''Stormy Weather'' is a 1935 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

Tom Walls Thomas Kirby Walls (18 February 1883 – 27 November 1949) was an English stage and film actor, producer and director, best known for presenting and co-starring in the Aldwych farces in the 1920s and for starring in and directing the film adapt ...

and starring Walls,

Ralph Lynn Ralph Clifford Lynn (8 March 1882 – 8 August 1962) was an English actor who had a 60-year career, and is best remembered for playing comedy parts in the Aldwych farces first on stage and then in film. Lynn became an actor at the age of 18 ...

and

Robertson Hare John Robertson Hare, OBE (17 December 1891 – 25 January 1979) was an English actor, who came to fame in the Aldwych farces. He is remembered by more recent audiences for his performances as the Archdeacon in the popular BBC sitcom, ''All Gas ...

Plot

Sir Duncan Craggs retires from the

Colonial Service The Colonial Service, also known as His/Her Majesty's Colonial Service and replaced in 1954 by Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS), was the British government service that administered most of Britain's overseas possessions, under the aut ...

and returns to London with his new French wife. The couple are devoted to each other, but continually flirt with other people. Sir Duncan is appointed to the board of clothing retail chain. On his tour of inspection, he encounters a successful store run by the efficient Mr. Bullock. By contrast, a neighbouring shop is filled with unhelpful staff overseen by an incompetent and lazy manager, Raymond Penny, who is more interested in

horseracing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

than running his shop. Craggs is unimpressed by Penny and summons him to a meeting in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Both Bullock and his domineering wife travel up to London as well, fearing that Penny will tell Craggs malicious stories about them. Back in London, Mrs. Craggs is horrified to discover she is still married to the White Russian Count Polotsky, whom she had thought was dead. The villainous Polotsky plans to kidnap her and blackmail her new husband. Craggs, Penny and Bullock eventually rescue her from the

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

dive where she is being held. It is discovered that Polotsky has married a young Chinese woman and is equally guilty of bigamy. They are able to recover all incriminating evidence as well. In gratitude, Craggs appoints Penny as his assistant.

Cast

as Sir Duncan Craggs *

as Mr. Raymond Penny *

Yvonne Arnaud Germaine Yvonne Arnaud (20 December 1890 – 20 September 1958) was a French-born pianist, singer and actress, who was well known for her career in Britain, as well as her native land. After beginning a career as a concert pianist as a child, Ar ...

as Louise Craggs *

as Mr. Bullock *

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 ...

as Mrs. Dulcie Bullock *

Andrews Engelmann Andrews Engelmann (23 March 1901 – 25 February 1992) was a Russian-born German actor. He worked primarily in Germany, where he specialised in playing Russian roles, but also appeared in a number of British films during his career. He was born as ...

as Count Polotsky *

Davy Burnaby George Davy Burnaby (7 April 1881 – 18 April 1949) was a British actor who appeared in more than thirty films between 1929 and 1948. He was born in Buckland, Hertfordshire and made his screen debut in the 1929 film ''The Devil's Maze''. He die ...

as Merritt *

Veronica Rose Veronica Rose (8 July 1911 – 25 January 1968) was a British stage and film actress. During the 1930s she appeared in a number of films directed by or starring her father-in-law Tom Walls, including several Aldwych Farce adaptations. Selecte ...

as Trixie Merritt * Stella Moya as Moya * Gordon James as Salt Jasper * Louis Bradfield as Lacey *

Fewlass Llewellyn Fewlass Llewellyn (5 March 1886 – 16 June 1941) was a Welsh actor, playwright and theatrical producer. Previously an engineer, he made his stage debut in 1890, and appeared in various film roles, often as authority figures. A play he co-wrote w ...

as Pullman *

Peter Gawthorne Peter Gawthorne (1 September 1884 – 17 March 1962) was an Anglo-Irish actor, probably best known for his roles in the films of Will Hay and other popular British comedians of the 1930s and 1940s. Gawthorne was one of Britain's most called-upo ...

as Police Inspector

Production

''Stormy Weather'' is based on a story by

Ben Travers Ben Travers (12 November 188618 December 1980) was an English writer. His output includes more than 20 plays, 30 screenplays, 5 novels, and 3 volumes of memoirs. He is best remembered for his long-running Aldwych farce, series of farces first ...

. Since 1930, a popular series of film adaptations of Traver's

Aldwych Farces The Aldwych farces were a series of twelve stage farces presented at the Aldwych Theatre, London, nearly continuously from 1923 to 1933. All but three of them were written by Ben Travers. They incorporate and develop British low comedy styles, ...

had been released. Although the film was based on an original

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

by Travers rather than one of his stage farces, it features a number of actors who had appeared in Aldwych films. The film was made by

Gainsborough Pictures Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, north London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The com ...

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 ...

.Wood p.88 The film's sets were designed by

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 ...

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. Vet ...

References

Bibliography

* Cook, Pam. ''Gainsborough Pictures''. Cassell, 1997. *Low, Rachael. ''Filmmaking in 1930s Britain''. George Allen & Unwin, 1985. * Warren, Patricia. ''Elstree: The British Hollywood''. Columbus Books, 1988. *Wood, Linda. ''British Films, 1927–1939''. British Film Institute, 1986.

External links

* 1935 films British comedy films British black-and-white films 1935 comedy films Films directed by Tom Walls Islington Studios films Films set in England Films set in London Films produced by Michael Balcon Films scored by Jack Beaver 1930s English-language films 1930s British films {{1930s-UK-comedy-film-stub