''London Betty'' is a 2009

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

directed and written by

Thomas Edward Seymour Thomas Edward Seymour (born January 20, 1977, in New Britain, Connecticut) is an American filmmaker and actor. Tom Seymour is considered one of the "Top Twenty Contemporary Underground Filmmakers in the U.S.", according to the book ''The Histor ...

. The film includes performances by Nicole Lewis,

Daniel von Bargen Daniel von Bargen (June 5, 1950 – March 1, 2015) was an American character actor of film, stage and television. He was known for his roles as Mr. Kruger on ''Seinfeld'', Commandant Edwin Spangler on ''Malcolm in the Middle'', and Chief Grady ...

(in his final performance), Russ Russo, and director Seymour, as well as narration by

Clint Howard Clinton Engle Howard (born April 20, 1959) is an American actor. He is the second son born to American actors Rance and Jean Howard, and younger brother of actor and director Ron Howard. His 200-plus acting credits include feature films such as ...

. London Betty made the list of "Top Films of the Year" on Moviesmademe.com in 2009. Originally having a theatrical release in 2009, the film was released on DVD in 2010 through Maverick Entertainment on their Platinum Label. In May 2011 London Betty hit the #3 spot for British comedy on Amazon on Demand. The film was nationally distributed at Blockbuster Video until the company went out of business in 2013. Director Tom Seymour affectionately referred to this film and his two other features as the "Backyard Trilogy" consisting of ''

Everything Moves Alone ''Everything Moves Alone'' is a 2001 independent comedy film produced by Connecticut filmmakers Mike Aransky, Phil Guerrette and Thomas Edward Seymour. ''Everything Moves Alone'' (shot in 1999 on 16mm) is a largely forgotten film from the 90's inde ...

'', ''

Land of College Prophets ''Land of College Prophets'' is a 2005 independent comedy film produced by Thomas Edward Seymour, Mike Aransky and Phil Guerette. Originally distributed on Netflix in 2005, ''Prophets'' was one of the first of the "backyard superhero" subgenres of ...

'' and ''London Betty''. The three films all involve backyard thieves or in the case of

superheroes that all dwell in suburban environments all shot within central Connecticut.

Background

Plot

London Betty ( Nicole Lewis) is the plucky British journalist who gets a newspaper job in the small American town of Pharisee. But trying to get an audience with her elusive, agoraphobic publisher Maury (

) is only part of her problem. Her first story requires the toppling of the corrupt and perverted administration run by Mayor Plumb (Dick Boland) and his band of off-kilter hoodlums. However, Betty has unlikely allies to help her bring down the mayor: a pair of petty thieves, Volga ( Russ Russo) and Billy (

), a golden-hearted prostitute Jess (Margaret Rose Champagne) and a transvestite ex-Marine hitman, Sgt. Stone ( Phil Hall).

Partial cast

as Narrator (voice) *

as Maury *

as Billy * Russ Russo as Volgo * Phil Hall as Sgt. Stone * Matt Ford as Roy McCoy * Nicole Lewis as London Betty * Margaret Rose Champagne as Jess * Dick Boland as Mayor Plumb * Philip Guerette as Todd * Sheri Lynn as Cindy * Rachael Robbins as Mindy * Chris Ferry as Karate Stan * Jonathan Gorman as Stanley

Reception

Awards and recognition

* Won Best Connecticut film at the Silk City Film Festival * Won Best Feature Film at the Accolade Film Festival 2008 * Won the Underground Spirit Award at the New Haven Underground Film Festival * Best Actress nomination Nicole Lewis:

Hoboken International Film Festival The Hoboken International Film Festival is an annual festival that promotes domestic and international television pilots, screenplays, non-studio films. Awards, with cash prizes, are given for the best submissions. The festival was founded by Kennet ...

2009 * Best Dramedy Nomination:

Bare Bones International Film Festival The Bare Bones International Film and Music Festival was founded in 1999 by the Darkwood Film Arts Institute (DFAI) in the city of Muskogee, Oklahoma, United States to showcase independent motion picture projects with budgets of less than 1 milli ...

2009 * Honoree: Director's Showcase, New York B-Movie Film Festival 2008 * Official Selection: Audience Choice Awards 2009 * Official Selection: Connecticut Film Festival 2009

Release

''London Betty'' became available on DVD February 2, 2010 in the United States.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Von Bargen's last film London Betty'', New York Times March 6th, 2015

Betty'' at the Internet Movie Database

''London Betty''
at

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

London Betty Press Page

Maverick Entertainment Group
American adventure comedy films 2009 films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films