''Jack of All Trades'' is a 1936 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

Robert Stevenson Robert Stevenson may refer to: * Robert Stevenson (actor and politician) (1915–1975), American actor and politician * Robert Stevenson (civil engineer) (1772–1850), Scottish lighthouse engineer * Robert Stevenson (director) (1905–1986), Engl ...

and

Jack Hulbert John Norman Hulbert (24 April 189225 March 1978) was a British actor, director, screenwriter and singer, specializing primarily in comedy productions, and often working alongside his wife (Dame) Cicely Courtneidge. Biography Born in Ely, Ca ...

and starring Hulbert,

Gina Malo Gina Malo (born Janet Flynn; June 1, 1909 – November 30, 1963) was an American film actress, born Janet Flynn in Cincinnati, Ohio. She appeared in a number of British films in the 1930s, often playing an American. Early career Though born in ...

and

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 Gas ...

. It is based on the 1934 play ''

Youth at the Helm ''Youth at the Helm'' ( hu, Helyet az ifjúságnak) is a Hungarian-language play by Paul Vulpius, the joint pen name of Ladislas Fodor and , which premiered in Budapest in 1933. The play was also staged in Vienna, Austria in 1933 under the titl ...

''. The film was made at

Islington Studios Islington Studios, often known as Gainsborough Studios, were a British film studio located on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, London between 1919 and 1949. The studi ...

, with sets designed by

Alex Vetchinsky Alex Vetchinsky ( Alec Hyman Vetchinsky; 9 November 1904 - 4 March 1980) was a BAFTA nominated British film art director and production designer. He worked on more than a hundred productions during a career that lasted between 1928 and 1974. Vetc ...

Plot

Jack, out of work and responsible for an aged mother, takes a succession of jobs, bluffing his way through them all.

Cast

as Jack Warrender *

as Frances Wilson *

as Lionel Fitch *

Mary Jerrold Mary Jerrold (4 December 1877 – 3 March 1955) was an English actress. She was married to actor Hubert Harben, and mother of actress Joan Harben and celebrity chef Philip Harben. She made her London stage debut as Prudence Dering in ''Mary Penn ...

as Mrs. Warrender * Cecil Parker as Sir. Chas Darrington *

Athole Stewart Athole Chalmers Stewart (25 June 1879 – 18 October 1940) was a British stage and latterly film actor, often in authoritarian or aristocratic roles. On stage, he played in the original production of Noël Coward's '' Hay Fever'' at the Ambassa ...

as Bank Chairman *

Felix Aylmer Sir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones, OBE (21 February 1889 – 2 September 1979) was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television. Aylmer made appearances in films with comedians such as Will Hay and George Formby. Early ...

as Managing Director * Ian McLean as The Fire Raiser *

H. F. Maltby Henry Francis Maltby (25 November 1880 – 25 October 1963) was a prolific writer for the London stage and British cinema from after the First World War, until the 1950s. He also appeared in many films. Life and career Born in Ceres, Cape Co ...

as Bank Director *

Fewlass Llewellyn Fewlass Llewellyn (5 March 1886 – 16 June 1941) was a Welsh actor, playwright and theatrical producer. Previously an engineer, he made his stage debut in 1890, and appeared in various film roles, often as authority figures. A play he co-wrote w ...

as Bank Director * Marcus Barron as Williams *

C. M. Hallard Charles Maitland Hallard (26 October 1865 – 21 April 1942) was a Scottish actor. In 1895 he appeared in the popular drama ''Trilby (play), Trilby'' with Herbert Beerbohm Tree at the Haymarket Theatre. Selected filmography * ''Convict 99 (191 ...

as Henry Kilner *

Peggy Simpson Peggy Simpson (4 July 1913 in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire – 1 January 1994 in London) was a British actress. She appeared twice for director Alfred Hitchcock in '' The 39 Steps'' (1935) and ''Young and Innocent'' (1937). Partial filmograp ...

as Typist *

Betty Astell Betty Astell (23 May 1912 – 26 July 2005), born Betty Julia Hymans, was an English actress, best known for comedy and pantomime productions on stage, screen, and radio with her husband, Cyril Fletcher. She was one of the first performers t ...

as Dancer *

Arnold Bell Arnold Bell (23 May 1901 – 12 March 1988) was a British actor. Selected filmography * ''Convict 99'' (1919) - Warder Gannawy * '' Doctor Josser K.C.'' (1931) * '' Josser in the Army'' (1932) - Becker * ''Doss House'' (1933) - Reporter * '' ...

Harry Crocker Henry Joseph Crocker II (July 2, 1893 – May 23, 1958) was an American journalist and occasional film actor. Life and career Although Crocker was for most of his career a ''Los Angeles Examiner'' newsman, he also appeared as Rex in Charlie ...

* Henry B. Longhurst as Party Guest *

Frederick Piper Frederick Piper (23 September 1902 – 22 September 1979) was an English actor of stage and screen who appeared in over 80 films and many television productions in a career spanning over 40 years. Piper studied drama under Elsie Fogerty at the ...

as Jimmy, Employment Clerk *

Victor Rietti Victor Rietti (29 February 1888 – 3 December 1963) was an Italian-born actor and director who became known through his work in television, especially through the many live television productions of the Italian play ''To Live in Peace'' during ...

as Head Waiter *

Bruce Seton Sir Bruce Lovat Seton, 11th Baronet (29 May 1909 – 28 September 1969) was a British actor and soldier. He is best remembered for his eponymous lead role in ''Fabian of the Yard''. Early life Bruce Lovat Seton was born in Simla, British Ind ...

as Dancer *

Cyril Smith Sir Cyril Richard Smith (28 June 1928 – 3 September 2010) was a prominent British politician who after his death was revealed to have been a prolific serial sex offender against children. A member of the Liberal Party, he was Member of ...

* Netta Westcott

Critical reception

Writing for ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'' in 1936,

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

gave the film a mildly negative review. After giving high praise to the board meeting scene in the first half of the film, and describing it as an "excellent sequence" of "pointed fooling", Greene comments that the remainder of the film "degenerates into nothing but ..an awful eternal disembodied Cheeriness". (reprinted in: )

References

Bibliography

* Low, Rachael. ''Filmmaking in 1930s Britain''. George Allen & Unwin, 1985. * Wood, Linda. ''British Films, 1927-1939''. British Film Institute, 1986.

External links

* 1936 films 1936 comedy films 1930s English-language films British black-and-white films Films directed by Robert Stevenson Films directed by Jack Hulbert British comedy films British films based on plays Films set in London Gainsborough Pictures films Islington Studios films 1930s British films {{1930s-UK-comedy-film-stub