''I'm an Explosive'' is a 1933 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

Adrian Brunel Adrian Brunel (4 September 1892 – 18 February 1958) was an English film director and screenwriter. Brunel's directorial career started in the silent era, and reached its peak in the latter half of the 1920s. His surviving work from the 1920s, ...

and starring

William Hartnell William Henry Hartnell (8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of the first incarnation of the Doctor in '' Doctor Who'' from 1963 to 1966. In film, Hartnell notably appeared in '' Bri ...

Gladys Jennings Gladys Jennings (1903–1994) was an English actress. Selected filmography * '' The Lady Clare'' (1919) * '' The Face at the Window'' (1920) * '' The Shuttle of Life'' (1920) * '' The Prey of the Dragon'' (1921) * '' Gwyneth of the Welsh Hills' ...

and

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 1 ...

. In the film, the son of an inventor is believed to have accidentally drunk an explosive liquid.

Production

The film was a

Quota quickie The Cinematograph Films Act of 1927 ('' 17 & 18 Geo. V'') was an act of the United Kingdom Parliament designed to stimulate the declining British film industry. It received Royal Assent on 20 December 1927 and came into force on 1 April 1928. D ...

made at

Nettlefold Studios Walton Studios, previously named Hepworth Studios and Nettlefold Studios, was a film production studio in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, England.Walton-on-Thames Walton-on-Thames, locally known as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Walton forms part of the Greater London built-up area, within the KT postcode and is served by a wide ran ...

by the producer George Smith and distributed by

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 ...

, enabling it to meet the annual quota for handling British films imposed by the government. It was based on a novel by Gordon Phillips. Despite its low budget and short running time the film proved a considerable hit with audiences on its general release.Chibnall p.36

Cast

as Edward Whimperley *

as Anne Pannell *

as Professor Whimperly * D. A. Clarke-Smith as Lord Ferndale * Sybil Grove as Miss Harriman *

Harry Terry Harry Terry (born 1887, date of death unknown) was an English stage and film actor. He made his stage debut in 1900, and appeared in more than 60 films between 1927 and 1952, including two films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. He was born in Lond ...

as Mould * George Dillon as Shilling * Adele Blanche as French Girl

References

Bibliography

* Chibnall, Steve. ''Quota Quickies: The Birth of the British 'B' film''. British Film Institute, 2007. * Low, Rachael. ''History of the British Film: Filmmaking in 1930s Britain''. George Allen & Unwin, 1985.

External links

* 1933 films 1933 comedy films British comedy films Films shot at Nettlefold Studios Films directed by Adrian Brunel Films based on British novels Films set in London Films set in England British black-and-white films 1930s English-language films 1930s British films Quota quickies {{1930s-UK-comedy-film-stub