''Thark'' is a 1932 British film

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

, 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 ...

, with a script 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 ...

. In addition to Walls, the film stars

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 ...

. The film is a screen adaptation of the original 1927

Aldwych farce 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, ...

play '' Thark''. It was made at British and Dominion's Elstree Studios.

Premise

Mrs. Todd is aggrieved at finding that the country house she has bought is evidently haunted. Sir Hector Benbow and his nephew, on behalf of the previous owner, set out to demonstrate that there is no ghost.

Cast

*Hook –

*"Thark"
British Film Institute, accessed 14 February 2013 *Warner – Marjorie Corbett *Cherry Buck – Joan Brierley *Lionel Todd –

Claude Hulbert Claude Noel Hulbert (25 December 1900 – 23 January 1964) was a mid-20th century English stage, radio and cinema comic actor. Early life Claude Hulbert was born in Fulham in West London on Christmas Day 1900. He was the younger brother of J ...

*Mrs. Todd –

Mary Brough Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

* *Sir Hector Benbow –

* *Ronald Gamble –

* *Lady Benbow – Beryl de Querton *Kitty Stratton – Evelyn Bostock *Death – Gordon James* *Whittle – Hastings Lynn* Cast members marked * were the creators of the roles in the original stage production; the Todds were surnamed "Frush" in the stage play.

Reception

The film was popular at the box office.

References

External links

''Thark'' at IMDB
1932 films 1932 comedy films Aldwych farce British comedy films British films based on plays Films directed by Tom Walls Films set in England British black-and-white films British and Dominions Studios films Films shot at Imperial Studios, Elstree 1930s English-language films 1930s British films {{1930s-UK-comedy-film-stub