''Shipyard Sally'' is a 1939 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 and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

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

Monty Banks Montague (Monty) Banks (18 July 1897 – 7 January 1950), born Mario Bianchi, was a 20th century Italian-born American comedian, film actor, director and producer who achieved success in the UK and the United States. Career Banks was born Mario ...

and starring

Gracie Fields Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was an English actress, singer, comedian and star of cinema and music hall who was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the h ...

, Sydney Howard and

Norma Varden Norma Varden Shackleton (20 January 1898 – 19 January 1989), known professionally as Norma Varden, was an English-American actress with a long film career. Life and career Early life Born in London, the daughter of a retired sea captain ...

. The film is notable for the song "

Wish Me Luck as You Wave Me Goodbye "Wish Me Luck as You Wave Me Goodbye" is a song by Phil Park and Harry Parr-Davies, made popular during the Second World War by Gracie Fields. It appeared in Fields' 1939 film ''Shipyard Sally''. Its use in the film is patriotic, Stephen C. Sh ...

", which became a major hit.

Plot

Sally, a failed

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, and her father take over a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

near the

John Brown & Company John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a Scottish Naval architecture, marine engineering and shipbuilding firm. It built many notable and world-famous ships including , , , , , and the ''Queen Elizabeth 2 (ship), Queen Elizabeth 2''. At its ...

shipyard at

Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Mil ...

. When the closure of the yard threatens to put many out of work she leads a campaign to persuade the government to reconsider the decision.

Production

Made shortly before the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, it was Fields' last British film. It was shot at

Islington Studios Islington Studios, often known as Gainsborough Studios, were a British film studio located on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, London between 1919 and 1949. The studi ...

with sets designed by

Alex Vetchinsky Alex Vetchinsky ( Alec Hyman Vetchinsky; 9 November 1904 - 4 March 1980) was a BAFTA nominated British film art director and production designer. He worked on more than a hundred productions during a career that lasted between 1928 and 1974. Vetc ...

.Wood p.101

Cast

as Sally Fitzgerald * Sydney Howard as Major Fitzgerald *

Morton Selten Morton Selten (6 January 1860 – 27 July 1939) was a British stage and film actor. He was occasionally credited as Morton Selton. Biography At birth, Selten was given the name Morton Richard Stubbs and claimed as the son of Morton Stubbs, a ...

as Lord Alfred Randall *

as Lady Patricia Randall *

Oliver Wakefield Oliver Wakefield (29 May 1909 – 30 June 1956) was a popular British actor and comedian, born in South Africa, who was active from the 1930s until his death in 1956. Often billed as "The Voice of Inexperience", Wakefield is best known for h ...

as Forsyth *

Tucker McGuire Anne Tucker McGuire (29 January 1913 in Winchester, Virginia, USA - 3 August 1988 in London, England) was an American-born actress who appeared largely in British films and television. She married actor Tom Macaulay. She appeared in the 1949 We ...

as Linda Marsh *

MacDonald Parke MacDonald Parke (1891 – 1960) was a Canadian film and television actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media ...

as Diggs * Richard Cooper as Sir John Treacher * Joan Cowick as Secretary *

as Marsh’s doctor (uncredited)

References

Bibliography

* Shafer, Stephen C. ''British Popular Films 1929–1939:The Cinema of Reassurance''. Rutledge, 1997. * Wood, Linda. ''British Films, 1927–1939''. British Film Institute, 1986.

External links

* 1939 films British musical comedy films 1930s English-language films 1939 musical comedy films Films directed by Monty Banks Films set in Glasgow Films set in London 20th Century Fox films Islington Studios films British black-and-white films 1930s British films {{musical-comedy-film-stub