''Stardust'' is a 1938 British

musical comedy 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

Melville W. Brown Melville W. Brown (March 10, 1887 – January 31, 1938) was an American film director, screenwriter and occasional actor. He began his career on the local stage in Oregon, in stock companies and vaudeville, before moving to California and wor ...

and starring

Lupe Velez Lupe may refer to: People * Lupe Aquino (born 1963), Mexican boxer * Lupe Fiasco (born 1982), American hip hop artist * Lupe Ontiveros (1942–2012), Mexican-American film and television actress * Lupe Pintor (born 1955), Mexican boxer * Lupe V� ...

Ben Lyon Ben Lyon (February 6, 1901 – March 22, 1979) was an American film actor and a studio executive at 20th Century-Fox who later acted in British radio, films and TV. Early life and career Lyon was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Alvine ...

and

Wallace Ford Wallace Ford (born Samuel Grundy Jones; 12 February 1898 – 11 June 1966) was an English-born naturalized American vaudevillian, stage performer and screen actor. Usually playing wise-cracking characters, he combined a tough but friendly-face ...

. Production began in November 1936 at the Rock Studios in

Elstree Elstree is a large village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England. It is about northwest of central London on the former A5 road, that follows the course of Watling Street. In 2011, its population was 5,110. It forms part of the ...

.Wood p.92 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 is also known by the

alternative title An alternative title is a media sales device most prominently used in film distribution. Books and films are commonly released under a different title when they are screened or sold in a different country. This can vary from small change to the t ...

s ''Mad About Money'' and ''He Loved an Actress''.

Synopsis

In order to grab some headlines a

rumba The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba ...

dancer Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoi ...

pretends to be a

South American South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

heiress. She takes in an aspiring

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 ...

film 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 ...

who tries to persuade her to invest in his first screen production. As each bluffs the other film moves towards completion.

Cast

as Carla de Huelva *

as Roy Harley *

as Peter Jackson *

Jean Colin Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

as Diana West *

Harry Langdon Harry Philmore Langdon (June 15, 1884 – December 22, 1944) was an American comedian who appeared in vaudeville, silent films (where he had his greatest fame), and talkies.Obituary ''Variety'', December 27, 1944, page 39. Life and career Bor ...

as Otto Schultz * Mary Cole as Peggy *

Cyril Raymond Cyril William North Raymond MBE (13 February 1899 – 20 March 1973) was a British character actor. He maintained a stage and screen career from his teens until his retirement, caused by ill health, in the 1960s. His many stage, film and tele ...

as Jerry Sears *

Ronald Ward Ronald Ward (5 April 1901 – 31 March 1978) was a British actor who, alongside his stage work, appeared in more than twenty British films between 1931 and 1956. He was born in Eastbourne in 1901 as Ronald William Ward, and made his screen ...

as Eric Williams *

Arthur Finn Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

as J.D. Meyers *

Philip Pearman Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

as Prince *

Andreas Malandrinos Andreas Malandrinos ( el, Ανδρέας Μαλανδρίνος; 14 November 1888, in Greece – 11 July 1970, in Surrey) was a Greek-born actor who started appearing in British films from 1930, until his death 40 years later in Surrey, England ...

as Ambassador *

Olive Sloane Olive Sloane (16 December 1896 – 28 June 1963) was an English actress whose film career spanned over 40 years from the silent era through to her death. Sloane's career trajectory was unusual in that for most of her professional life she was e ...

as Gloria Dane *

Peggy Novak Peggy Novak 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'' (1934) * '' A Little Bit of Bluff'' (193 ...

as Secretary * John Stobart as Headwaiter *

Albert Whelan Albert Whelan (born Albert Waxman; 5 May 1875 – 19 February 1961) was an Australian popular singer and entertainer, who was prominent in English music halls during the first half of the 20th century. Biography The son of an immigrant Polish Jew ...

as Judge * Ronald Hill as District Attorney * Alan Shires as Dance Partner

References

Bibliography

* Low, Rachael. ''Filmmaking in 1930s Britain''. George Allen & Unwin, 1985. * Wood, Linda. ''British Films, 1927-1939''. British Film Institute, 1986.

External links

* 1938 films British comedy films 1938 comedy films Films directed by Melville W. Brown Films shot at Rock Studios British black-and-white films 1930s English-language films 1930s British films Grand National Films films {{1930s-UK-film-stub