''The Balloon Goes Up'' is a 1942 British, black-and-white, comedy,

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 ...

, war film, directed by Redd Davis and starring Ronald Shiner, Ethel Revnell, Gracie West,

Donald Peers Donald Rhys Hubert Peers (10 July 1908 – 9 August 1973) was a popular Welsh people, Welsh singer. His best remembered rendition and signature song was "In a Shady Nook by a Babbling Brook". Biography Early life Peers was born in the Welsh m ...

and Elsie Wagstaff. It was

produced Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

by New Realm Pictures.

Synopsis

The title refers to the 'Balloon Going Up', a popular

euphemism A euphemism () is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes ...

for an anticipated German invasion of Britain during the Second World War. This musical-comedy film is a collection of

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 ...

gags and radio one-line

joke A joke is a display of humour in which words are used within a specific and well-defined narrative structure to make people laugh and is usually not meant to be interpreted literally. It usually takes the form of a story, often with dialogue, ...

s. It is also an anti- Nazi war film. The term was also used by members of the US military up to the 1990s as a euphemism for World War Three starting with the Soviet Union.

References

External links

*
''The Balloon Goes Up''
at the British Film Institute * 1942 films 1942 musical comedy films 1940s war comedy films British black-and-white films Films directed by Redd Davis British World War II propaganda films British musical comedy films British war comedy films British World War II films 1942 war films 1940s English-language films {{WWII-film-stub