''No Monkey Business'' 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

Marcel Varnel Marcel Varnel (16 October 1892 – 13 July 1947) was French film director, notably however for his career in the United States and England as a director of plays and films Biography He was born Marcel Hyacinthe le Bozec in Paris, France. Va ...

and starring

Gene Gerrard Gene Gerrard (31 August 1892 – 1 June 1971) was an English film and stage actor, and occasional film director. He starred in light musical comedies but returned to his stage career by the 1930s. He was born Eugene O'Sullivan and began as ...

June Clyde June Clyde (born Ina Parton, December 2, 1909 – October 1, 1987) was an American actress, singer and dancer known for roles in such pre-Code films as '' A Strange Adventure'' (1932) and ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1933). Early years June Cly ...

and

Renée Houston Renée Houston (born Katherina Rita Murphy Gribbin; 24 July 1902 – 9 February 1980) was a Scottish comedy actress and revue artist who appeared in television and film roles. Biography Born in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, into a theatrical family ...

.BFI.org
/ref>

Synopsis

After a

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

performer has his performing partner, an

ape Apes (collectively Hominoidea ) are a clade of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (though they were more widespread in Africa, most of Asia, and as well as Europe in prehistory), which together with its sister g ...

, confiscated by his financial creditors he persuades his assistant to dress up and impersonate the animal so that he can continue his act. However a series of embarrassments arise when they are invited to stay at a

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

by a young woman who wishes to demonstrate to her father her theory that apes are as intelligent as people.

Production

The film was made by the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

company Radius Productions at the British and Dominion Studios at Elstree.

Cast

References

Bibliography

* Sutton, David R. ''A chorus of raspberries: British film comedy 1929–1939''. University of Exeter Press, 2000.

External links

* 1935 films 1935 comedy films British black-and-white films British comedy films 1930s English-language films Films about apes Films about entertainers Films directed by Marcel Varnel Films scored by Benjamin Frankel Films set in country houses Films set in England Films shot at Imperial Studios, Elstree Films with screenplays by Joe May 1930s British films {{1930s-UK-comedy-film-stub