''Over the Garden Wall'' is a 1950 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 John E. Blakeley and starring

Norman Evans Norman Evans (11 June 1901 – 25 November 1962) was an English stage and radio comedian, best remembered for his sketches and programmes entitled "Over the Garden Wall". Biography He was born in Rochdale, Lancashire, and started his working li ...

, Jimmy James and

Dan Young Daniel Daly Young (19 April 1899 – 1970) was a British comedian and film actor. He featured in a number of Mancunian Films productions often appearing with Frank Randle. Selected filmography * '' Dodging the Dole'' (1936) * '' Calling All Cr ...

. The film was made at

Mancunian Films Mancunian Films was a British film production company first organised in 1934. From 1947 it was based in Rusholme, a suburb of Manchester, and produced a number of comedy films, mostly aimed at audiences in the North of England. History Founded b ...

at their

Dickenson Road Studios Dickenson Road Studios was a film and television studio in Rusholme, Manchester, in North-West England. It was originally set up in 1947 in a former Wesleyan Methodist Chapel by the film production company Mancunian Films and was acquired by B ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. Although made on a low-budget, the film often topped

double bill The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera ho ...

s at cinemas in the North of England because of the popularity of the performers.Chibnall & McFarlane p.41

Plot

Working class couple Fanny and Joe (Norman Evans and Jimmy James), are determined to give their daughter Mary (Sonya O'Shea) and her husband a posh home coming party. Trouble arises when the son of Joe's boss (Frederick Bradshaw) turns up and shamelessly flirts with their daughter.

Cast

as Fanny Lawton * Jimmy James as Joe Lawton *

as Dan * Alec Pleon as Alec * Sonya O'Shea as Mary Harrison * Frederick Bradshaw as Ken Smith * Agnes Bernelle as Val Westwood * Neville Brook as Mr. Smith * John Wynn as Tony Harrison * Patrick Baring * Billy Howard * Langley Howard *

Eli Woods Eli Woods (born John Casey; 11 January 1923 – 1 May 2014) was an English comedian and comic actor, born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, possibly best known for his work with stage comedian Jimmy James (in reality his uncle), and particu ...

as Eli

Legacy

Despite its popularity, ''Over the Garden Wall'' was poorly regarded at the time by the

National Film Finance Corporation The National Film Finance Corporation (NFFC) was a film funding agency in the United Kingdom in operation from 1949 until 1985. The NFFC was established by the Cinematograph Film Production (Special Loans) Act 1949, and further enhanced by the ...

(NFFC), who decided to withdraw financial support from Mancunian Films. The NFFC chairman,

Lord Reith Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

, expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of Mancunian's comedy productions; of ''Over the Garden Wall '' (1950), Reith said it was not "of as high a quality as the Corporation would have wished". Norman Evans' appearance in drag as Fanny Lawton was an influential performance in the history of female impersonation on-screen, and his character later inspired the comedian

Les Dawson Leslie Dawson Jr. (2 February 1931 – 10 June 1993) was an English comedian, actor, writer, and presenter, who is best remembered for his deadpan style, curmudgeonly persona and jokes about his mother-in-law and wife. Early life Les Dawson w ...

with his comedy drag act as Cissy Braithwaite.

References

Bibliography

* Chibnall, Steve & McFarlane, Brian. ''The British 'B' Film''. Palgrave MacMillan, 2009. *

External links

* 1950 films British comedy films British black-and-white films 1950 comedy films Films directed by John E. Blakeley Films set in Manchester Films shot in Greater Manchester 1950s English-language films 1950s British films {{1950s-UK-comedy-film-stub