''George and Margaret'' is a 1940 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

George King George King may refer to: Politics * George King (Australian politician) (1814–1894), New South Wales and Queensland politician * George King, 3rd Earl of Kingston (1771–1839), Irish nobleman and MP for County Roscommon * George Clift King (18 ...

and starring

Marie Lohr Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in Tro ...

Judy Kelly Julie Aileen Kelly (1 November 1913 – 22 October 1991), known professionally as Judy Kelly, was an Australian-born British actress. She arrived in Britain in 1932 after winning a competition organised by the Australian British Empire Films, wh ...

and

Noel Howlett Noel Howlett (22 December 1902 – 26 October 1984) was an English actor, principally remembered as the incompetent headmaster, Morris Cromwell, in the ITV 1970s cult television programme ''Please Sir!'' He was the subject of infatuation by De ...

.Goble p.775 It is based on the

Gerald Savory Gerald Douglas Savory (17 November 1909 – 9 February 1996) was an English writer and television producer specialising in comedies. Biography The son of Kenneth Douglas Savory and actress Grace Lane (1877–1956), he was educated at Bradfield C ...

's 1937

play of the same name Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

, which had run for over three hundred performances in the West End. The film was made at

Teddington Studios Teddington Studios was a large British television studio in Teddington, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, providing studio facilities for programmes airing on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky1 and others. The complex also provide ...

by the British subsidiary of

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...

. The sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Norman G. Arnold Norman G. Arnold (19 September 1892 – 7 December 1963) was a British art director who designed the sets for over a hundred and twenty films. Early life and World War I Arnold studied architecture, interior decoration & design. During the Firs ...

. Unlike a number of the company's films from the era, which are now considered

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

, this still survives.

Synopsis

The plot revolves around the sudden and unexpected visit for dinner of George and Margaret, a couple returning from

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

to visit their upper-middle class friends in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

. Their unanticipated arrival plunges the house into chaos, with the domineering and snobbish mother, absent-minded father, high-spirited adult children and the put-upon servants all at odds. While most of them resent having to play host to the unlikable George and Margaret in order to please their mother's vanity, the couple's arrival and the confusion it causes serve as a catalyst for the resolution of various problems in their lives. Heading for a happy ending, George and Margaret finally arrive for dinner, only for the house to be plunged into darkness due to a

short circuit A short circuit (sometimes abbreviated to short or s/c) is an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path with no or very low electrical impedance. This results in an excessive current flowing through the circuit ...

Cast

as Alice *

as Frankie *

as Malcolm *

Oliver Wakefield Oliver Wakefield (29 May 1909 – 30 June 1956) was a popular British actor and comedian, born in South Africa, who was active from the 1930s until his death in 1956. Often billed as "The Voice of Inexperience", Wakefield is best known for h ...

as Roger *

John Boxer John "Johnny" Boxer is an Australian television and film actor and commercial voice-over best known for his role as Bobo Gigliotti in '' Pizza''. Early life He grew up in Belmore, New South Wales and attended Belmore Boys High School, where he e ...

as Claude *

Ann Casson Ann Casson (6 November 1915 – 2 May 1990) was an English stage and film actress. She was a daughter of acting couple Sir Lewis Casson and Dame Sybil Thorndike and had three siblings: John, Christopher and Mary. She was married to actor Douglas ...

as Gladys *

Arthur Macrae William Arthur Schröpfer (17 March 1908 – 25 February 1962) known by the pen name and stage name Arthur Macrae was an English playwright and comic actor. He graduated from RADA in 1928; with acting work including the original West End producti ...

as Dudley *

Margaret Yarde Margaret Yarde (2 April 1878 – 11 March 1944) was a British actress. Initially training to be an opera singer, she made her London stage debut in 1907. She often played domestics, landladies and mothers. Filmography * '' A Cigarette-Maker's ...

as Cook *

Irene Handl Irene Handl (27 December 1901 – 29 November 1987) was a British author and character actress who appeared in more than 100 British films. Life Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the younger of two daughters of an Austria-born father ...

as Beer *

Gus McNaughton Gus McNaughton (29 July 1881 – 18 November 1969), also known as Augustus Le Clerq and Augustus Howard, was an English film actor. He appeared in 70 films between 1930 and 1947. He was born in London and died in Castor, Cambridgeshire. He ...

as Wolverton

References

Bibliography

* Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999.

External links

* 1940 films British comedy films 1940 comedy films Films directed by George King Films shot at Teddington Studios Films set in London Warner Bros. films British black-and-white films British films based on plays 1940s English-language films 1940s British films {{1940s-UK-comedy-film-stub