''The Co-Optimists'' is a 1929 British

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...

musical film directed by

Edwin Greenwood Edwin Greenwood (1895–1939) was a British screenwriter, novelist and film director. Selected filmography Director * '' The Fair Maid of Perth'' (1923) * '' Heartstrings'' (1923) * ''The Bells'' (1923) 20-minute silent film made as part of the ...

and

Laddie Cliff Laddie Cliff (3 September 1891–8 December 1937) was a British dancer, choreographer, actor, producer, writer, and director of comedy, musical theatre and film. He was noted for his versatility. His many London West End theatre appearances and ...

and starring

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 ...

Stanley Holloway Stanley Augustus Holloway (1 October 1890 – 30 January 1982) was an English actor, comedian, singer and monologist. He was famous for his comic and character roles on stage and screen, especially that of Alfred P. Doolittle in ''My F ...

and Betty Chester. It was made at

Twickenham Studios Twickenham Studios (formerly known as Twickenham Film Studios) is a film studio in St Margarets, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, that is used by various motion picture and television companies. It was established in 1913 by Ralph ...

Production background

The film consists of excerpts from the stage musical of the same name which was devised by

in 1921. ''The Co-Optimists'' consisted of a

troupe Troupe may refer to: General * Comedy troupe, a group of comedians *Dance troupe, a group of dancers ** Fire troupe, a group of fire dancers * Troupe system, a method of playing role-playing games * Theatrical troupe, a group of theatrical perform ...

of actors and singers and became largely successful by touring seaside resorts throughout

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The show opened in London on 21 June 1921 and closed on 4 August 1927. The film was produced by Gordon Craig Productions and was directed by

(who also starred in the film) and

. This film also provided

with his second film appearance having been with the troupe from the start. In December 1926, co-star Betty Chester appeared in a

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

made in the DeForest

Phonofilm Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s. Introduction In 1919 and 1920, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patents on a sound-on-film proce ...

sound-on-film process, singing the song 'Pig-Tail Alley' from the show.

Cast

* Melville Gideon * Gilbert Childs *

* Phyllis Monkman * Betty Chester * Elsa MacFarlane * Peggy Petronella *

Harry S. Pepper Harry Stephen Pepper (27 August 1891 – 26 June 1970) was a British pianist, songwriter, composer, actor, and BBC producer, whose career stretched from Edwardian era seaside entertainments to BBC television in the 1950s. Life Born at Putney,'' ...

Critical response

Hal Erickson of All Movie Guide noted that the revue had recently finished its U.S. run at the time of this film's release. He criticized the film for its stagy presentation. He stated that the film was poorly received by the critics, although Burnaby as master of ceremonies was praised.All Movie Guide entry
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References

External links

Answers.comIMDBNYTimes MoviesBFI Database entryMyProducer entryThe Filter entryFandangoBlockbusterStarpulse
1929 films Films directed by Edwin Greenwood British black-and-white films Films shot at Twickenham Film Studios Concert films 1929 musical films British musical films British documentary films 1929 documentary films 1920s English-language films 1920s British films {{music-documentary-film-stub