''I'll Be Your Sweetheart'' is a 1945 British

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

directed by

Val Guest Val Guest (born Valmond Maurice Grossman; 11 December 1911 – 10 May 2006) was an English film director and screenwriter. Beginning as a writer (and later director) of comedy films, he is best known for his work for Hammer, for whom he direct ...

and starring

Margaret Lockwood Margaret Mary Day Lockwood, CBE (15 September 1916 – 15 July 1990), was an English actress. One of Britain's most popular film stars of the 1930s and 1940s, her film appearances included ''The Lady Vanishes'' (1938), ''Night Train to Munich' ...

Vic Oliver Victor Oliver von Samek (8 July 1898 – 15 August 1964) was an Austrian-born British actor and radio comedian. Early life He was born in Vienna into a Jewish family, the son of Baron Viktor von Samek. He studied medicine at Vienna University but ...

and

Michael Rennie Michael Rennie (born Eric Alexander Rennie; 25 August 1909 – 10 June 1971) was a British film, television and stage actor, who had leading roles in a number of Hollywood films, including his portrayal of the space visitor Klaatu in the s ...

. It was the first and only musical film produced by

Gainsborough Studios Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, north London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The com ...

. Commissioned by the British Ministry of Information, it was set at the beginning of the 20th century, and was about the composers of popular

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

songs fighting for a new

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

law that will protect them from having their songs stolen. Copyright scholar Adrian Johns has called the film "propaganda" and "a one-dimensional account of the piracy crisis bout_sheet_music_in_the_early_20th_century.html" ;"title="sheet_music.html" ;"title="bout sheet music">bout sheet music in the early 20th century">sheet_music.html" ;"title="bout sheet music">bout sheet music in the early 20th centuryfrom the publishers' perspective", but also highlighted its value as historical document, with large parts of the dialogue "closely culled from the actual raids, court cases, and arguments of 1900-1905."

Plot

In 1900 Bob Fielding arrives in London from the north of England determined to make it as a song publisher. He visits a music hall where he hears Edie Story singing "Oh Mr Porter" by George Le Brunn. Songwriters Kahn and Kelly sell their latest song, "I'll Be Your Sweetheart" to Jim Knight, who also wants to be a publisher. Knight doesn't give them an advance so they sell it to Jim. This causes a rivalry between Bob and Jim, which is increased when both men fall in love with Edie. Bob leads a movement to smash the music pirates. He asks Edie to speak out against them but she refuses, reluctant to get involved with what she sees is a political issue. However when composer Le Brunn dies impoverished, Edie makes an on-stage appeal to her audience to fight piracy. Eventually the copyright bill is passed with the help of MP

T.P. O'Connor Thomas Power O'Connor (5 October 1848 – 18 November 1929), known as T. P. O'Connor and occasionally as Tay Pay (mimicking his own pronunciation of the initials ''T. P.''), was an Irish nationalist politician and journalist who served as a ...

. Bob leads a group of song writers to smash the printing presses of the pirates, resulting in a large brawl where Bob and his allies are victorious. Bob and Edie decide to get married. Bob and Jim bury the hatchet as the copyright bill is passed.

Cast

as Edie Story *

as Sam Kahn *

as Bob Fielding *

Peter Graves Peter Graves (born Peter Duesler Aurness; March 18, 1926 – March 14, 2010) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Jim Phelps in the CBS television series '' Mission: Impossible'' from 1967 to 1973 (original) and from 1988 to ...

as Jim Knight *

Moore Marriott George Thomas Moore Marriott (14 September 1885 – 11 December 1949) was an English character actor best remembered for the series of films he made with Will Hay. His first appearance with Hay was in the film '' Dandy Dick'' (1935), but he w ...

George Le Brunn George Le Brunn (born George Frederick Brunn; 20 June 186318 December 1905) was an English composer of popular songs, active during the heyday of the music halls. Biography He was born in Brighton, Sussex, and was educated privately, studying ...

Frederick Burtwell Augustus Frederick Burtwell (23 December 1894 – 16 November 1948) was an English actor, on stage from 1914, who featured in supporting roles in over 40 British films of the 1930s and 1940s. Partial filmography * '' Other People's Sins'' ...

as Pacey *

Garry Marsh Garry Marsh (21 June 1902 – 6 March 1981) was an English stage and film actor. Born Leslie Marsh Gerahty in St Margarets, Surrey, his parents were George and Laura. His elder brothers were the author Digby George Gerahty and the journalist ...

as Wallace * George Merritt as

Muriel George Muriel George (29 August 1883 – 22 October 1965) was an English singer and film actress. She appeared in 55 films between 1932 and 1955. She also appeared on the variety stage and sang on radio with her second husband Ernest Butcher for thir ...

as Mrs. Le Brunn * Ella Retford as Dresser *

Joss Ambler Joss Ambler (23 June 1900 – 1959) was an Australian-born British film and television actor. He usually played somewhat pompous and irascible figures of authority, particularly in comedy films. He was an effective foil to George Formby in both ...

