''Man of the Moment'' is a 1935 British comedy film directed by

Monty Banks Montague (Monty) Banks (18 July 1897 – 7 January 1950), born Mario Bianchi, was a 20th century Italian-born American comedian, film actor, director and producer who achieved success in the UK and the United States. Career Banks was born Mario ...

and starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr.,

Laura La Plante Laura La Plante (born Laura Laplante; November 1, 1904 – October 14, 1996) was an American film actress, whose more notable performances were in the silent era. Early life La Plante was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on November 1, 1904, the da ...

and

Margaret Lockwood Margaret Mary Day Lockwood, Order of the British Empire, 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 ...

. It 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 prov ...

by the British subsidiary of

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

. The film's art direction was by

Peter Proud Peter Proud (born Ralph Priestman Proud, 6 May 1913, Glasgow – 1989, London) was a British film art director. He made a major contribution to wartime camouflage and deception operations in the Western Desert, especially in the siege of Tobru ...

. This was the first film shown on BBC Television on 12 September 1938.

Plot

Office worker Mary Briany (Laura La Plante) finds out she is being demoted by the boss she secretly loves in order to make room for his girlfriend. She tries to commit suicide by jumping into the river. Tony Woodward (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) is driving by and rescues her, much to her annoyance. He takes her back to his mansion, but he and his butler Godfrey (

Donald Calthrop Donald Esme Clayton Calthrop (11 April 1888 – 15 July 1940) was an English stage and film actor. Born in London, Calthrop was educated at St Paul's School and made his first stage appearance at eighteen years of age at the Comedy Theatr ...

) have great difficulty getting her to behave. Meanwhile, Tony is to be married the next day to childish heiress Vera Barton (

). She reveals to Tony's friend Lord Rufus Paul (

Claude Hulbert Claude Noel Hulbert (25 December 1900 – 23 January 1964) was a mid-20th century English stage, radio and cinema comic actor. Early life Claude Hulbert was born in Fulham in West London on Christmas Day 1900. He was the younger brother of J ...

) that she plans to change Tony's lifestyle completely - no more smoking or drinking. Her millionaire father (

Peter Gawthorne Peter Gawthorne (1 September 1884 – 17 March 1962) was an Anglo-Irish actor, probably best known for his roles in the films of Will Hay and other popular British comedians of the 1930s and 1940s. Gawthorne was one of Britain's most called-upo ...

) promises his nearly penniless future son-in-law 5000 pounds to pay for a partnership in a company. Later, Mary crashes Tony's bachelor party, dressed as a man in his younger brother's clothes. The next day, Vera and her father find Tony, Mary, and his friends passed out on the floor. As a result, Vera breaks off the wedding. With only £300 and deeply in debt, Tony proposes a suicide pact to Mary. They will fly to Monte Carlo to try to win a fortune at the casino. If they lose, they will kill themselves. The first day does not go well. They are ready to jump off a cliff when a gentleman finds them and gives them £20 they did not know they had won. On their second chance, they split up to gamble. Tony loses, but Mary has an incredible lucky streak and wins a large amount of money. Meanwhile, Vera decides she wants to marry Tony after all. Rufus brings news about Tony's whereabouts, and they go to Monte Carlo. Vera embraces Tony before Mary can tell him the good news. Heartbroken, Mary climbs out on the hotel ledge, but Tony finds her and tells her he loves her. (Annoyed at being jilted, Vera decides that she wants to marry a man that no other woman would desire; she picks Rufus.)

Cast

Production

The film was one of a number that Douglas Fairbanks Jr. made in England. It was produced by

Irving Asher Irving Asher (September 1903 – March 1985) was an American film producer. Born in San Francisco in September 1903, he began his film production career in Hollywood in 1919. After joining the staff of Warner Brothers he was sent over to England a ...

of Warner Brothers, who had a brief to make 20 films year under the British quota system. Asher had helped finance some films Fairbanks Jr. produced in England for his own company; in return for the loan, Fairbanks Jr. agreed to appear in the next film Asher produced, which turned out to be ''Man of the Moment''. His co-star, Laura La Plante, was married to Asher. The films failed and Fairbanks was broke. Fairbanks later wrote:

Professionally, ''Man of the Moment'' was not at all what I should have done in that period. But Irving hoped that with my name and Laura's, a good supporting cast and direction by an ex-Hollywood comedian whimsically named Monty Banks, Warners would overlook the picture's quota category and release it in the States and Canada. Although they never did, I had the best time imaginable making the movie.''A Special Relationship: Britain Comes to Hollywood and Hollywood Comes to Britain'' by Anthony Slide, Univ. Press of Mississippi, 15 June 2015
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It was an early role for Margaret Lockwood.

Reception

The film never was released in the U.S.

References

Bibliography

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

External links

* *
''Man of the Moment''
offered for download at free-classic-movies.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Man Of The Moment (1935 Film) 1935 films 1935 romantic comedy films 1930s English-language films British black-and-white films British romantic comedy films British films based on plays Films directed by Monty Banks Films set in London Films set in Windsor, Berkshire Films set in Monaco Films shot at Teddington Studios Films about gambling Warner Bros. films 1930s British films