''Sailing Along'' is a 1938 British

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Sonnie Hale and starring

Jessie Matthews Jessie Margaret Matthews (11 March 1907 – 19 August 1981) was an English actress, dancer and singer of the 1920s and 1930s, whose career continued into the post-war period. After a string of hit stage musicals and films in the mid-1930s, suc ...

, Barry MacKay,

Jack Whiting Jack Whiting may refer to: * Jack Whiting (actor) (1901–1961), American actor, singer and dancer * Jack Whiting (cricketer) (1894–1975), English cricketer {{hndis, Whiting, Jack ...

Roland Young Roland Young (11 November 1887 – 5 June 1953) was an English-born actor. He began his acting career on the London stage, but later found success in America and received an Academy Award nomination for his role in the film '' Topper'' (19 ...

, Frank Pettingell, Noel Madison and Alastair Sim. It includes many staged song and dance routines either on barges or on the dock edge.

Plot

A rich owner of a fleet of three-masted barges operating on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

in central London has a prospective step-daughter, Kay. She falls in love with the son of one of his barge masters, who has been put to work on a barge at the bottom of the ladder. She initially wants to give up her chance of stardom as a singer to be with him. Ultimately everyone supports her singing career.

Cast

as Kay Martin * Barry MacKay as Steve Barnes *

Jack Whiting Jack Whiting may refer to: * Jack Whiting (actor) (1901–1961), American actor, singer and dancer * Jack Whiting (cricketer) (1894–1975), English cricketer {{hndis, Whiting, Jack ...

as Dicky Randall *

as Anthony Gulliver, the rich father * Noel Madison as Windy * Frank Pettingell as Skipper Barnes * Alastair Sim as Sylvester, the artist * Athene Seyler as Victoria Gulliver *

Margaret Vyner Margaret Leila Vyner, also known by her married name Margaret Williams (3 December 1914 in Armidale, New South Wales – 30 October 1993 in Reading, England) was an Australian-born model and actress who appeared in British films. She collabora ...

as Stephanie * William Dewhurst as Winton *

Peggy Novak Peggy Novak (1 November 1907 – 13 August 1969) was a British actress. Selected filmography * '' Smithy'' (1933) * '' I Adore You'' (1933) *'' The Diplomatic Lover'' (1934) * '' Oh No Doctor!'' (1934) * ''Music Hall'' (1934) * ''Flood Tide'' (1 ...

as Jill *

Patrick Barr Patrick David Barr (13 February 1908 – 29 August 1985) was an English actor. In his career spanning over half a century, he appeared in about 144 films and television series. Biography Born in Akola, British India in 1908, Barr was educat ...

as Seaman at Birthday Party * Arthur Denton as Man Auditioning Chorus Girls

Production

''Sailing Along'' was filmed at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

from August to December 1937, directed by Sonnie Hale. The screenplay was written by Lesser Samuels and Sonnie Hale, based on a story by Selwyn Jepson. For the last big dance number—which lasted seven minutes on screen—the camera followed Whiting and Matthews for nearly a mile, and the set was so large that it had to be built across two studios. Including rehearsals, the pair danced an estimated twenty miles to complete that single scene.

Release

The film opened at the Gaumont Haymarket on 17 April 1938, and was generally released on 29 August 1938.

Critical reception

In a contemporary review, ''

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote, "The best features of the film are the songs and the dances which are cleverly treated, particularly in the final sequence where Kay and Dicky perform a really original and brilliantly executed tap ballet. Jessie Matthews acts Kay with unrestrained gaiety and fire, sings adequately and dances superbly. Jack Whiting, as Dicky, matches her in dancing ability and outshines her in singing and acting, Barry Mackay tries hard not to make Steve too imbecile, while Roland Young (Gulliver) and Athene Seyler, as his prim sister, serve up a banquet of laughs from the few crumbs that fall their way." In his review for '' The Era'' on 27 January 1938, R.B. Marriott applauded Hale's direction as "swift, gay and witty", and added that "''Sailing Along'' was certainly the most polished romantic comedy with music ever made in our studios: and for vitality, deftness and general entertainment value it equals any, and is superior to, many that have come from that over-rated motion picture making town across the Atlantic Ocean."

References

External links

* * {{Sonnie Hale 1938 films British musical comedy films 1938 musical comedy films Films directed by Sonnie Hale Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films set in London British black-and-white films Gainsborough Pictures films 1930s English-language films 1930s British films English-language musical comedy films