''Me and Marlborough'' is a 1935 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

Victor Saville Victor Saville (25 September 1895 – 8 May 1979) was an English film director, producer, and screenwriter. He directed 39 films between 1927 and 1954. He also produced 36 films between 1923 and 1962. Biography Saville produced his first f ...

, and starring

Cicely Courtneidge Dame Esmerelda Cicely Courtneidge, (1 April 1893 – 26 April 1980) was an Australian-born British actress, comedian and singer. The daughter of the producer and playwright Robert Courtneidge, she was appearing in his productions in the West En ...

Tom Walls Thomas Kirby Walls (18 February 1883 – 27 November 1949) was an English stage and film actor, producer and director, best known for presenting and co-starring in the Aldwych farces in the 1920s and for starring in and directing the film adapt ...

, Barry MacKay,

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 ...

Henry Oscar Henry Wale (14 July 1891 – 28 December 1969), known professionally as Henry Oscar, was an English stage and film actor. He changed his name and began acting in 1911, having studied under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Dram ...

and Cecil Parker.

Plot

Sergeant Cummings searches Kit Ross's pub for a deserter drummer boy. When he finds the lad, Kit leads the pub patrons in attacking the sergeant's men, and the young man gets away, for which she is put in stocks. While there, she plans her impending wedding to Dick Welch. However, Cummings gets his revenge. On the night of the wedding, he tricks Dick into taking a shilling, which means he has enlisted in the army. She watches as a ship takes him to the fighting. Undaunted, she disguises herself as a man named Simon and joins up with the

Duke of Marlborough General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reign ...

's army in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

to find her missing husband.

Cast

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 ...

'',

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 ...

criticized the theatrical qualities of Courtneidge's performance, claiming that "I found myself too embarrassed by Miss Courtneidge's facial contortions to appreciate their share. Miss Courtneidge is used to throwing her effects to the back row of a theatre gallery, and the camera is not kind to her exaggerations". (reprinted in: )

References

1935 films 1930s historical comedy films British black-and-white films British historical comedy films Films directed by Victor Saville Films produced by Michael Balcon Films set in the 18th century Films set in England Films set in France Films scored by Jack Beaver 1935 comedy films 1930s English-language films 1930s British films {{1930s-UK-comedy-film-stub