as Dugan *

Eliot Makeham Harold Elliott Makeham (22 December 1882 – 8 February 1956) was an English film and television actor. Career Makeham was born in London, England. Between 1931 and 1956, Makeham appeared, primarily in character roles, in 115 films and in ...

as John Friar *

Maudie Edwards Elizabeth Maud Edwards (16 October 1906 – 24 March 1991), professionally known as Maudie Edwards, was a Welsh actress, radio broadcaster, comedian, dancer and singer, best remembered for having spoken the first line of dialogue in soap ...

as Mrs. Jones * Jonathan Field as Kelly *

Deryck Guyler Deryck Bower Guyler (29 April 1914 – 7 October 1999) was an English actor, best remembered for his portrayal of officious, short-tempered middle-aged men in sitcoms such as ''Please Sir!'' and ''Sykes''. Early life Guyler was born in Wallas ...

as Politician * Gordon McLeod as Prime Minister * Arthur Young as Judge * Dave Crowley as 1st. Henchman *

Alf Goddard Frank Henry "Alf" Goddard (28 November 1897 in Brentford, Middlesex – 25 February 1981 in Ealing, London) was an English film actor. Brother of a famous boxer, Alf Goddard was once a boxer too. He was also a trained athlete and a professio ...

as 2nd. Henchman * Jack Vyvian as 3rd Henchman

Production

The film was based on the real life copyright battles of Abbott and Preston in the early 1900s. Val Guest, the writer-director, was familiar with these struggles having been a former songwriter.''Piracy: The Intellectual Property Wars from Gutenberg to Gates'' By Adrian Johns p354
/ref> Margaret Lockwood's singing voice was dubbed by

. It was a rare musical from her. Vic Oliver was billed above the title, just below Margaret Lockwood. However his role was fairly minor. It was the first major part for Michael Rennie who is given an "and introducing" credit in the film's opening credits.

Songs

*"I'll Be Your Sweetheart" by

Harry Dacre Harry Dacre was the pen-name of Frank Dean (September 1857–16 July 1922), a British songwriter best known for his composition "Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built For Two)". Biography Dean was born on the Isle of Man, where he was baptised on 6 Septem ...

*"Oh! Mr Porter" by Thomas and

*"Honeysuckle and the Bee" by W H Penn and A H Fitz *"I Wouldn't Leave My Little Wooden Hut" by Tom Mellor and Charlies Collins *"Liza Johnson" by

and Edgar Bateman *"I'm Banking Everything On You", "Sooner or Later" and "Mary Anna" by Manning Sherwin and Val Guest

Reception

Box Office

According to ''Kinematograph Weekly'' the film performed well at the British box office in 1945. The 'biggest winners' at the box office in 1945 Britain were ''The Seventh Veil'', with "runners up" being (in release order), ''Madonna of the Seven Moons'', ''Old Acquaintance'', ''Frenchman's Creek'', ''Mrs Parkington'', ''Arsenic and Old Lace'', ''Meet Me in St Louis'', ''A Song to Remember'', ''Since You Went Away'', ''Here Come the Waves'', ''Tonight and Every Night'', ''Hollywood Canteen'', ''They Were Sisters'', ''The Princess and the Pirate'', ''The Adventures of Susan'', ''National Velvet'', ''Mrs Skefflington'', ''I Live in Grosvenor Square'', ''Nob Hill'', ''Perfect Strangers'', ''Valley of Decision'', ''Conflict'' and ''Duffy's Tavern''. British "runners up" were ''They Were Sisters'', ''I Live in Grosvenor Square'', ''Perfect Strangers'', ''Madonna of the Seven Moons'', ''Waterloo Road'', ''Blithe Spirit'', ''The Way to the Stars'', ''I'll Be Your Sweetheart'', ''Dead of Night'', ''Waltz Time'' and ''Henry V''. However

made no further musicals.

Critical

In the

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

, David Parkinson wrote, "Val Guest directs with brio, but the songs he's saddled with are decidedly second-rate"; while in

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

, Tom Vallance described the film as an "under-rated musical...a film that combined the pace and vitality of the best

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

musicals with a trenchant look at flourishing

music piracy Music piracy is the copying and distributing of recordings of a piece of music for which the rights owners (composer, recording artist, or copyright-holding record company) did not give consent. In the contemporary legal environment, it is a form ...

at the turn of the century."

Adaptation

The film was adapted for radio on the BBC in 1945.Program details
/ref>

References

Bibliography

* Cook, Pam. ''Gainsborough Pictures''. Cassell, 1997. * Harper, Sue. ''Picturing the Past: The Rise and Fall of the British Costume Film''. British Film Institute, 1994. * Murphy, Robert. ''Realism and Tinsel: Cinema and Society in Britain, 1939-1949''. Routledge, 1989.

External links

*
''I'll Be Your Sweetheart''
at British Film Institute
Review of film
at ''Variety''
''I'll Be Your Sweetheart''
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of Atl ...

{{Gainsborough Pictures 1945 films British historical musical films British black-and-white films 1940s historical musical films 1940s English-language films Films directed by Val Guest Gainsborough Pictures films Films set in London Films set in the 1900s 1940s British films