was born in Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, and began his career on the stage in 1905. He debuted in London in '' Brewster's Millions'' in ...

as The Dean *

Arthur Chesney Arthur William Kellaway (21 November 1881 – 27 August 1949), known as Arthur Chesney, was an English character actor who worked on stage and screen. Biography He was born 21 November 1881 in Hampstead, London, the son of John and Catherine K ...

as Lord Frensham *Edmund D'Alby as Rennie *

Robert Nainby Robert Nainby (1869–1948) was an Irish male actor. Filmography References External links * 1869 births 1948 deaths Male actors from Dublin (city) Irish male film actors 20th-century Irish male actors {{Ireland-actor-stub ...

as Mr. Beane *

Merle Tottenham Merle Tottenham (22 January 1901 – 18 July 1958) was a British stage and film actress. Her stage work included the original West End production of Noël Coward's ''Cavalcade'' in 1931; and she reprised her role as Annie the servant in the su ...

as Maid *

Aubrey Fitzgerald Aubrey Fitzgerald (1874–1968) was a British actor. In 1909 he played El Tabloid in '' A Persian Princess'' at the Queen's Theatre in London. Selected filmography * ''One Arabian Night'' (1923) * '' Little Miss Nobody'' (1923) * ''Hutch Stirs ...

as Banks *

Fred Rains Frederick William Rains (c. 1860 – 3 December 1945) was a British actor and film director. He was the father of the actor Claude Rains. Selected filmography Actor * '' The Broken Melody'' (1916) * '' The New Clown'' (1916) * ''The Marriag ...

as Warden *Eric Micklewood as Undergraduate *Joe Monkhouse as Mason *Richard Morris as Clerk *Aubrey Pollock as Lawyer

References

Bibliography

*Low, Rachael. ''Filmmaking in 1930s Britain''. George Allen & Unwin, 1985. .

External links

* British crime comedy films British black-and-white films 1930s crime comedy films Films directed by Michael Hankinson Films shot at Station Road Studios, Elstree Films set in England Films based on British novels Films based on works by Edgar Wallace Remakes of British films Sound film remakes of silent films British and Dominions Studios films 1936 comedy films Films scored by Percival Mackey 1930s British films 1930s English-language films {{Comedy-crime-film-stub