''Rhythm Serenade'' is a 1943 British

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

directed by

Gordon Wellesley Gordon Wong Wellesley (8 December 1894 – 1980) was an Australian-born screenwriter and writer of Chinese descent. Born in Sydney in 1894 He wrote over thirty screenplays in the United States and Britain, often collaborating with the director ...

and starring

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 191718 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is honorifically known as the " Forces' Sweetheart", having giv ...

Peter Murray-Hill Peter Auriol Murray Hill (20 April 1908 – 25 November 1957) was an English actor, and publisher He was married to the actress Phyllis Calvert from 1941 until his death. Career Murray Hill's first prominent acting role was in 1938's '' Jane St ...

and

Julien Mitchell Julien Mitchell (13 November 1888 – 4 November 1954) was an English actor, in films from the mid-1930s. Mitchell supported comedians George Formby and Will Hay, and appeared in some Hollywood films in the early war years, but is perhaps ...

. It was shot at the

Riverside Studios Riverside Studios is an arts centre on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. The venue plays host to contemporary performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production. Having closed for redevelopment i ...

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

George Provis George Provis (1901–1989) was a British art director who worked on over a hundred films during a lengthy career. He began his career working on quota quickies during the 1930s. After the Second World War, Provis was appointed by Sydney Box to h ...

. It was made by the British subsidiary of

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

.FILM NOTES OUR CINEMA CORRESPONDENT. The Irish Times 17 Jan 1944: 3.

George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961) was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he s ...

, then under contract to Columbia, served as

associate producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

on the film.

Plot

A teacher goes to work organising a nursery for a munitions factory. She establishes one at a cottage and has a romance with the owner.

Cast

as Ann Martin *

as John Drover *

as Mr. Jimson *

Charles Victor Charles Victor (10 February 1896 – 23 December 1965) was a British actor who appeared in many film and television roles between 1931 and 1965. He was born Charles Victor Harvey. Born in Southport, Lancashire, England, Victor was a fourth ...

as Mr. Martin *

Jimmy Jewel James Arthur Thomas Jewel Marsh (4 December 1909 – 3 December 1995),Gifford, Denni''The Independent'', 5 December 1995. Note: This obituary wrongly gives the year of birth as 1912, which is contradicted by the Ben Warriss obituary. Retrie ...

as Jimmy Martin *

Ben Warriss Ben Holden Driver Warriss (29 May 1909 – 14 January 1993) was an English comedian and the first cousin of fellow comedy actor Jimmy Jewel. Allegedly the two cousins were born in the same bed (at different times) and brought up in the same hou ...

as Ben Martin *

Joss Ambler Joss Ambler (23 June 1900 – 1959) was an Australian-born British film and television actor. He usually played somewhat pompous and irascible figures of authority, particularly in comedy films. He was an effective foil to George Formby in both ...

as Mr. Preston *

Rosalyn Boulter Rosalyn Boulter (1 February 19176 March 1997) was a British film actress. She married Stanley Haynes, a film writer, director and producer before having a daughter together, Carol, in 1943. Between 1935 and 1936 she featured in four West End ...

as Monica Jimson *

Betty Jardine Betty Jardine (17 April 1903 – 28 February 1945) was a British stage and film actress. She began as an actress in Manchester in 1926. In 1934 she made her West End debut in ''Disharmony'' at the Fortune Theatre.Wearing p.307 Subsequent roles ...

as Helen *

Irene Handl Irene Handl (27 December 1901 – 29 November 1987) was a British author and character actress who appeared in more than 100 British films. Life Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the younger of two daughters of an Austria-born father ...

as Mrs. Crumbling *

Lloyd Pearson Lloyd Mawson Pearson (13 December 1897 – 2 June 1966) was an English actor, who appeared mostly in character roles on stage and screen. He created the roles of Rat in ''Toad of Toad Hall'' in 1929 and Alderman Helliwell in the West End produc ...

as Mr. Simkins *

Jimmy Clitheroe James Robinson Clitheroe (24 December 1921 – 6 June 1973) was an English comic entertainer. He is best remembered for his long-running BBC Radio programme, ''The Clitheroe Kid'' (1956–72). Early years Jimmy Clitheroe was born in Clitheroe, ...

as Joey *

Joan Kemp-Welch Joan Kemp-Welch (23 September 19065 July 1999) was a British stage and film actress, who later went on to become a television director. After making her stage debut in 1926 at the Q Theatre, Kemp-Welch made her film debut in 1933 and appeared in ...

as Bit part *

Aubrey Mallalieu Aubrey Mallalieu (8 June 1873 – 28 May 1948) was an English actor with a prolific career in supporting roles in films in the 1930s and 1940s. Mallalieu began life as George William Mallalieu, the son of William Mallalieu (c. 1845–1927), a ...

as Vicar *

Leslie Phillips Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor, director, producer and author. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. ...

as Soldier

References

External links

''Rhythm Serenade''
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

''Rhythm Serenade''
at Letterbox DVD
''Rhythm Serenade''
at BFI 1943 films 1943 musical films British black-and-white films British musical films Columbia Pictures films Films shot at Riverside Studios 1940s English-language films 1940s British films {{musical-film-stub